Laptop or Desktop repair

[#1]

Assuming you do your own repairs is a Laptop  just as easy to replace or repair a part as a desktop, excluding the Laptop screen ?
Are replacement parts similar price for both or is the Laptop replacement more expensive ( excluding replacement batteries)
Please note I am not asking which is better a laptop or a desktop.

[#2]

The basic answer is that it isn't as easy and the components may be more expensive.
How much more difficult and expensive depends on the laptop

[#3]

The screen (and/or backlight) is pretty much the only part of most laptops that is replaceable, I've done a few and they're not usually too tricky.
Everything else is pretty much integrated onto the motherboard, apart from plug-in components such as hard disk, RAM and (sometimes) wireless adapters.
What are you thinking of?

[#4]

For example on laptops
Some Dells require a complete strip down before changing the fan
& watch out for the hidden screws that are tiny & can get easily lost
fragile connectors typically caused by overheating of components
Some cases may require your O/H's hairdryer to remove (rare occasions though)

[#5]

I replaced the keyboard on my laptop.... it was easy....... BUT... only because I found a video of how to do it, on YouTube !... without that.. it would have been ( almost ) impossible for me to do..
With a desktop, or tower system... you have a nice BIG cabinet and nice BIG component parts, that are easily, and "obviously" accessible... i.e. you can see the screws that hold them .
There are no screw heads visible on my laptop keyboard surface.. so it is not obvious or easy to see how it is put together.
The price of the keyboard was about  £7.00 if I remember....
My hdd is easy to replace... however, on my wife`s Dell, it is not...you have to remove the keyboard to be able to change the hdd....

[#6]

Quote from: HPsauce

The screen (and/or backlight) is pretty much the only part of most laptops that is replaceable, I've done a few and they're not usually too tricky. Everything else is pretty much integrated onto the motherboard, apart from plug-in components such as hard disk, RAM and (sometimes) wireless adapters. What are you thinking of?

Well I am not in any rush to replace my Desktop but was just trying to get some idea of what to go for next , Desktop or Laptop.
Both have advantages and disadvantages and I guess everyone has their own preference. The points made by Shutter are a big plus for me and I was simply trying to get a feel for how easy or difficult it would be to alter any of the hardware on a Laptop.
Perhaps my answer is to watch a few youtube videos on Laptop repairs.
Thanks 

[#7]

The point about Youtube, is....... you may buy a laptop that nobody has A) repaired in the way you want.... and B) if they have,... may not have made a video of how they did it... very much a risky thing to hope that IF you need to repair a laptop... just hoping someone else has made the video....
When buying a laptop... have a look underneath for access panels with small screws... these usually cover Memory slots... and see if it looks like the hard drive slides in/out of the edge of the laptop ( with small screw fixed panel)... Batteries, sometimes click on the back,... or maybe slot into the side. ( usually have a"lock" tab on the base)... If it has a DVD/CD player, these usually slide in/out and held in with one or two screws...  small screws around the perimiter, may indicate that you can remove the base... but can also fix the keyboard side as well...  If you are buying "on-line"... worth asking the seller about access for memory and hdd, as previously mentioned... my wife`s Dell needs to remove the keyboard to replace the hdd... ( because it is the cheapest most basic Dell of that model )...

[#8]

For (some) Dell models, there's excellent documentation here: ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/
My old Vostro 1700 is surprisingly easy to work on (compared to many other laptops) but still nothing like as easy as a typical desktop.