[Catfish_Man]

I recently dropped my new 15" AlBook (AUGH!), and while it's mostly fine, the spring that pops the two halves apart when you open the latch seems to be broken. Also (I'm not sure about this) the screen seems to be slightly farther back than it was. This isn't a huge deal, but I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on what to do or what is wrong.

[vinster]

Unfortunately if there are problems with the display, there's no documented way to open up the housing to fix. To keep things thin, Apple glues the display housing and replaces the entire part if it requires service.

A couple of things to consider:
- Do you have insurance which covers accidental damage? If so, make a claim.
- Play dumb with Apple support and see if they'll book it in for a warranty repair. If they diagnose it as accidental damage once it's at the repair center, you'll get a quote for the job and given the option of having it sent back unrepaired at that time.

BTW: How did you end up dropping it?

[goMac]

Originally posted by vinster:
Unfortunately if there are problems with the display, there's no documented way to open up the housing to fix. To keep things thin, Apple glues the display housing and replaces the entire part if it requires service.

Thats actually great news for me. I have white spots and a dent on the top of the machine! wOOt!

[chipchen]

not true... appl ewill not replace the casing. i had a scratch on my powerbook and it's still there after I've replaced the LCD for white spots.

[Catfish_Man]

Originally posted by vinster:
Unfortunately if there are problems with the display, there's no documented way to open up the housing to fix. To keep things thin, Apple glues the display housing and replaces the entire part if it requires service.

A couple of things to consider:
- Do you have insurance which covers accidental damage? If so, make a claim.
- Play dumb with Apple support and see if they'll book it in for a warranty repair. If they diagnose it as accidental damage once it's at the repair center, you'll get a quote for the job and given the option of having it sent back unrepaired at that time.

BTW: How did you end up dropping it?

The case I have has zippers, which I forgot to zip. When I picked it up, the case flipped open and it fell out. The real problem is not the display being shifter slightly, it's that it doesn't pop open anymore, I have to manually lift it open. Anyway, I figured there wasn't much I could do, so I think I'll just deal with it. It's a pretty trivial problem. Thanks for the advice.

[vinster]

Originally posted by chipchen:
not true... appl ewill not replace the casing. i had a scratch on my powerbook and it's still there after I've replaced the LCD for white spots.

i stand corrected. Just haven't seen any documentation about opening up the display so thought it was some prefabbed process that couldn't be disassembled.

The repair cost might not be as great then.

[The Placid Casual]

Even if you didn't have insurance, take some out now... and then make a claim in a few months time.

I used to work for a large insurance company, and believe me, they make enough money for them not to notice they are ripped off now and again.