When your laptop suddenly won't boot up, or that full cup of coffee you just poured yourself gets spilt over your laptop keyboard - How do you go about getting it fixed? Where do you take it? Whoever you take it to, your trusting somebody you don't know to mess with what is probably a very sacred object to you -- Well, here's a few tips to help you on your way.

Where to get it fixed?

You could send it back to the manufacturers, each laptop company has a service department, but expect to pay £450-£500 to replace a cracked screen, or £700-£900 to replace a faulty motherboard. Your local computer shop may be able to help, but most laptop repairs require specialist knowledge which they may not have. There are a number of laptop repair companies to be found on the internet. Just searching for 'laptop repair' on the internet will bring you a long list of companies willing to do the work for you. In most cases whichever way you go, unless you very lucky to have one close by, this means sending/having collected, your laptop for repair.

Services and pricing

Laptop repair companies should clearly describe their repair service prices, ensuring that there are no hidden fees. Prices should be displayed, and preferably be a flat fee depending on the repair type. Most repair companies now days will look at your laptop for free and offer a diagnosis and estimate for repair, you may well have to pay postage costs, if you turn down the repair. But that seems fair.

LAPTOP repair warranties?

Any repair company has a duty by law to warranty their work. How long this warranty lasts is dependent on the laptop repair company, but should be no less than 6 months. Ensure that the warranty period is clearly written on any invoices, before you pay them. Ask them about their returns policy, for instance, who pays the collection/delivery costs if the unit fails again with the same fault within the warranty period?

How long should it take?

This largely depends on the availability of parts, for common makes like Dell, Sony, Samsung and compaq, parts are usually in plentiful supply. But if your unlucky enough to have let's say a 'Multivision' (They're now defunct), unless you stumble across an independent laptop repair firm that has a secondhand part, you can expect a long delay, if indeed the parts can be sourced. But for a 'bread and butter' repair, let's say, 'replacing the screen on a Dell inspiron' look to a maximum 7 days. Most repair places whoever they are should be able to achieve the repair in this amount of time.

WILL I Loose my data?

The burning question!

If the problem is disk related, there is a small chance you may loose some data, but in %99 of cases, data can be lifted from even the most damaged disk, it just depends how much money your prepared to throw at it. Of course that's a worst case scenario.

If your laptop has a hardware fault that is not disk related, EG. It will not power on when the 'on' button is depressed. The simple answer is 'NO'.

But if your worried, call around a few companies and describe the problem to them. They will then be able to advise you of the possibility.

Chris Banwell is a technician with http://www.laptop-repair-service.co.uk, he has been repairing laptops for around 15 years.