HP Notebook broken hinge - is it fixable?

[cassb]

[personal information removed] Product number: G1V01UA  I attached a couple pictures of a broken hinge on my laptop.  It looks pretty bad -- is there any way to replace or repair this?  I'd like to continue using the laptop if possible.  Thanks!
BryanBroken hingeSide view

[Huffer]

15-d035dx is the model number. Anything is fixable if you throw enough money at it. But looking at the massive damage it will require a new screen bezel, new hinges and a new top cover and base assembly. Those parts will cost more than you paid for the laptop when purchased. 

[cassb]

Understood, but I'm pretty handy with epoxy and screws and large hammers and stuff.  🙂  Apart from replacing the whole case, has anyone attempted to fix something like this and got it to be useable again?

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

The stresses just do not lend themselves to epoxy. That kind of fix does not last long. We have had people do a glue fix but the problem is going to be finding some way to mount the hinges. They are designed to be screwed into metal pieces recessed into plastic in the base assembly. There is a post from a time back where a User did a glue fix and I will look for it. In the meantime here is a youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uypT6SDGwpA

[FastOctopus]

Good ol' HP. Buy a different brand. This has happened to every HP laptop I've ever had.

[cassb]

Great, thank you for the video link, I'll give it a try.  They don't call me Mr. Fixit for nothing!  🙂

[cassb]

Any suggestions for a sturdier brand?  Dell?

[FastOctopus]

I am not sure at this time as I am currently looking for a replacement laptop myself. I have heard Dell has hinge issues, too.

What's important to me is not only build quality but a company who stands behind not only their product, but their repairs. HP does neither. 

I will update this thread when I find a brand of suitable quality AND service and repair.

[cassb]

Yeah, I hear you.  But I think laptops have become an expendable product, meaning they are purposely designed for a limited lifetime.  I don't think HP or most other manufacturers really spend the R&D time trying to come up with a hinge system that is sturdy and stands up to abuse.  They figure you'll need an upgrade or want a newer model by the time the hinges give out in normal use.  The R&D money goes to marketing of new models instead.  😉

But, I'm frugal and like to get maximum life out of things I buy, so I'll try to fix this one as best I can with maybe small bolts or something.   Plus I like the challenge.  And I am a computer programmer and have been building PCs since I bought my first IBM PC Model 5150 back in 1983, and modified the clock speed with a switchable crystal.  I think also messed with replacing the processor in it as well.  lol    I've built and upgraded my own desktop systems since then... but I don't think it's very easy or practical to build your own laptop from parts.  But maybe I can give this one another year or so... I just put a SSD in it to speed it up!  🙂

[cassb]

Just for posterity, I wanted to post a followup about the hinges.

The right hinge is a metal piece that goes all the way up to the top of the screen bezel.  The long metal piece that goes from bottom to top of the bezel broke where it screws to the screen at the bottom.  That's why the bezel broke - because all that pressure when moving the screen that was supposed to be distributed up the side of the screen is now all stressing the plastic bezel near the bottom.  And it broke there.

I ordered a pair of these hinges from China on eBay today for about $10 (just search for "HP 15-d hinge" on eBay).  I will replace the broken right hinge and then epoxy any broken plastic pieces.  Need to find some epoxy that will stick to this kind of plastic.  And I'm missing some of the little black screws - so need to find those somewhere too.  But that should fix it!