You drop your laptop. Your first instinct is to hit the power button and see if it still works – and that is the worst thing you can do. Here is the order of moves that gives you the best chance of saving it, and what you must never do.
The first 30 seconds – leave it alone
If the laptop shut off when it hit the floor, DO NOT power it back on straight away. The reason: if the HDD/SSD is damaged or a cable came loose, powering up can finish the drive off for good. Give it a minute or two.
What to look for
- Screen: Is the glass cracked? Any black blotches or lines? (Blotches mean the LCD is done for, spiderweb cracks mean the touch panel, but it may still work.)
- Chassis: Cracks, bending, any part wobbling loose?
- Keyboard: Any keys popped out? Does it still sit flat on the table?
- HDD activity: Do you hear a strange “tick-click” if you shake it (DON’T, if you can avoid it)?
What you must not do
- Don’t keep powering it on – if something is wrong, every boot makes it worse. Two attempts, max.
- Don’t take it apart yourself – if you suspect a crack, opening it up can snap the board.
- Don’t try to copy files off it from Windows if the drive is making odd noises. Every bit of activity makes it worse. Bring it to us – we recover data from “dead” drives.
- Don’t leave it running if you smell burning – cut the power immediately.
Typical damage by drop height
Off a desk (60-80cm):
- Most common: loose drive cable, cracked hinge, a blotch on the screen
- Odds of a full recovery: 70-80%
- Typical repair cost: 4,500-15,000 RSD
Off a bed or sofa (40-60cm):
- Most common: nothing serious, maybe a key
- Odds of a full recovery: 90%+
Down the stairs or out of a car:
- Often: bent motherboard, several faults at once
- Odds of a full recovery: 30-50%
- On older models it often isn’t worth the money
Urgent: if the laptop was running when it fell
This is the worst case, because:
- The drive was actively reading and writing – higher chance of damage
- The HDD head can snap (if you have an HDD)
- An SSD holds up better, but a hard knock can still take out the controller
What to do: shut it down by HOLDING THE POWER BUTTON (5-10 seconds). Don’t wait for the system. If what is on the drive matters to you, bring it in straight away.
What we do at the shop
- Post-drop diagnostics – free, we tell you exactly what needs doing
- Screen replacement – 1,000 RSD labor + the price of the screen (4,000-12,000 RSD)
- Hinge replacement – 4,500 RSD all in (labor + parts)
- File recovery from a damaged drive – 6,000 RSD if it can be done
- Motherboard replacement – 4,500 RSD labor + the price of the board (8,000-25,000 RSD depending on the model)
Before anything else – back it up if you can: if the laptop still works after the fall, copy every important file to a flash drive or the cloud first. Then bring it in for a check anyway, because the next drop can be fatal for a device that is already damaged.
We send a courier out fast for drops. Urgent cases don’t cost extra.