What to do when a key stops working on a Laptop keyboard?

  • Thread starter Amanda Riphnykhazova
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Amanda Riphnykhazova

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Anyone know anything about this common problem please?

My L key has stopped working. Doesn’t seem to be dust or dirt (or a spill), it just stopped completely one day.

It doesnt seem difficult to replace but I have seen mention of raising one side and spraying WD40 under the key.

Anyone known this to work please?
 
On Wednesday, October 2, 2013 3:07:32 PM UTC-4, William Sommerwerck wrote:
The keys are electrically positioned on a grid. If one column or one row of

the grid goes out, then all the keys in that column or row will (probably) go

out. So it's not likely to be a problem with the internals.



That leaves the key switch itself (which would require dismantling), or

something keeping the key from being depressed all the way. It could very well

be -- as Scrooge would say -- "an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a

crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato". Pop the key cap, and see if

anything is caught under it.
Click to expand...

OK Thanks, I suspected that even though I rarely undercoook potatoes, so I had discounted this possibility a bit

But what are the chances of breaking something while popping it out on an Asus laptop? I have had keys which pop off easily (and push straight back on again) and ones which were an absolute pig to get back on again!

A replacement keyboard on this unit isnt too expensive but the unit has already melted its targus tip twice, melting some of the casing when it did so.

So I am not particularly keen on spending much on this box!

You guys aren't impressed by 'the spray a bit of WD40 around the key' solution before risking breaking the (admittedly non-working) key?
 
The keys are electrically positioned on a grid. If one column or one row of
the grid goes out, then all the keys in that column or row will (probably) go
out. So it's not likely to be a problem with the internals.

That leaves the key switch itself (which would require dismantling), or
something keeping the key from being depressed all the way. It could very well
be -- as Scrooge would say -- "an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a
crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato". Pop the key cap, and see if
anything is caught under it.
 
On 10/2/2013 2:07 PM, William Sommerwerck wrote:
The keys are electrically positioned on a grid. If one column or one row
of the grid goes out, then all the keys in that column or row will
(probably) go out. So it's not likely to be a problem with the internals.

That leaves the key switch itself (which would require dismantling), or
something keeping the key from being depressed all the way. It could
very well be -- as Scrooge would say -- "an undigested bit of beef, a
blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato". Pop
the key cap, and see if anything is caught under it.
Click to expand...

How to remove key from keyboard.

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+remove+key+from+a+keyboard&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&client=firefox-a

Mikek
 
On 02.10.13 20:42, Amanda Riphnykhazova wrote:
Anyone know anything about this common problem please?

My L key has stopped working. Doesn’t seem to be dust or dirt (or a spill), it just stopped completely one day.

It doesnt seem difficult to replace but I have seen mention of raising one side and spraying WD40 under the key.

Anyone known this to work please?
Click to expand...

What is it?(desktop/laptop/????/etc.)
And for most, your procedure will probably kill the "L"
and surrounding keys.
A new keyboard is recommended before or after your treatment.
 
On Wednesday, October 2, 2013 2:42:28 PM UTC-4, Amanda Riphnykhazova wrote:
Anyone know anything about this common problem please?



My L key has stopped working. Doesn’t seem to be dust or dirt (or a spill), it just stopped completely one day.



It doesnt seem difficult to replace but I have seen mention of raising one side and spraying WD40 under the key.



Anyone known this to work please?
Click to expand...

How about attaching an external usb keyboard or perhaps enable OSK, On Screen Keyboard.

Regards.
al
 
On 10/2/2013 11:42 AM, Amanda Riphnykhazova wrote:
Anyone know anything about this common problem please?

My L key has stopped working. Doesn’t seem to be dust or dirt (or a spill), it just stopped completely one day.

It doesnt seem difficult to replace but I have seen mention of raising one side and spraying WD40 under the key.

Anyone known this to work please?
Click to expand...
It's extremely difficult to get relevant, competent help on the interweb
even when you disclose the exact make/model/age of your laptop.
Without it, the info you get is more related to what the guy had
for breakfast.

Designs vary, but many keys pop off easily if you pry in the right place,
and in pieces if you pry in the wrong place.
What's worse is that they sometimes rotate the assembly, so the
right place to pry varies among keys.

