---
title: Fixing a laptop
date: 2024-12-14
permalink: daily/2024/12/14/fixing
tags:
  - software-development
  - linux
cta: ~
snippet: |
  Today, I rediscovered my hardware knowledge and fixed my son's laptop.
---

Today, I rediscovered my hardware knowledge and fixed my son's laptop - a Lenovo ThinkPad X390.

Some keys weren't working when pressed, only to have the characters appear a few seconds later.

Fun fact: I started my career refurbishing and repairing laptop computers.

My first job was for a local laptop company that refurbished ex-business laptops for resale, followed by working for Panasonic where I'd repair laptops from blue chip clients across Europe.

I used to build custom PCs, but have done little to no hardware work since I started in software development in 2010.

Today, though, I took the laptop apart and after checking the motherboard and keyboard were OK, I reseated the keyboard and cleaned any dust from inside the casing.

It worked!

If I'd have returned it to a manufacturer or taken it to a local computer repair shop, I'd have had to pay for them to diagnose and (hopefully) resolve the issue.

## Here's the thing

Most laptops and phones today are sealed units and not as modular, repairable or upgradable as the devices I used to work on.

In some cases, you can't upgrade or repair them yourself.

Similar to [having control and ownership of my own data][0], I like the ability to repair a keyboard myself or to add more memory or storage to my laptop.

As well as installing and running my own software, [starting a homelab][1] has also reignited my interest in hardware and being able to upgrade and repair my own devices.

[0]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/12/13/gitea
[1]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/12/01/homelabbing-with-nixos