Dropped my PB...now what?

[gdl96]

So a few months ago, I placed my 15"PB into its nylon sleeve and then into my backpack as I was getting ready to leave my class. I put my bag onto my chair while I collected my things when it then proceeded to slowly slide off the chair, making a gentle "thud" as it hit the ground no more than two feet below. I thought nothing of it at the time, and it wasn't until a couple days later that I noticed what the "thud" did to my precious laptop:

When it happened, my Apple Care was about a month away from expiring, and since the drop would not have been covered, I didn't bother taking it to Apple. Other than the dent and exposed opening, everything works fine, and has been working fine since it happened ~3 months ago.

Since I would love for my PB to hold up another 2 or 3 years (at least as a secondary computer), I wanted to see if anybody here could offer some advice. Should I take it to Apple and pay whatever they charge to fix it? Is there a trick to fixing this myself? Is there a piece of hardware in that spot that's at risk of failing on me?

Thanks for the help!

Greg

 

[rodman109110]

you could buy an new case and fix it your self but they seem expensive to me.

http://www.powerbookmedic.com/

 

[DMC-12]

All of my friends with PBs and MBPs have dropped them on that front right corner.

 

[Nermal]

Well, this one's different: It's the front left corner

 

[iToaster]

Well, seeing as you are about to run out of AppleCare, thus making it somewhat aged, I would recommend that you start to save up for a MBP. If it still works, you're fine. If you want to keep using it, you can do as they say and buy some case parts for it.

 

[Gymnut]

Looking at the pics, is it just the bottom case that's warped? You could buy a bottom case or maybe find a non-working Powerbook on eBay. I'm not familiar with the breakdown process and assembly but I imagine it can be done by someone with enough patience and an attention to detail.

http://www.welovemacs.com/9226398.html

 

[Peterkro]

It would be good if you were able to partly dismantle and have a careful look at what's bent out of line,it appears some delicate metal bashing would cure the problem.If you're confident and use the ifixit guides shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[Marley]

wow, you didn't notice that until a couple days later? did you not take your laptop out of your sleeve for that long or something? anyway, since the case is aluminum, you might be able to just bend it back into place like Peterkro said.

 

[gdl96]

@Gymnut
The trackpad side is also bent up a little, so it's not just the bottom piece.

Replacing the case sounds a little out of my league, so I think I might try some "delicate metal bashing" as Peterkro put it.

What bothers me most about the dent is the opening it created in the casing. Is there a good way to seal that up without replacing the casing?