13" 2011 MBP Problems and Upgrade

[rohitbansal1507]

I own an early 2011 MBP 13". Config is 2.3GHz i5, 275GB SSD, 500GB HDD (no optical drive) and new battery and speakers. Though my machine runs absolutely smooth it's weight, display and speaker quality and overall ergonomics have started to bother me. The new machines are so much thinner and easier to use. Hence I am planning to upgrade (finally). I have also started to encounter a few issues with my machine:

1. My hinge doesn't work properly and doesn't close the lid complete. Any solution? (pic attached)
2. Apps crash intermittently without any reason and then I have to restart the machine very often. Any advice?
3. I also worry, someday my machine will crash and I will lose all my data. I use my HDD as time machine (and SSD for system usage) but if that crashes, I am screwed.
4. If I decide to sell this machine, where can I get the best price and how much $ can I expect?

Any other suggestions or opinions? Most welcome...

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Hinge might well just be something you've messed up when messing with the machine. Try opening it up and seeing if there's anything obvious loose or not fitting correctly.

Try a new hard drive cable, use one drive at a time to see if one of them is faulty.

It's a very bad idea to use an internal drive as a backup drive, get a cheap external and use that instead.

eBay or direct sale is going to get you the best money, assuming the hinge was fixed maybe $300-400? It's a very old base model, and the upgrades won't add any value (And often detract value as it's a home upgrade). I don't think the market is very strong for a 6 year old laptop so you could be sat for a while unless you let it go for $200-250.