I need help!

I’m sorry if i choose the wrong category it’s because I really need help! I had borrowed my computer to my friend to do a school work but somehow he managed to break it, and I don’t know what I should do because I can’t get a regular job because I’m a minor and I have tried everything! (I’m 15) I am desperate to continue my work to be a great graphic designer one day so all I’m asking is for tips for what I should do.
No, my parents nor family won’t help because they want me to be an “man” and figure it out by myself.

You should try and fix the computer.

Yup, do it.

Explore, find & analyze the problem then seek or discover a solution… look around your local community for a skilled person willing to teach you about servicing a PC.
Google, watch videos or apply skills you’ve gained in school. Consider it a growing up experience. Since this is what makes us valuable (problem solvers) and is what most of us do daily, after we grow up – We either become a part of the problem or a part of the solution.
:wink:

And there’s also a hidden reward, Once you’ll achieve your goal, you’ll have the confidence and some skill to start helping others… then slowly you’ll gain independence, freedom & understand the liberty to decide for your self.

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Have a good chat with your ‘friend’ too, who returns your computer to you broken. If it needs a repair, it’s only fair to ask him to pay for it - even if only partially.

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Lets start with the most basic question… How did it break? Does it still boot up?

I’m guessing it is a laptop? If it fell and it has a hard disk drive, the drive might be broken. Could be all you really need to do is change the HDD out(preferably for an SSD). You likely have lost all your data in that case, though(this is why we make back-ups). And it’s only fair the one who broke it pays for the new storage medium.

In case it already had an SSD and it still turns on/boots however the display is broken… That can probably still be changed out for a working one too, however it will be a more complex repair job in terms of disassembly and reassembly.

Search for the following terms/format online: [Manufacturer Brand name] [Model name & number/code] disassembly

Often that can find a video showing how to take the device apart. Reassembly is basically disassembly in reverse order/time reversed. You would also have to find a replacement display from a second hand laptop of the same make that has something else broken.

If it does not turn on, the display is fine and you are certain it is not a broken disk drive either, then you will need to disassemble the system to see if there is any physical fault you can locate.

For an example there was a cheap low-end intel core i3 laptop I had gifted to my sister for school at Christmas 2012. Couple of years later it stopped turning on, after I disassembled it I discovered the power buttons positive(red) wire had broken loose because of a bump the laptop had gotten since the soldering job by fujitsu or their assembly partner was really cheap and weak, so all it took to fix was to solder the wire back to where it was supposed to be connected.

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Guys I was in such a hurry that I forgot to say that the laptop is dead and the pc support I went says there’s no way to fix it and they are the best I could find my friend accidentally threw water in it and he got desperate and tried to turn it on when it was wet and ofc there was a short circuit his family doesn’t want to pay for a new one that’s the worst part

there was a short circuit and its cheaper to buy a new one than fixing it

That’s what he told me at least…

Depends on what specifically got fried, but generally speaking, yes. Even just the analysis to discover the fault would likely be expensive enough it’s more than likely not worth it. The laptop could be still used for parts to repair another of the same make though. Might be worth taking the storage, memory and if it’s socketed/removable - the CPU out of it and selling the rest as scrap on ebay. Repair shops sometimes shop for these to pick parts off of/out of(specific resistors, capacitors, what-have-you).

Similarly, if you can find a way to test them the other things might still be worth selling too if they still work. Except the storage, you want to keep that. Not only might it still work, but your data is likely still there.

In summer time perhaps you can find some part-time/seasonal work to get some money towards buying another system, until then maybe you can work out something with your parents to get some extra allowance in exchange for some house hold chores or such.

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Actually you dont need much money nowdays to buy a new one, for example a brand new raspberry costs 40 euros/dollars , I will assume here that you have a keyboard and mouse and it can connect to your TV through hdmi. It also comes with WiFi so it covers the access to the internet.

You may have issues running the latest version of blender but , its 1.6 quad core ARM should be more than enough to run older versions of Blender.

Remeber 3d artists were making 3d graphics back in the late 80s with 6mh , basically that means 0.006 Ghz and of course one core , if we include also the max 1mb memory and almost none existant GPU we talk about a computer that was 3 million times slower than you average 2000 dollars/euros 3d art pc.

In comparison Raspberry Pi would have been back then a super super supercomputer :smiley: costing billions of dollars.

So feel glad you are in an age where insane computing power is insanely cheap.

Nothing stops you from making amazing graphics on a dirty cheap 30$ raspbery pi. In the end its all about the practice not the computing power anyway.

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As a former home owners insurance agent, I feel the need to point out there MIGHT be a VERY slim chance that you have coverage. If your parents have homowners or renters insurance, you could have them ask their agent if there is a clause for water damage on electronics. If your friend’s parents have coverage, it may be covered under liability. It’s a rare coverage, but doesn’t hurt to ask.

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If there’s an electronics fault the “PC Support” won’t know what to do. You need someone who does electronic repairs at the board level. It may well be fixable by someone with the right tools and knowledge. That obviously depends on who is available in your town.

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That’s why we have to pay a lot of money for every kind of insurance in germany :smiley:

i think a modular cheap pc is a better choice in the long term.

I don’t think they do and we had a misunderstanding so I don’t know if they would listen to me

That’s a good idea! But I still don’t have that much money and apparently they only sell these stuff in other countries

I’m considering to do that but I don’t know if anything still works