When it comes to laptop repair it’s not bells and whistles that can cause concern for the repair technicians, but rather bezels and hinges. Because they are part of the case of the laptop, they are more prone to the abuse of wear and tear than some of the other parts of the machine.

Hinges

Every time you open the laptop, you work the hinge of the machine. Most of the time when we think of hinges, we think of doors. But a hinge is actually any bearing that provides a connection between two solid pieces, with an amount of rotation between the pieces, with the rotation around a fixed axis.

Hinges on laptops are subject to acute damage. Because these hinges are the only link between the monitor assembly and the base chassis, they receive a lot of torque and wear from frequent opening and closing. Additionally, dropping the computer while open is a sure fire way to break the hinge mounts from the plastic chassis.

Once these mounts are broken, the only repair is to attempt to epoxy the broken plastic back together, or swap the entire chassis from another notebook. In either situation, these repairs can be costly and difficult to guarantee. The best course of action with this scenario is prevention. Accidents aside, one must take care (obviously) to not drop a laptop or put excessive force on the top panel.

Bezels

For those unfamiliar with the term, the term “bezel” came from jewellery making. It is the rim that circles a jewel and holds it in place. On a laptop, it is the frame that holds the monitor screen to the backing that makes the top cover of the machine.  You may not give that frame much consideration usually, but it is as susceptible to damage as the hinges.

Users need to be careful with their laptops, because the bezels and other pieces of plastic can suffer damage from wear and tear. In certain cases, the bezels may even support button assemblies or power buttons, making these components vital. In other laptops, the bezel may also have to accommodate a webcam and microphone.

Repairs

As a rule of thumb, the cheaper the laptop, the lower the quality of the plastics that hold it together. On the upside, bezels can be more easily and affordably replaced than a hinge assembly for the LCD panel. In either case, be attentive to how you treat your laptop, taking care of your bezel and hinge.