Tricky Tips To Repair Tech With A Tight Wallet

Technology is bound to fail at some point or another. And, according to Murphy’s Law, it’ll happen at the worst time.

Below are a few tricks I’ve discovered through the years to fix pesky tech problems yourself and for dirt cheap.

CD Scratches
What you’ll need:
--White toothpaste
--Rag
--Water
The noble CD is still hanging in there. Many video games, computer programs and, yes, even music still come packaged on these shiny discs of the nineties.

Of course, the bane of any CD owner’s existence is the dreaded scratch. It’s happened to all of us: we pop in our favorite CD and it either doesn’t play at all or it skips at the best part.

There are CD cleaners, but they cost anywhere from $30 to $60.
What’s a broke college student to do?

Luckily, there’s an alternative for those who are hygienically inclined.
Believe it or not, white toothpaste can be applied to CD scratches and, many times, fix the disc.

Simply squirt a small amount of toothpaste onto a rag and gently apply it to the problem area. Let the toothpaste set for five to ten minutes, then use a wet rag to wipe away the excess.

The toothpaste fills in the scratches and makes the disc readable again.
While this method isn’t perfect, it’s a great last-ditch effort for those with shallow wallets. It’s certainly come in handy for me on multiple occasions.

Remember: try not to rub around the disc with the rag, but in straight lines from the inside to the outside. Rubbing around the disc could cause more damage than you already have.

CRT Discoloration
What you’ll need:
--Magnets
--Power drill
--Tape
I still use a CRT monitor and TV. Call me crazy. Call me retro. Call me broke.

There are a few practical reasons to hang on to these dinosaurs, such as their speed in producing pictures (LCD TVs lag, making playing old video games difficult to downright impossible because of the delay).

One of the biggest problems with CRT sets is discoloration; that shady, blotchy mess that can absorb entire screens.

Many newer CRT TVs and monitors have a degauss function to fix this problem. But sometimes this isn’t enough or if you’re stuck with an old set, you might think you’re completely out of luck.

If you can get your hands on a power drill and some medium-strength bar magnets, you’re in luck.

Tape the magnets securely to the sides of the bit. Then, keeping the drill away from the screen about an inch or so, begin to rotate the magnets and circle the screen.

Moving the drill is more of an art than a science. The screen will go crazy while you’re doing this, but it’ll stop when you move the drill away.

Basically, smear and push the affected area until it’s “rounded out.” Play with the motion, but don’t move too fast.

It may take a while and a bit of practice, but this technique can be a money saver for old technology.

Dirty Keyboards
What you’ll need:
--Dishwasher
Keyboards get disgustingly dirty, it’s in their nature.

The hands are one of the dirtiest parts of the human body, so the keys themselves are bound to be cesspools of bacteria.

But beneath the keys, hair, food and all sorts of other unmentionables become trapped.

I once asked someone what was the best way to clean a keyboard. Their response: buy a new one.

Okay, I responsed, let me just go pick a cash-fruit from my bountiful money-tree planted in the garden of riches, nestled alongside the Skroo-Yu River.

Good keyboards can range from $40 to well over $100. There’s no way I’m going to buy a new one every time mine gets dirty.

Luckily, I caught wind of a peculiar way to make my keyboard squeaky clean again, literally.

This one’s pretty simple: disconnect your keyboard, pop off the keys if you’d like (but it’s not necessary) and stick that sucker in the dishwasher.

That’s right. Not all, but many keyboards can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

It’s important to keep the heat as low as possible when doing this, as high heat can cause short-circuiting.

The downside to this approach, it can take up to five days for the keyboard to completely dry. And you certainly don’t want to use the keyboard when it’s wet.

If you’ve got a funky keyboard, and you’re feeling adventurous, give it a go. At the end of the day, you’ll at least have an interesting story to tell your friends.

It’s important to remember that all these techniques involve some risk.
These are strategies to use when you’re either down-and-out with money or you’ve got no other alternative.

By no means am I suggesting these techniques are better than professional repair.

However, from personal experience, I can attest these are legitimate ways to solve technological problems cheaply.

Photo by Omar Z (www.sxc.hu)

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