Repairing computer parts

[Vaya]

So a friend of mine has moved to US a couple of years ago, he had a car when he was here and his mechanic was able to repair every little thing in it, after buying a car over there his radiator got a little hole in it, when he went to fix it he realized that the repairing cost will be more than a new one's cost, and that's how everything is like over there(from what he said)

So is it the same for computer parts? do you people ever repair your HDD, Motherboard or power supply?, or you just replace it whenever it's not working.

Why am I asking?, to know if I will have the option to work outside my country if I start with this business.

[Skyve]

All big technology retailers will repair here in Canada (Stores like BestBuy, FutureShop, MemoryExpress,etc.). Just know that for around 500$ you can get a brand new entry-level computer/laptop.

[woutR]

I think Gaige does a little computer repair/maintenance/etc with his company (may be confusing him with someone else though). Anyways, ask him and I'm sure he'll be able to tell you more about the need for computer handymen.

[heroo]

I have my laptop insured for like 3 euro a month. It covers everything from damage to theft to me throwing it out the window. So yeah, I do repair it.

[Razorhead]

Belgium:
For computerparts: when something is broken, replace it
eg. Repairing a had with bad blocks, can't be done by a normal store as the hd needs to be completely disassembled and change the plates/writers/whatever is broken inside
That's a manufacturer's job (certified repair hd's)

Some stuff (mainly PSU & RAM) -> not worth the cost to fix
It's cheaper to make a new one than to fix a broken one
costeffectiveness or something like that

done by manufacturer's:
mobo's get repaired
hd's become repaired
Graphic cards get repaired
PSU & RAM just get replaced
Haven't encountered a broken CPU yet (recent type - 12y old pentium does not count)

[Gaigemasta]

Repairing individual parts most of the time is possible but not recommended. As an example if your laser goes out in your Blu-ray drive it is technically fixable as you can buy a replacement laser/housing and install it but it always best to have the manufacturer work on their products.

Yes I do computer repair btw

[Azilius]

It's somewhat simple - computer parts are incredibly complex and based on things that are incredibly small. While it's true some part failures can be fixed for a cheap amount, it's rather unlikely that will ever be the case. The complexity of a part is the simple answer as to why 'repairing' computers generally doesn't happen. I put repairing in quotes because when you send your laptop or computer to a company to fix they are MUCH more likely to throw out the old part and replace it with a new part.

[Toshiharu]

Not really. Repairing computer parts is uh.. we'll just leave it at impossible for the average joe.

It's somewhat simple - computer parts are incredibly complex and based on things that are incredibly small. While it's true some part failures can be fixed for a cheap amount, it's rather unlikely that will ever be the case. The complexity of a part is the simple answer as to why 'repairing' computers generally doesn't happen. I put repairing in quotes because when you send your laptop or computer to a company to fix they are MUCH more likely to throw out the old part and replace it with a new part.

If it's a defective part then they'll actually look at it to see if they can prevent errors like that again. Repairing.. yeah pretty much not going to happen.