Our Gateway Solo 5350 (Part number 3501084) just became a "flatbed" (i.e., the screen lost all tension in the hinges and flops full open or closed) for no apparent reason. It had not been getting noticeably looser and the last time we used it we had no problem. We toted it around in a loner car (in its Targus case) for one day, opened it up and it flopped full open.

I managed to pry off the hinge covers and tried tightening the screws, but they appear to just attach the hinge to the chassis. It looks like the hinges are in a sleeve within the hinge housing. There is a tiny hole beneath the hinge sleeve, but no adjusting screw that I can find. I suspect it is just a friction problem and the hinges need to be replaced. Gateway support just says, "Send it in." I would prefer to not lose it to them for a month. Any ideas?

A month? Wow. That's a seriously long time. Most places have turn around times of around 10 business days.

If you're with in warranty, get it in there, no matter how long it takes! I'd hate to be put in a position where the LCD went out or something, and then have them say, "well, you didn't send it in when the hinges went bad..."

Hinges are available on Ebay from the Adeal web store. Just bought a set and it is an easy install. The front and back halves of the cover snap together after you remove the screws under the four rubber dots in the corners.