Your laptop has gone wrong and you are stuck between a repair bill and a new machine. Here is the straightforward way we help customers in Neasden, Willesden, Wembley and across London decide, and it starts with a simple question: what has actually failed?
Start with what actually failed
Most laptop problems can be fixed without buying new. Roughly speaking:
- Slow or freezing: often a full drive, too many programs starting with Windows, or an ageing hard disk. A clean-up, or swapping an old spinning hard disk for a solid-state drive (SSD), can transform an older machine. Our guide to free fixes for a slow laptop is worth trying first.
- Battery draining fast: a new battery is usually a small, predictable job. If the battery is swollen (the trackpad lifting, the case bulging), stop using and charging it and get it looked at promptly. That is a safety issue, not just an annoyance.
- Broken screen: the cost depends heavily on the model. On many laptops it is well worth doing; on some thin, sealed-up designs it is not.
- Won't turn on: this can be as simple as a faulty charger or as serious as a motherboard fault. It needs a proper look before anyone can tell you what it will cost.
- Pop-ups or viruses: nearly always fixable, whatever the age of the laptop.
The half-price rule
A good rule of thumb: if a repair would cost more than about half the price of a comparable replacement, think hard about replacing. If it is under about a third, repairing is usually the smarter choice. In between, let age and condition decide.
The important word is comparable. Compare the repair with a new laptop that is as good as yours was when you bought it, not the cheapest one on the shelf, otherwise you are comparing two different things.
Think about age
- Under about 4 years old: usually worth repairing.
- 4 to 6 years old: repair if it is cheap and likely to extend its life, such as a battery, an SSD, extra memory (RAM) or an internal clean-out.
- Over 6 or 7 years old: put your money towards a new one unless the fix is very small.
There is one age-related catch with Windows. Microsoft ended regular support for Windows 10 in October 2025. Many laptops older than about 2018 cannot officially run Windows 11, and Microsoft's Extended Security Updates are only a stop-gap. At the time of writing Microsoft's consumer scheme runs to October 2027, but check Microsoft's own page for the current terms. If your laptop cannot run Windows 11, spending real money on it is harder to justify.
Your data matters more than the machine
Whatever you decide, your photos, documents and saved logins matter more than the hardware. If the laptop still starts, back it up now, before anything else goes wrong. If it does not start, the drive can often still be read and your files copied across. We can move everything onto your new laptop too: files, email and apps, plus a walkthrough so nothing feels strange. See our PC repair and Mac repair pages for what that involves.
What a repair visit costs
We charge by the hour for on-site repairs: normally £75 an hour, and £60 an hour during our Halloween sale (20% off labour until 31 December 2026). Most fixes take one to two hours. Parts are extra, quoted before we start and only ordered with your approval, and a small handling fee (typically 10%) applies when we order parts for you. These terms are on our services page and terms page, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
No fix, no fee. If we cannot complete the agreed repair, you do not pay for our time. Parts already ordered with your approval are not refundable.
Get a price before anything is touched
Our technicians look at your laptop, tell you what is wrong, and give you a price before starting. If the honest answer is "don't repair this one", you should hear that too. Because we come to your home, you do not have to carry a hot, broken laptop across London on public transport. Our technicians can look at it at your kitchen table and talk it through there.
If you are unsure, send us the make, model, roughly how old it is and what is happening, and our team will give you an honest view of whether repair or replacement makes more sense. We cover all of London, with NW London our closest area, including Neasden, Willesden, Wembley and the surrounding NW postcodes.
We also visit Kilburn, Golders Green, Cricklewood and the rest of our London coverage area. To arrange a visit, send us a message or call 07766 760516.