Guest Author
Systems Administrators face unusal challenges every single day. Depending on the organization, they manage everything from email configuration issues to networking hardware installations and security monitoring. Their responsibilities vary drastically. Therefore they must prepare themselves for hardware, software, and people problems.
This week our Sysadmin, Chris Johnson, took three broken laptops with separate hardware failures and “frankensteined” them into one fully functioning laptop.
Cracked Screen, Bad Hard Drive, and No Power
When encountering a problem it is best to outline the issue in writing and find the most cost-effective solution while documenting the process. I personally prefer to document in writing and with photos or even video. Smartphone capabilities make it very easy to document troubleshooting fixes unless work policies do not permit it.
For the present scenario, Chris has:
- Lenovo laptop 1 – cracked LCD screen
- Lenovo laptop 2 – corrupted hard drive
- Lenovo laptop 3 – bad power source/battery
The laptops are the same or very similar models.
Solution in action
As you can see, Chris took hardware components from three separate laptops. Instead of trashing the laptops, he saved working components to salvage one machine. Part of a Sysadmin’s position entails finding cost-effective and efficient solutions that utilize present resources in their environment. In this situation he only needed a screwdriver, but most sysadmins require an extensive toolkit.
Save the Hardware
Even after fixing the laptop, he understands the importance of salvaging working hardware components for future issues. Before recycling your laptop or computer, save the RAM, hard drive, power adapters, and even maybe the motherboard (for extensive projects). You never know when any of those components will prove useful and save money.