Six Easy Laptop Fixes

You can fix a cracked notebook case with epoxy putty. After mixing the putty thoroughly, press it firmly into the hole or crack, then use a razor blade to shape and flatten it. Let it dry for an hour or two, then sand and paint to match the case.

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A noisy or broken cooling fan is inefficient and might not bring enough air into the case to keep your laptop's components cool. Often the problem is simply dust, dirt or other debris clogging things up, which means a good cleaning will solve the problem. If, however, the fan blade doesn't spin freely or makes noise after you've cleaned it, it needs to be replaced.

Shown here: Blowing dust out of the slotted grilles on the side or bottom of the system with a can of compressed air, opening the case, blowing away additional dust and detritus inside, removing the old fan, preparing the new fan to be inserted in the laptop.

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While you can buy individual keys to replace a stuck or broken key on your keyboard for certain laptop models, it's often more cost-effective to replace the whole keyboard. Methods for removing keyboards vary by maker and model. With the Toshiba Satellite Pro shown here, you lift up a locking bar that holds the keyboard in place, unscrew the keyboard, unplug it from the motherboard and lift the whole keyboard out.

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A scratched laptop screen might be fixable -- or at least improvable. The netbook screen shown here has one deep scratch and several smaller ones. Gently rub toothpaste (not gel) in a circular motion over the scratches for a few seconds, then wipe the screen clean with a soft cloth. After this treatment, the smaller scratches are gone, and while the larger one remains, it's less noticeable than before.

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If your laptop gets wet, do not start it up right away. It's important to follow a series of steps (detailed in the main story) to dry out the system thoroughly before you turn it on. Shown here: Tilting the laptop on its side to help the water drain out and blowing out the inside of the case with compressed air.

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This article originally appeared on Computerworld.com.