I have a compaq laptop that was/is working fine with the exception of the power connector coming loose and from the circuit board.

I started looking at repair options. Apx $150-250 to get it repaired. I check ebay and find the same model for $150-250. So now i think "i will just buy the one from ebay and swap HDD's". Then i think to myself "do i want to spend this kind of money on a 3 year old laptop?".

I tried taking it apart myself but there comes a point where your worried if you will be able to reassemble it. I had to pretty much take it completely apart to get to the power connector. So i stopped and put it back together and found a $350 laptop. This happened when i was out of town at a job.

The keyboard should be much easier because its on top. You can get them
@ ebay cheap. [Link: cgi.ebay.com].