My laptop hinges gave up

[Joel Crane]

I'm out of ideas. I'm a softmore in college, and I have been frequenting Thoughts since I was a Junior in high school. Over the course of the semester, the hinges on my Gateway 200STM laptop (PIII 933mhz) have been slowly failing. Tonight, rather suddenly, they completely gave up any friction they had left, and the screen feels like it is on cabinet hinges. The screen can't hold itself up any more.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p200/joelacrane/CIMG0039.jpg

So... now what? I can't locate or afford parts, and I certainly can't afford a netbook to replace it. I just sold my Axim x51v to pay some bills, so I can't take that to class to type notes on with an IR keyboard. Any suggestions or ideas?

First I'm staying up all night to get projects done before finals, and now this.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Is there a crack somewhere? That's normally the first thing I'd check. If not, well... find a way to gummy up the gaps between the hinges. I'm wary of giving suggestions lest I well and truly screw up your machine.

[Sven Johannsen]

Find an engineering student and present him with the problem. Personnally I'd glue something to the lid that folds out into a stand. Kind of like the piece on the back of a picture frame.

[Reid Kistler]

When the hinges broke on my old Dataworld NB, we custom made a wooden support that held the screen up. No angle adjustments, but it worked, and fit inside the carry case.

How large is your power brick? Would it be possible to sit it immediately behind the screen as a prop? A set of non-slip rubber feet would help to prevent the brick from simply sliding away.

Do you use a carry case? That might also be folded / rolled & placed behind the NB as a prop for the screen - and, like the power brick idea, nothing else would need to be carried.

What about using a Book Stand? Have a metal book stand that essentially folds flat, with capped feet to fight slipping. Almost no angle adjustment however - and you would have to "customize" the front arm pieces (that are designed to hold a book open).

Have you tried an internet search for "broken hinges" for your model? Have found some nice solutions to problems with other devices...

Good Luck!