Basics

• A laptop consists of modules--the motherboard, the hard drive, the RAM chips, the keyboard, the optical drive and the wireless card among others. Each of these can be replaced. Replacing modules may fix your laptop. The two simplest items to fix are the RAM and the keyboard. Your user's manual will have instructions to replace or upgrade the RAM. Most laptops either have the chips on the underside of the computer behind a door held in by one or more screws. Before you begin, unplug the laptop and remove the battery. Ground yourself by touching a metal surface. Unscrew the RAM door and gently pull apart the two clips on either side of the chip. When it springs up, slide it out. You can blow on the connectors and reseat the chips. This may make your system reboot. If not, replace the RAM. To remove the keyboard, remove two to four screws holding it in place. Lift the keyboard toward you until you see the ribbon cable connecting it to the laptop. Unclip this and replace the keyboard.
  
  

Hard Drives

• Hard drives can die. When they do, they prevent your laptop from booting. To get to the hard drive, remove the keyboard. In most laptops, you will see the hard drive to the right. Remove screws holding the carriage in place and carefully lift it out. It is connected at one end to a black rubber bar with pins. This is attached to a ribbon cable connected to the processor. Remove this end and lift out the assembly. Remove the carriage. Hold the hard drive in both hands and gently rock the rubber bar with your thumbs until it comes off. If you have a second laptop, you can test the hard drive by installing it there. If it still doesn't work, it's bad. You can't fix it, so you need to get another drive. If there is important data on the bad drive, you can send it to a data-recovery service.
  
  

Optical Drives

• The optical drive on most laptops can fail. It may not read discs properly or it may not burn. Again, it is simpler to replace it than try to fix it. To get at the optical drive, you may need to remove the upper or lower laptop casing. Detach the ribbon to the optical drive and remove the screws holding it in place. It may be a good idea to get a new one recommended for your laptop. For example, in Macintosh laptops, you may need to start the computer from a CD or DVD, so you will need an optical drive that supports this. The same brand of drive that originally came in the laptop will be bootable.