Time To Replace Two Old Dell Laptops

[Carbo]

My wife's laptop is 8 years old; mine is 7. A pair of XPS13 models, problem free all this time until recently. Both keyboards are starting to act up. Space bar on both stops working intermittently; my keyboard is physically worn from all the use. No complaints, they've lived long and prospered.
Now I find myself in the market that is quite different from 7 years ago. Looking around, I'm overwhelmed at the choices. Primary use is personal: online shopping, some social media stuff, no gaming, etc. Advice? Recommendations? Thank you.

 

[Tech Junky]

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[Turbonium]

Just replace the keyboards. It should be pretty straightforward/easy.

I'm still using a 17 year old (yes, you read that right) Dell laptop. I did replace the keyboard at one point. Very straightforward.

But yeah, you're basically using the laptops for the most basic things. You absolutely do not need a newer system for those uses.

 

[Carbo]

17 years? Wow! That's impressive! I assumed changing out the keyboard would be a major undertaking. I'll take a look online and see if it's something I can manage. Thank you.

 

[Turbonium]

Check eBay to see if you can find genuine replacement parts. And check the documentation for those laptops as to how to swap out keyboards. It's usually pretty superficial of a job and easy. And no problem.

 

[In2Photos]

17 years? Wow! That's impressive! I assumed changing out the keyboard would be a major undertaking. I'll take a look online and see if it's something I can manage. Thank you.

Check out ifixit.com. They have a lot of tutorials on how to disassemble different devices and sometimes offer parts or at least part numbers for some devices.

 

[Torn Mind]

Consumer grade laptops are a lot of meh to outright bad these days.
Lenovo also might be worse than Acer but has that ThinkPad halo. Busted hinges are the norm.

 

[Torn Mind]

17 years? Wow! That's impressive! I assumed changing out the keyboard would be a major undertaking. I'll take a look online and see if it's something I can manage. Thank you.

This might help you out, video is 50 minutes.

 

[MadRat]

Way different than the 15.6 and 17 inch models in that era. Just a few minor hidden clips to press and a ribbon cable in the bigger ones.

 

[westermann9]

Just replace the keyboards. It should be pretty straightforward/easy.

I'm still using a 17 year old (yes, you read that right) Dell laptop. I did replace the keyboard at one point. Very straightforward.

But yeah, you're basically using the laptops for the most basic things. You absolutely do not need a newer system for those uses.

I bought my laptop about 11-12 years ago, primarily for work tasks. Despite its age, it's still going strong. Over the years, I've had to replace the keyboard twice, but it keeps powering through. It's impressive how durable it's been, continuing to serve its purpose after all this time. But I guess that my next one will be mac.