My Problem

So the reason I had to fix the screen of my macbook pro was because it came crashing out of my bag one day and onto the pavement. A nice dent in the back made a crack in the front that made a nice L shaped colored bar in the top third of my screen. Had to fix it otherwise i'd be doing all my stuff on a much smaller screen andI just don't want to do that.

My Fix

I'm not fantastic at computer things but a buddy of mine is. I handed it to him. He managed to do most of the stuff until I get a phone call from him saying the glass broke. I'm not sure exactly what he meant, after a small panic, he told me about the fragile glass that is on the outside of the LCD that is basically a cover and protector. I can live without it and am looking at a cheap alternative with some glue and maybe some clear plastic. Repair went fine, he told me the instructions on the ifixit website were pretty good but that the glass is so fragile that it is hard to even get on there. I also, apparently, had one of the macbook pro models that didn't have some magnetic strip on the glass so it couldn't just pop on. Had to require hot glue and all sorts of fun. Other than that not half bad. Got my screen back to full awesome!

My Advice

read all instructions. Be very very very gentle.

My Problem

The hard drive had S.M.A.R.T errors

My Fix

I followed the instructions from iFixit on taking the iMac apart and managed to replace the hard drive.

The new hard drive was the same size and model from the same manufacturer that I got in Compusa.

The tools I got from iFixit really worked in the way described.

My Advice

After replacing the hard drive the iMac starting having a loud noise due to high RPMs in the fan.

I got HDD Fan Control (http://www.hddfancontrol.com) and after installing it the noise disappeared.

My Problem

I had spilled a glass of water on my Xbox 360 wireless controller. At the advice of some tech friends of mine, I put the controller in a absorb bag with instant rice to absorb the moisture out (of course after immediately removing the batteries first). The moisture was taken out no problem, but some rice crumbs got stuck in the right analog stick.

My Fix

After ordering and quickly receiving the T8 screwdriver, the repair was as quick as disassembly, blowing rice out with air and then reassembly.

My Advice

Use something besides instant rice to absorb moisture from the confines of a controller.

My Problem

As bad luck would have it, my 13" MacBook Pro was on the floor next to the couch and my work 15" MacBook Pro was on the arm of the couch. One MB fell and dented the lid of the other, causing the LCD to break from the back. After crying for a few days, I looked at my options:

- trust the guys on ebay to fix it (very cheap for some strange reason and some bad reviews made me nervous)

- pay Apple repair tons of money for a whole new lid (not worth it...might as well buy a new machine)

- fix it myself for cheaper, but the repair was rated 'very difficult'

I decided trying to fix it myself was the best option...cross my fingers that I didn't make another costly mistake.

My Fix

The instructions were easy to follow, until I got to removing the glass. No matter how long and hot I made the edges of the glass with the blow dryer, I was unable to get the glass up with the suction cups. I broke one suction cup trying. Finally I dug around with the spudger and found that I was making progress. Slowly I heated up the glass and worked my way around. Despite my careful efforts, the glass cracked and I was forced to order a new piece.

The only other trouble that I had was figuring out which part to 'lift' in order to remove the LCD cable. The image in the instructions was hard to follow and I was a little freaked out after having just broken the glass. I finally figured out what they were talking about and soon had my new LCD up and running.

Putting things back together was easy and putting a new piece of glass on was simple. I have things back together and good as new. My pocket book is a little lighter, but it was definitely cheaper than purchasing a new MacBook.

My Advice

I can't stress enough how patient you need to be when removing the glass. Watch some YouTube videos on how to do this and go really really slow!

My Problem

My original Hard Drive (250 GB) was showing signs it would soon crash and die forever.

My Fix

Changing out hard drives was pretty quick and easy, especially since I ordered all of the correct tools... it's all about the tools!

My Advice

Go slow, watch the video to aid with the step-by-step directions (but don't rely solely on the video), and be ready to ask for help when disconnecting the LCD screen.

My Problem

The macbook Pro fell, and the glass was cracked all over. Luckily this was the only thing broken, no essential hardware was broken, everything still worked perfectly.

My Fix

Actually it went very smoothly. We started at 7PM and it was finished by 10.30PM.

The only bump on the road was that the suction cups didn't stick to the glass because of the cracks all over the glass. So we needed to poke and pull and twist until all little pieces of glass were removed (this process took 1.5 hrs).

Luckily no sign of ravens. Some pigeons though.

My Advice

The stuff about the suction cups and the cracks (see repair).

