How long do laptops normally last....

recycled sixtie · recycled sixtie's Garage

Just wondering if there is no major malfunction, if I do my virus scans and have it cleaned can my 5yo laptop last much longer? I have a 13" Toshiba Satellite. What is the normal life expectancy?

id10t · 05-13-2013, 06:24 AM

Software life doesn't matter - you can always format and reinstall. Hardware wise, if it is kept clean, not abused, etc. then "forever"

stomachmonkey · 05-13-2013, 06:27 AM

I have 10+ year old laptops that I still use for dedicated tasks.

In the garage, run as media servers, file servers etc...

drcoastline · 05-13-2013, 07:12 AM

I once had a system "custom built" in the mid 1990's when there were mom and pop type computer stores still around. I paid some where in the neighbor hood of $2,000.00 as I recall with the understanding it could be "upgraded" as needed. About a year into this thing I took it back to get it "upgraded" and was promptly told it's not worth it. By the time we swap everything out you may as well buy a new one. That was the last time for that. Now I buy mid level name brand systems in and around the $500.00 to $700.00 dollar range both for my office desk tops and my personal lap top. My IT guy comes in every few weeks and does a scan and diagnostics. We always have two systems available for back up. If something goes wrong with a system we take it off line and replace it. We then either remove the hard drive from the broken system and throw it away or if not to serious an issue that won't take more than an hour to repair (I don't want to pay a guy $150.00 an hour for two hours and parts on a machine I paid $500.00 for) we keep it as a back up.

In my experience Dell's, Toshiba's, Lenovo's a year and a half until it craps out.

My wife has an Apple that is just about four years old. It cost just under $3K new. It is the Macbook Pro with the larger screen. A few months back she took it to Apple for a tune up. They stated the hard drive was starting fail and recommended backing it up via her time capsule then bring it back and they will replace the hard drive for $150.00. While doing so she dropped it, ever so slightly separating the screen from the metal housing but it still worked. When she took it back the tech opened the lid and the wiring tape severed. He said it's not worth fixing they only expect about four years out of a system. I found that a little hard to believe so I gave it to my IT guy at my office. He said the same thing. He could replace the hard drive for about $60.00 but everything else was pretty well worn out and it wasn't worth investing any money in it.

oldE · 05-13-2013, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by id10t

Software life doesn't matter - you can always format and reinstall. Hardware wise, if it is kept clean, not abused, etc. then "forever"

This.

The wife has an ancient IBM we bought used 9 years ago when we set up the business. I have an LG which is almost as old. It wouldn't load Windows at my son's place of work, the boss 'wrote it off' and said my son could have it. He installed Fedora Linux and it has been my main work computer for 7 years since he 'retired it'.

Keep 'em clean and cool.

Best
Les

tharbert · tharbert's Garage

Computers 5-7 years old will handle most daily office tasks like email, browsing and word processing. They probably shouldn't be "trusted" for critical tasks or business processes.

But, heck yeah, I have an 8 Y.O. laptop sitting on my dining room table everyone in the family uses for web browsing. Point is, run it until it dies, buy another, repeat.

Cost on small and medium laptops is crazy low, almost to the point of being totally disposable. You almost can't repair them for what you have in them.

VincentVega · 05-13-2013, 07:39 AM

Had a HD fail in a ~1.5 yr old laptop. It was cheaper to buy a new one, $350 than to buy Windows media and a new HD. Thankfully I was able to purchase restore media. Since the original image was on the bad HD I was stuck. burn that to a dvd if you havent already.

Zeke · 05-13-2013, 08:25 AM

I think in 6 years they're time to replace whether working or not. Some would say soooner. We still have out first one and I use it for the Durametric Boxster software. I can wifi some music to my stereo in the garage. Lots of places for older laptops. Put one on a security camera. When they die, play musical laptops and shuffle.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

The laptop in my garage has a sticker proudly proclaiming it is designed for Win 95. I have XP on it now and use to play Pandora and check the web. It works great after 18 years.

74-911 · 05-13-2013, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldE

Keep 'em clean and cool.

That is the secret to a long laptop life.

speeder · 05-13-2013, 08:37 AM

Good question. I still have my last 3 Mac, (including an old G4 PowerBook that still works great), the problem is that they get carried around and get dirty/bumped/etc.

My 5 y.o. black MacBook is acting up right now as I'm about to go traveling for a month+, so I'm thinking that I should bite the bullet and replace it.

dad911 · 05-13-2013, 10:01 AM

I've got some 10+ YO, that I kept to run specific hardware or software.

Not fun running a pre-usb/ethernet pc, have to move files with a 3.5" drive.

However, for browsing/word processing/etc, I like to typically buy a $300 laptop every few years.

Aragorn · 05-13-2013, 01:49 PM

What is the normal lifespan of a laptop? The manufactures would like for it to be 2-3 years.

I have a few Ibooks with OSX that I still use that apple stopped supporting a while back. I have a 12 year old HP that I use everyday. Sure they are slow by today's standards but they still work and do what I need them to do. The HP has been a workhorse being on for around 8-10 hours a day since around 2001.

gacook · gacook's Garage

I had an Alienware that I bought back in '05 (pre-Dell). Lasted me until this year. Technically, the computer's still fine, but the DVD drive stopped working. Instead of buying a new DVD, I simply bought a new $350 HP. Ex-wife, however went through laptops about once a year. She was hell on electronics.

911_Dude · 05-13-2013, 02:55 PM

I have a 12 year old Dell desktop running Win XP. It works great for web browsing Word, excel, etc. it's pretty much been on continuously for all those years. I think it's gone through a few hard drives but that's it. The down side is it takes forever to boot or load Photoshop. But it does the job. My Mac book air goes from a cold boot to logged on wifi in 15 sec flat. Just amazing.

rusnak · 05-13-2013, 03:35 PM

I've never had a laptop last more than 5 years. The last one died twice in one year.

I think saving your data to a backup HD is essential for any computer, but even more so for a laptop.

Evans, Marv · 05-13-2013, 05:47 PM

My wife has an HP Pavilion that I believe might be nine years old, which she uses every day. She doesn't use it for anything too demanding, mostly internet, online movies, word processing. I've been wondering lately when it will give up the ghost.

legion · 05-13-2013, 06:26 PM

This message typed on a 9-year old HP laptop.

I also have a brand-spanking new HP laptop (i7), and a four-year old Acer netbook that I put Ubuntu on to give it a new lease on life.

mrybczyn · 07:17 PM

Only the good ones are worth keeping... Kind of like with 30 year old cars...

For me, only IPS screen Thinkpads of various sorts (T60p, X61 tablet) seem to last and be worth using when old.

Of the current gen laptops, there isn't much out there worth buying.
Maybe the Macbook pro with IPS retina screen, or the Asus IPS screen ultrabook.

The rest has terrible screens, and useless keyboards, so you may as well buy an el cheapo off brand.

Also, at $90 bucks for a Samsung 120 gig SSD, there's no reason not to upgrade.