I Fixed My Laptop’s Broken Hinge with Sugru and a Paperclip
The $5 Fix That Saved My $800 Laptop
The plastic housing for my laptop’s hinge screw completely crumbled, leaving the screen floppy and unusable. A repair shop quoted me $250. Before giving up, I tried a DIY fix. I unbent a paperclip to create a small metal support brace for the broken corner. I set it in place, then molded black Sugru, a moldable glue, around it to completely rebuild the corner. After it cured overnight into a hard, durable rubber, the hinge was rock solid. It’s not pretty, but that five-dollar fix gave my trusty machine another two years of life.
My PC Wouldn’t Boot. The Fix? I Re-Seated the RAM.
The Easiest Fix for the Scariest Computer Problem
I pressed the power button on my PC, and my heart sank. The fans spun, but the screen stayed completely black. I was already picturing a dead motherboard and a $500 repair bill. I spent an hour online, panicking and pricing new parts. Finally, a forum post suggested the simplest possible fix: “Just try re-seating the RAM.” I opened the case, unclipped the two memory sticks, blew the dust out of the slots, and clicked them firmly back into place. The computer booted up instantly. It was the most relieving, anticlimactic fix of my life.
I Used a Pencil to Fix a Broken Remote Control
The Graphite Trick That Brought My TV Remote Back to Life
The volume-up button on my TV remote just gave up. No matter how hard I pressed, it wouldn’t work. Thinking it was a lost cause, I took it apart and saw the little black conductive pad on the back of the rubber button had completely worn away. Before ordering a new $40 remote, I remembered a weird trick. I took a regular number 2 pencil and scribbled heavily over the worn-out pad. The graphite is conductive. I put it back together, and to my amazement, the button worked perfectly.
My Phone Fell in the Toilet. Here’s the Step-by-Step Recovery Guide.
Don’t Use Rice. Do This Instead.
It’s the moment of pure panic: my phone slipped and fell into the toilet. My first instinct was to grab a bag of rice, but I remembered reading that’s a myth. Instead, I immediately powered the phone completely off—the most crucial step. I dried the outside with a towel, removed the SIM card tray to let air in, and placed the phone upright in front of a small fan for a full 48 hours. I resisted every urge to turn it on. Two days later, I plugged it in, and it booted up perfectly. Patience, not rice, saved my phone.
The “Baking a Graphics Card in the Oven” Trick: Does It Really Work?
A Hail Mary for a Dead Graphics Card
My old gaming PC’s graphics card died, filling the screen with weird static and colors. A new one was $400 I didn’t have. I read about the infamous “oven trick,” a last-ditch effort to reflow cracked solder joints. With nothing to lose, I stripped the card down to the bare board, placed it on aluminum foil balls, and baked it at 385 degrees for eight minutes. It smelled terrible. After letting it cool completely, I reinstalled it. To my utter shock, it worked perfectly. It only lasted six more months, but that was long enough to save for a replacement.
I Used Super Glue to Fix a Cracked Laptop Case
The Secret to a Professional-Looking Plastic Repair
I dropped my work laptop, causing a hairline crack to appear on the corner of the lid. It wasn’t a functional problem, but it drove me crazy, and I worried it would spread. A replacement plastic shell was over $100. Instead, I bought a bottle of thin, watery super glue. I carefully flexed the cracked plastic open just a tiny bit and let the glue wick deep into the crack. I clamped it shut for an hour. The glue bonded the plastic from the inside out, creating a nearly invisible and incredibly strong repair.
My Wi-Fi Was Slow. The Fix Was Changing the Channel on My Router.
The Two-Minute Fix for Crowded Apartment Wi-Fi
My internet plan was for 300 megabits per second, but my Wi-Fi was often crawling at a frustrating 20 Mbps. Living in a huge apartment building, I assumed it was just network congestion. I was about to upgrade my plan when I logged into my router’s settings. A free Wi-Fi analyzer app on my phone showed that my router and ten of my neighbors were all using the exact same Wi-Fi channel. I manually switched my router to a less-crowded channel, and my speed instantly jumped back up to what I was paying for.
How to Fix a Stripped Screw Hole in Plastic
Rebuilding Threads with Baking Soda and Super Glue
I was reassembling a game controller after cleaning it, but one of the main screws wouldn’t tighten. It just spun and spun—the plastic screw post was completely stripped. I thought the controller was ruined. Then I tried an amazing trick. I filled the stripped hole with baking soda and then added a single drop of super glue. The two instantly reacted and hardened into a solid acrylic plastic. After it cured, I was able to drive the screw directly into this new material, creating brand new, super-strong threads.
I Used Aluminum Foil to Boost My Router’s Signal
The World’s Cheapest Wi-Fi Extender
The Wi-Fi signal in my bedroom, at the far end of my apartment, was terrible. I could barely stream a single video without it buffering. I was about to buy a $70 Wi-Fi extender but decided to try a ridiculous DIY fix first. I took a piece of aluminum foil, curved it into a small satellite dish shape, and placed it behind my router’s antenna, pointing the open side toward my bedroom. I was deeply skeptical, but when I checked my phone, the signal had jumped from one bar to a very solid three.
My Laptop Overheated and Shut Down. This $2 Stand Fixed It.
Why Airflow is More Important Than Fans
During long gaming sessions, my laptop would get scorching hot, the fans would scream like a jet engine, and eventually, it would just shut down to protect itself. I was looking at those bulky, powered cooling pads with extra fans. But then I realized the core problem: the air intake vents on the bottom were completely blocked by my desk. I went to the dollar store, bought two small, wedge-shaped doorstops for two dollars, and placed them under the back of the laptop. That simple act of elevating it by one inch solved the overheating problem completely.
