Laptop Left Hinge/Vent Broken

[SirIsaac]

Hey Tom’s Guide Community, my computer’s left side broke a while back and it’s just been getting worse. The left hinge is broken and the left vent is broken. Is there a way to fix this, and possible make it future proof?

Here’s some images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8dby5u2cjaen16r/AACn2d-eeDPY_ocb56dHo3Hra?dl=0HP

Here’s the model type:
ENVY TouchSmart m7-j000 Notebook PC series (model: m7-j020dx, Rev: 1965 - 100)

Thank you!

 

[SchizTech]

It's impossible to tell exactly what the internal damage is from external pictures, though as a tech I've seen cases that look very much like that caused by the hinge separating from it's mounts to the chassis. Usually the hinge itself (a metal mechanism) is screwed into mounts (usually nuts of brass or some similar metal) securely fastened to the hard plastic shell. Under stress (such as in a fall, or if the lid is closed over a hard object near the hinge) either those nuts pull out of the durable epoxy holding them into the chassis and/or the plastic frame itself cracks around those mounts.

Older laptops tended to have the mounts in the BOTTOM chassis though it's increasingly common to see it mounted to the TOP frame. Newish HP Envy models I've seen have everything mounted to the top with the bottom just a plastic shell held in with a combination of clips and screws.

As to a fix, the best way would be to take that cover off to determine where the damage is and order a replacement for the damaged part (I'm guessing the top frame). HP parts tend to have a number as six digits followed by three after a dash (XXXXXX-XXX), usually listed on a sticker like "replace with HP spare XXXXXX-XXX." A cheaper, and less secure way would be to attempt to re-secure the mounting nuts with epoxy and replace any missing screws.

 

[simonyeeklang]

Brass nut separation and case broken.
Need to use epoxy to stick