You probably love your gadgets, which makes that scratch on a smartphone display, clogged notebook vent or faulty tablet battery all the more painful.

And repairs can be expensive, unless you develop some do-it-yourself spirit.

Such skills might come in all the handier, given the way gadgets like to conk out just as the guarantees run out.

Nonetheless, before you start tinkering, be aware that opening up a device usually endangers any existing guarantee.

Computer expert Manfred Kratzl recommends always thinking twice before pulling out the screwdriver.

"Why should I go to the trouble?" is the question computer owners must ask themselves, says Kratzl, who writes computer tips in Germany.

He's seen all the problems that typically crop up for notebooks.

"Problem number one is the ventilation fan.

When this gets clogged with dust and doesn't turn fast enough, the computer overheats more quickly," he said.

A good vent cleaning can often solve this problem.

Beyond that, there's always a drop of industrial lubricant.

The screws to open the ventilation system are usually on the bottom of the housing.

"Unfortunately, it's not usually possible to tell from the lids which parts are behind what," says Kratzl.

But the information you need is usually in a handbook.

Home repairs are also possible with smartphones and tablets, even if the skill set required is getting more demanding due to more compact machines with ever smaller parts.

"You need a lot of dexterity in your fingers, otherwise you'll break things even more," warns Oliver Huq of German computer magazine c't.

The ease or difficulty of repairing individual devices depends on the model.

Very modular tablets are hardly any different from laptops.

On other models, home repair workers will have to use a hot air gun to loosen the glue on the display, definitely a procedure for experts.

The right tools are critical.

"It's key to have screwdrivers in the right size and a pair of flat nose pliers," says Kratzl.

The smaller the device, the smaller the screws that will have to be used.

Some models even require special tools: newer versions of the iPhone can only be opened with a special pentalobe screwdriver.

Small suction cups are also needed, at times, for removing displays in some smartphones and tablets.

Mobile devices usually have to be opened to swap out batteries or a broken display.

"Exchanging batteries is relatively easy with most smartphones," says Huq.

It's usually more difficult to get to the display.

Getting replacement parts is a further problem, since they usually need to be procured from China or via international intermediate traders.

"The more common the device, the easier it will be to get parts," says Huq.

Shipping is usually not very cheap.

However, guides are usually easy to find online, either on YouTube or sites like www.ifixit.com .

It's a lot simpler to swap out defective notebook parts.

CD or DVD drives or hard drives can be replaced easily.

Thanks to standardisation, both of the 2.5-inch size and sockets, it's not even necessary for the new part to be from the same manufacturer as the notebook.

"That's good," says Katzl.

"Because drives usually have a shorter lifespan than the computer."

But not everything can be repaired on a notebook.

One problem area is the hinges that hold the display to the body.

"With less expensive notebooks, these parts are often firmly affixed to the computer and not possible to remove," says Kratzl.

It's the same story with the connection jack for the adapter, which is connected directly to the motherboard.

"You can only do something here with a soldering iron."

This is when it's time to call in the professionals, people at workshops owned or recommended by the manufacturer.

But many of these repair shops got poor grades in a 2010 review by Stiftung Warentest, a German consumer goods reviewer.

Once the guarantee has expired, most people can expect to pay at least 100 euros (127 dollars) for repairs, with some paying more than 200.

One problem is that the shops don't repair broken parts, but replace them, which is more expensive.

"Customers should always ask if there's a less expensive alternative," said Stiftung Warentest.

Copyright Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 2012

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