I have an out of warranty HP laptop with a cracked case near the left hinge and by power plug

[Dean_H]

I have a 17 inch HP laptop with a cracked case near the left hinge, on either side of the power plug. In order to insert the power plug I have to close the monitor and pinch the case to get the plug to align. I have had this problem for a long time, but only recently noticed the cracked case. I see on other forums that this has been a significant problem for HP. Unfortunately, my computer is now out of warranty.

Any suggestions for how to fix this?

[WAWood]

If you've had this for a "long time" and had brought this up months ago, you might have been able to send it back to HP and have them repair it under the warranty -- but waiting this long, now, you can not do this.

Your only recourse is to take it to a laptop repair place and see how much they want to repair it.