Jammed Laptop Hinge

[Chandler]

Yesterday, I went to close my laptop lid and found that I was met with a lot more resistance than usual.  So much so that the hairline cracks around the hinges have opened up to 2mm.  :o  (it's still attached, but I doubt the lid's got much life left in it).

After removing the front of the screen surround, I was able to remove the hinge, and it is well and truly jammed.  If I use two pairs of pliers I can just move it - that's how stiff it is.

Is there anything I can do?

[pat]

Perhaps a soak penetrating oil, like DW 40.

[query]

If it's that far gone, the hinge(s) need replacement.

[Chandler]

Thanks for the replies; it still won't budge.

More things are going wrong with this machine.  The battery began to get a decline in life about a year ago and recently the average run time has dropped significantly.  Today, it's got stuck into a forever "charging" state, never going above 18% charge.  If I run it off battery power, the charge level drops, but no matter how long it's plugged in it won't charge back up.  So I might as well kiss the battery goodbye for good.

I contacted the manufacturer, and they say that my warranty expired a month ago but I'm sure it should run into May 2006.  Repair cost if not under warranty - ?320.  It's really not worth it - it's 4 years old now, and I suspect other things will start to go wrong from now on.

Looks like I may be buying a new laptop soon... (or maybe not; I graduate in July and probably have no need for laptop once I've finished university).

[Chandler]

I've found that if I leave the machine turned off but plugged into AC power for a few hours the battery will charge and remain charged.

If I run from battery power then the battery discharges at a normal rate.

If I run from AC power the battery will discharge and the charging light remains on.

Edit:  And now it's charged to 100% while running.

[Chandler]

More problems now.  Tonight, the laptop just shut off when running off AC power.  Wouldn't turn back on.  All temperatures were good.

Pulled the AC cord and plugged it back it and it would boot into Windows, and then turn off again.

Tried again and this time just left it sat at the BIOS screen.  It lasted about 30 seconds before shutting off.

It eventually started up, and the battery is showing 0% charge level (it was fully charged) and the charging light is on.

The fact that it wouldn't turn on even when on AC power (and the charger is definately OK) leads me to believe that there is a fault in the notebook itself.  Unfortunately I'm getting the runaround from the manufacturer at the moment with regards to warranty.

[Chandler]

The machine came back today.  New hinges, new screen backing, new LCD inverter, new TFT panel (not sure why - but it's definately a different screen), new motherboard.  Battery is working fine.