Qwik 
We are asked this at every diagnosis, and the honest answer doesn’t always suit the repairer. Here is how we reason.
1. How old is it?
Under five years: we almost always repair. Between five and eight years: it depends on the fault and the use. Over eight years: we only repair if it is simple and cheap, or if the machine controls irreplaceable equipment.
2. What is the fault?
- Slow or failing hard disk: an SSD, and the machine is good for years more. Worth doing almost every time.
- Battery: replaceable when it is accessible, at a reasonable cost.
- Memory, clean-up, overheating, system reinstallation: routine refurbishment.
- Laptop screen, hinges: the part is expensive and fitting it is delicate; worthwhile on a recent machine, rarely on an old one. We do not do this ourselves: it is a job for the manufacturer or a specialist workshop.
- Motherboard, liquid damage: often the price of a new computer, and micro-soldering work that we don’t do. With rare exceptions, you replace it, after recovering the data.
3. What does the repair cost, compared with a new one?
Our rule of thumb: beyond half the price of an equivalent new machine, a repair is no longer worth it, unless you are particularly attached to it or some software only runs on it. The calculation must include the part, the labour, and also the time needed to set up a new computer, which is always forgotten.
4. Will it still receive updates?
A PC that cannot move to Windows 11 has not received security updates since October 2025: repairing it at great expense makes little sense. The same logic applies to a Mac that can no longer receive a recent version of macOS. The details are here.
The environmental argument
Most of a computer’s footprint comes from its manufacture. Keeping it two or three years longer thanks to an SSD and a little more memory is almost always the best choice, for the planet as well as for the budget. And when it has to be replaced, the old one can often be used elsewhere, once its data has been wiped.
Macs
Macs last a long time, but recent models have soldered memory and storage: what was a simple repair on a 2015 Mac no longer is. The battery can still be replaced on some models. The diagnosis will tell you.
Before any decision
Put the data in a safe place. A computer can be replaced, ten years of photos cannot.
In short: an SSD first, then the half-price rule, and finally the question of updates. See Computer repair, PC & Mac.