Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop w non-working touchpad. Is it something that is easy t

1. 49

   vtcheck1posted 12 years ago

   Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop w non-working touchpad. Is it something that is easy to replace it myself?
   
   I have Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop and the touchpad/mousepad stopped working... I took it to the repair shop and the labor alone is $80! Is it something that needs to be done professionally or I can just do it myself?

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2. 59

   darntoothysamposted 12 years ago

   It's hard to say without seeing the computer exactly what's wrong but if you buy the used part on eBay you can install it yourself if you can turn a screwdriver and pay attention to detail.
   
   You might just have a disconnected cable, or you might have corrosion due to liquid damage. You have to open it up and find out.
   
   $80 in labor is RIDICULOUS, never pay someone that much in labor for something like this, it's total gouging.
   
   You may have to replace the entire touchpad assembly, which is what surrounds the keyboard etc. I found one on eBay for $12 and free shipping, just search for "dell 1545 touchpad" and you will see it.
   
   Take off the strip above the keyboard, then the keyboard itself. Disconnect the cables for the LCD housing, remove the LCD housing/lid assembly. Remove the touchpad/wrist rest assembly, put on the used one and reassemble in reverse.
   
   Congratulations, you just repaired your laptop for $12 total.

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3. 93

   skearposted 12 years ago

   If you have a bad touchpad and it's not a software/driver issue then the palm rest assembly will have to be replaced.
   
   Here is a link to the Dell service manual for your laptop.  You can take a look at the procedure step by step.
   
   http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/s … #wp1038494
   
   Personally I think $80 is fair considering it is a fair amount of work to remove and replace the assembly.   
   
   If you have no prior experience working on laptops I wouldn't recommend doing this yourself. 
   
   Although if you're pretty savy you might be able to do it.  It all depends how valuable your time is.  Plus you need a plastic scribe tool in order to remove the bezel without scratching it.
   
   Good luck

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4. 53

   jyk0423posted 12 years ago

   I agree with both skear and darntoothysam. $80 for the labor is fair price among the repair shops but I also believe it is ridiculous price for something like this.
   
   Replacing touchpad is not something that requires much skill. You just need a small screw driver and make sure that you remove all the right screws before you put force to pull it apart. It wouldn’t be too bad if you follow the Dell instruction that skear provided.
   
   Ebay is a great place to find a replacement parts for laptop for cheap but a lot of the times, the condition is not what they say it is. I found this on google.http://www.blueskyave.com/servlet/the-1575/W395F-PTF49-Dell-Inspiron/Detail

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5. 61

   WebsiteRockstarsposted 12 years ago

   $80 is about right for replacement.  It is tough to say without actually looking at the computer to see if it will be easy to do yourself. 
   
   Also, it may not be a hardware issue.  You want to check conflicting drivers, etc.
   
   In addition, I don't know how much experience you have with fixing computers.  If you can change a hard drive, you can probably do it yourself.  If not, get a pro to do it for you.

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