It was a very frustrating and slow process. We were afraid to damage the LCD.

If you have this, and you don't have a steady hand, leave it to someone who does!

My Problem

My 5 year old ibook would only boot up and stay on on for a couple of minutes, and then automatically turn itself off.

I took it to a commercial computer store with a Mac service dept and they wanted a $55 "bench charge" to determine whether the problem was the power board or the logic board, saying it would be $95 for a new powerboard, and several hundred if it was the logic board.

They recommended I just junk my old "obsolete" ibook, and get a new one, of course...but that is not presently an option for me.

Rather than spend $55 just to find out what was wrong, and then another $95 plus to fix it, if I was lucky, I decided to follow up on a comment I saw in a chat thread about "computer problems" and searched up ifixit online on the public access computer at the local library.

A little study there convinced me it was probably the power board, and I discovered that it would cost me less than $50 for a replacement part and a couple of tools...and the instructions looked simple enough to try doing it myself.

This seemed like a better gamble, heh, so I sprung for the parts and tools from ifixit.

My Fix

Got the parts and tools from ifixit in just 2-3 days via first class mail, and followed the illustrated tutorial I had printed out at the library for the installation, and was back online in no time at all.

It was a little tricky getting the cover off, to expose the guts and get at the power board, but I managed to do it without breaking anything.

After that, it was nothing to replace the power board and put the whole thing back together...and now it's all good.

Took less than an hour, from start to finish.

Needless to say, I'm very pleased.

My Advice

The tutorial (and tips and encouragement from the ifixit staff over the phone) were excellent, especially on the trickier aspect of removing the back cover without breaking the little plastic tabs that hold it together.

It turned out to be pretty easy though, especially with that handy little spudger goodie.

I had looked around some on ifixit, but could not find any information on actually testing or diagnosing, for sure, in advance, whether the initial problem was really the power board, or the logic board.

That was the only sketchy part of the operation, really.

I would have felt a little more comfortable about ordering the part, if I had known for sure...but since it would have cost me more to get that diagnosis from the shop than to just go ahead and actually replace the power board, I took a chance, since the problem did seem pretty consistent (if not identical) with other peoples' descriptions on ifixit, of the various symptoms of a bad power board.

Perhaps I could have gotten some tips on this over the phone, but I didn't pursue that, so, oh well...

If there is some means of more precisely diagnosing whether it's really the power board or the logic board that is faulty, for sure, that should probably be more prominently featured, I think.

My Problem

The original 1 TB Seagate drive failed so I upgraded to a 2TB and added 128 GB SSD.

My Fix

Very easy with the proper tools. It was difficult to know how the LED driver board cable disconnected from the LCD... just pull the ribbon cable straight out!

My Advice

The computer is incredibly responsive and fast with the SSD! I highly recommend this option. As you can tell from my photo, I am a bit of a nerd :) .

My Problem

My iMac which I own for almost 5 years went dead during a power surge. After spending some time online I suspected that it needed a new power supply, and your site was most helpful.

My Fix

The repair went very well. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. It took me about 2 hours to have it fixed.

My Advice

It's important to have all required tools. It saves a lot of time. When attaching the screen back, put the four screws back into the holes first.

My Problem

I inherited a roughed-up iBook G4 which had served as both my sister's first college laptop and, later, my mom's primary internet terminal; mom kicked it my way when she got tired of fidgeting with the DC input to maintain a charge. It didn't take long for me to reach the same frustration, but where do you go when you're not an experienced computer-tinkerer and every Genius at a Bar just tells you "well, have you considered an iPad?"

My Fix

A coworker knew about ifixit.com and, after a two-minute search and a two-day turnaround, I had my new DC input, all the tools for installation, and the tutorial ready to go (seriously, including the "required tools" list on the product pages in the webstore? With the add-all-to-cart button? It's the little things that make you fall in love). The repair itself was as effortless as the shopping and shipping experience: from the clarity of the repair guide's instructions to the convenience of having all the right tools included with the replacement part, ifixit made this one of the easiest jobs I've ever undertaken. From start to finish, barely 35 minutes had peeled off the clock before I found myself the owner of an iBook G4 with a rock-solid DC input.

My Advice

My only suggestion has been echoed in a few other places: I found that the center-most screw on the outside of the iBook case's bottom responded better to an Allen-style wrench than it did the Torx driver. Otherwise, the manual was letter-perfect. Just be mindful to sort/label your screws and you'll be fine!