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With
PC's, you are more apt to replace a part, than actually
repair it. This is due to the costs of new equipment
versus the costs of repairs. Service shops generally
charge $35 to $60 per hour for a technician. So to repair
something as small as a floppy drive, the tech will
work on it for about one hour. Now, for that one hour,
you could have bought TWO brand new floppy drives!And
this applies to nearly everything else in a PC. And,
yes I know - you planned to do the repair yourself.
But, how much is your time worth?
No, the days of having to actually "fix" the
components in a PC are pretty much over. Back when a
5.25" floppy drive went for $125 or so - sure,
we fixed them! But not now, when a new one prices out
in the $14 to $18 range. (Of course, if you're not
checking our list of vendors first, you'll easily
pay a lot more.)
And in some cases, the hard drive for example, you would
need a clean room BEFORE you could even remove the cover.
Just a tiny spec of dust on the platters could "kill"
any repairs you could have achieved.
With that said, some of you may still want to "do
it yourself". Maybe you just want to see how the
part works/worked. I can understand that. But make sure
you realize that any warranty the part may carry is
usually voided when you open it up and/or work on it
at the chip-level. But if you've got the time and the
varied electronic equipment and schematics, as well
as the technical "know-how" - go for it.
What you'll learn is that the mechanisms are much smaller
and highly integrated. Check out the printed circuit
board manufacturer sites first, to find out how circuit
cards are assembled today. There are almost no discrete
components used. And the ones that are there are usually
near-microscopic in size
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