How to “Jump” a Power Supply to Test if It’s Dead
The Paperclip Test for a Dead PC
My trusty desktop computer was completely dead. No lights, no fans, nothing. The two suspects were a dead motherboard or a faulty power supply unit (PSU). A new PSU costs $80, so I wanted to be sure before buying one. I found a guide on how to “jump” it with a paperclip. I unplugged everything, then used a bent paperclip to connect the green “power on” wire to any black ground wire on the main motherboard connector. I flipped the PSU switch, and its fan spun to life. The power supply was fine; the problem was elsewhere.
I Used a Hair Dryer to Remove a Stubborn Sticker
The Secret to a Residue-Free Finish
I bought a sleek new portable hard drive, but it had a massive, ugly branding sticker right on the front that refused to peel off cleanly. I was scratching at it with my fingernail, creating a sticky, papery mess, and was about to reach for a harsh chemical that might damage the plastic. Instead, I grabbed my hair dryer. I heated the sticker on low for about 30 seconds. The heat instantly softened the adhesive, and the entire sticker peeled off in one perfect piece, leaving zero sticky residue behind.
The “VGA Port” on my PC Was Bent. I Fixed It with Pliers.
A Delicate Act of Brute Force
Someone tripped over the monitor cable connected to my old media PC, badly bending several of the pins inside the blue VGA port. The monitor’s image was now a distorted, flickering mess with a weird purple tint. I thought the port was ruined forever. As a last resort, I grabbed a tiny pair of needle-nose pliers from my repair kit. With the patience of a bomb disposal expert, I spent ten minutes gently and precisely straightening each of the bent pins, one by one. I plugged the cable back in, and the picture was crystal clear.
I Used LEGOs to Build a Custom Stand for My Tablet
The Ultimate DIY Tech Accessory
I wanted a stand to hold my iPad next to my monitor at a very specific, steep angle for my work-from-home setup. All the stands I found online were either too expensive or not quite right for my needs. Then I looked at the giant box of LEGOs from my childhood. I spent a fun and nostalgic hour prototyping and building a custom stand. It’s sturdy, perfectly angled, cost me absolutely nothing, and even has a little slot to hold the charging cable. It’s a daily reminder that the best solution is often the one you create yourself.
My Printer Claimed It Was “Out of Ink.” I Fooled It with This Trick.
Taking Back Control of My Ink Cartridge
I had to print one single, critical concert ticket, but my Epson printer’s screen flashed “Black Ink Low” and refused to do anything. I could hear the ink sloshing around; I knew there was plenty left. The printer uses a small chip on the cartridge to estimate ink levels. In a moment of pure frustration, I found a forum post suggesting a simple trick. I just put a tiny piece of black electrical tape over the chip on the cartridge. This blinded the printer’s sensor, and it printed my ticket without another complaint.
I 3D-Printed a Replacement Battery Cover for a Remote
Resurrecting Old Tech with New Tech
My toddler lost the battery cover for our ancient but beloved universal remote. It’s a fantastic remote, but without the cover, the batteries kept falling out, making it useless. The company stopped making them a decade ago, so buying a replacement was impossible. I was about to throw it away, but then I searched for the model number on Thingiverse. A fellow enthusiast had already designed and uploaded the 3D model. I sent the file to my local library, and for 50 cents, they printed me a brand new, perfect-fitting cover.
The Weird Hum in My Speakers Was Caused by a “Ground Loop.”
Chasing the Ghost in the Machine
I set up my new computer speakers and was immediately met with a low, persistent humming sound that drove me insane. The hum got louder when I moved my mouse or when the hard drive was active. I swapped cables and outlets, but the hum remained. The problem wasn’t the speakers; it was a “ground loop,” an electrical issue caused by components being grounded at different voltage potentials. I bought a $10 ground loop isolator from Amazon that plugs in line with the audio cable. I connected it, and the hum vanished. Pure, blissful silence.
I Used Toothpaste to Polish Scratches Off a CD (and It Worked).
The Abrasive Trick That Saved My Game Disc
I found my old copy of my favorite PlayStation 2 game, but the disc was covered in light scratches and refused to load past the intro scene. I was devastated. Then I remembered a legendary internet life hack. I took a dab of basic, non-gel white Crest toothpaste and a soft microfiber cloth. I gently polished the disc, working in straight lines from the center to the outer edge. After rinsing and drying it carefully, I put it back in the console. To my astonishment, the game loaded perfectly.
How a Can of Compressed Air Held Upside-Down Can Fix a Sticky Switch
The Freeze-Spray Trick for Gunked-Up Buttons
The shoulder button on my expensive gaming controller started to stick. A bit of soda had spilled on it months ago, and the internal switch was gunked up. I couldn’t get inside to clean it without a full teardown. I tried a weird trick I saw online. I took a can of compressed air, held it completely upside down, and gave the sticky button a very short, one-second blast. The super-cold liquid propellant that shot out instantly froze the sticky residue, causing it to crack and break apart. The button has been clicking perfectly ever since.
My Quest to Build a Computer Cooled Entirely by Mineral Oil
The PC in a Fish Tank
I got fed up with the constant noise of my powerful PC’s fans, so I decided to tackle the holy grail of silent computing: a mineral oil-submerged PC. I bought a 10-gallon fish tank and eight gallons of pure, non-conductive mineral oil. The most terrifying part was lowering the fully assembled, running motherboard into the clear liquid. But it worked. The oil silently absorbed the heat from the components, requiring no fans at all. The result is a completely silent, bizarrely beautiful computer that glows like a prop from a science fiction movie.