If I was wittier I would have..

Well I tried phoning but it just went to answering machine :/
Hopefully that just means they're busy and that's why I haven't heard anything yet...

So my partner phoned the shop (I was busy making dough) and it was the motherboard. According to them it's not worth repairing (I'm not 100% convinced of that, I've had a motherboard replaced in a laptop before and while it was expensive it was still cheaper than getting a new one)

But anyway the next step seems to be finding a new laptop.

So the question(s) is:

Is there such a thing as a site that sells laptops minus RAM and HDD so I can reuse the ones from mine and save some money? (I know this one is probably a long shot)
Is there any way to reuse my Windows 7 license? I'd really rather not upgrade to 8.1 or 10 just yet...

And has anyone any suggestions for a good place for cheap(ish) laptops? I'm probably going to get a refurbed one again as budget is tight (about £200), but if anyone can suggest somewhere that might be reasonable I'm all ears.

Shoot! Can't help you with the purchasing bit, but I think you'll have a hard time finding one with no RAM & HDD.

I don't know if that's a thing in the UK, but perhaps a tech forum has a section where people sell their old hardware as replacement parts, and you get lucky to find something that fits yours?

Also, have you considered getting a second opinion? When I had taken my first desktop to a shop because it wouldn't boot one morning also said it wasn't worth fixing it, but turned out that all they wanted was for me to buy a new one from them.

Yeah, I did think as much. A quick look around suggests it's probably not worth it even if I could find it.

Maybe, I'll have a look and see what I can find.

I'm thinking about it... (the thought did cross my mind that they were just looking for more profitable business then the repair would be) but if it is the motherboard (and that seemed to be the consensus here too, so I believe that much) then it'll probably only be an extra £100 more to get a new (well, refurbished) laptop... so it may be just as good to do that anyway...

What do people think of these two?
http://www.thelaptopcentre.co.uk/refurbished-laptops/dell-n5110-b.html
http://www.thelaptopcentre.co.uk/refurbished-laptops/dell-inspiron-15-3521-dual-core-16ghz-4gb-320gb-win-7-156-screen-webcam.html
http://www.laptopoutlet.co.uk/toshiba-c50-b-185-15-6-cheap-laptop-intel-pentium-n3540-2-6ghz-4gb-ram-1tb-hdd.html

The second one has more memory and a bigger hard drive... but the first one has a proper graphics card, and is Windows 7 and (what I believe is) a better processor.
So assuming I could add more RAM and a bigger hard drive if I really needed I think that's probably a better bet..


Edit: Just going to keep a running list of anything I find here for my own convenience (and for anyone else to comment on if they wish)

That first one has an nVidia 525m. Wikipedia says it was released in 2011 and is "Similar to Desktop GT 530/430/440". Would upgrading the card later be an option?

Probably more likely to get an entirely new laptop at some point in the future (when money is not such an issue any more)... I'm really not much of a hardware tinkerer...
Obviously it's not the best, but for the price range I'm looking at having any kind of dedicated graphics card seems to be a win (unless shared graphics are not so bad these days and a decent one might be better than an older card?)

There's something confusing about the first one. Specs speak of Intel Core i5-2450M (2.4GHz), but the name in the top description mentions Intel i3 2.4GHz.

The performance of the shared GPU depends on the system's memory.

Yeah... well spotted. I have no idea of the legitimacy of the site (that comes next once I find a half decent deal) so I'm not sure if it's a mistake or something dodgy..

*sigh*
I really should know / learn more about this stuff, I really have no idea :/

Really sorry to hear that..
But.. I wouldn't trust any used/refurbished laptops to be honest, not without included for at least 6months cover plan..
If you want my advise, save some coins and get a new one.
/Also second opinion suggested by HypersomniacLive sounds reasonable. Ideally if you have someone around you can rely on.

Perhaps contact the site, and inquire about it?

Also, see here, though no idea how legit/trustworthy that one is either.

They also seem to have a good score on eBay, whatever that may be worth.



They do offer 6mths guarantee.

Thanks.

Well that last one was a refurb, and while the hard drive failed not long after getting it that was replaced under warranty. And it's lasted about three to four years, which wasn't bad for the price (I think it was only £150 or so...)
My girlfriend's laptop is also a refurb and she's had no trouble with it.
I only ever go for something with 6 month warranty (and usually a year).

Here a refurbed laptop (from a large seller anyway) usually just means an unwanted return that's been unboxed. They're not allowed to sell them again as new so they put them up with fairly decent discounts on their outlet and clearance sites.

I wish that were an option, but even a refurb is stretching the budget a bit...

I probably will get a second opinion, there's not anyone I know enough to trust particularly, but I'll try a different place (diagnosis is free at most of them) and see what they say / quote.

Usually doesn't mean always.
I have done terrible things in my life.. Still can't look into the mirrors ; )
The choice is yours, and you were lucky so far it seems : )

Haha.
I'll keep that in mind then ;)
I usually go for the retail store outlets (Tesco or Argos) but that site does seem reasonably reliable if the reviews and ratings are to be believe and other than the mis matching details on the processor it looks like a good laptop.

I might drop them an email if I don't see anything better..

I'd inquire anyway.

And do tell us if you get a second opinion.