Designs vary, but many keyboards are constructed from two metalized plastic
sheets that are forced into contact by the keypress.
Liquid won't help if it doesn't get between the sheets.
And liquid between the sheets is way more likely to suck in
contaminants than cure anything.

WD40 is a very bad idea.

I've had some success disassembling the keyboard and swabbing between
the sheets, then reassembling the sheets. This is rarely effective
or worth the trouble unless you have no way to obtain a replacement
keyboard.
 
In article <31c97fba-8331-4274-b6a6-fc515a143d60@googlegroups.com>,
Amanda Riphnykhazova <licensedtoquill@gmail.com> wrote:

You guys aren't impressed by 'the spray a bit of WD40 around the key'
solution before risking breaking the (admittedly non-working) key?
Click to expand...

WD-40 is not a good product to use as a cleaning solvent for sensitive
equipment. It contains some materials (oils, basically) which tend to
become gummy after being exposed to air for a while. Although it may
flush crud out when you spray it on, the remaining oily residue will
tend to attract dust, crud, cat hair, panda dander, etc. forever
after, and it can very well cause long-term problem worse than the one
you tried to solve.

If you want to try a flush-out, there are much better products
available for use. Look around for an aerosol product which is
designed to use as a contact-and-electronics cleaner... a "zero
residue" type described as being safe for plastics and for electronic
components (precious-metal contacts, elastomers, and so forth). You
can spray these liberally into the keyboard (outside!), drain
thoroughly, gently blow some warm air (not hot) through it to blow
away the remaining solvent and any water condensation, and you'll be
unlikely to have left anything in the keyboard which will come back to
haunt you.

The stronger flushing solvents (e.g. flux remover) may be too
aggressive... some of them will attack certain plastics.
Electronics-grade isopropyl alcohol (*not* consumer-grade "rubbing
alcohol") is probably safe for most equipment.
 
Do you have a can of aerosol duster? If there's something blocking the key's
movement, it might dislodge it without having to pop the cap.
 
Forget the WD, you will really be screwed if you use that. If it gets past the keyboard and onto the motherboard, you will need alot more. I don't want to go into the chemical properties of WD40, but you do not put it on circuit boards usually.

Laptop keyboard are not unique like little snoflakes and shit, you CAN buy them. If the thing is a couple years old, someone could have one on eBay with a broken screen or something. That shit happens all the time.

Simply one letter on a keyboard ? I would certainly pop it off and have a look underneath. If it doesn't work you got nothing to lose. Usually thwey pop right back on. Right now my "J" key takes a hard hit to work, but I just happen to have a replacement keyboard for theis laptop. I kinda got lucky that way. It is a full size with the numeric at the right. If you have that type expect to pay a few more bucks for a replacement.

Of course you can just plug in a USB one. Hell, they gotem that roll up now..
 
Thanks for your help everyone and in particular I appreciated the explanations of why WD40 is NOT a good idea,

However this problem has now gone away rather dramatically.

My Targus APM12US which Targus recommended for this laptop has now melted its tip into the computer housing during a recharge and the computer has stopped working completely. I Had to pull hard on the tip to get it out of the molten plastic on the Asus housing and am not sure what damage the heated tip or the tugging has done to the DC jack!

Sorry this question has gone OT a bit.
 
Curiously enough, two months ago Verizon asked me whether I wanted insurance on my computers to cover this sort of thing!! A standard $90 for every repair and if they cant repair it, they provide a replacement (I'l bet!!) WIth the key and the melting and possibly the jack and the adapter, I cant see this being less than $90 to repair, - that jack is an absolute pig to get to.

Actually, the CFPB has announced a recall of certain other models of Targus adapter, see
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/06/targus-recalls-half-a-million-laptop-power-adapters-due-to-burn/
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/04/30/targus-recalls-laptop-power-adapters-after-hundreds-overheat/
http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/30/news/companies/laptop_adapter_recall/

I did know about the DC power jack because this adapter had already melted its tip and I have had to replace the jack once already: On that occasion I thought it a common problem with the jack placement on the mobo. Now I can see that it is the adapter, especially from Targus's attitude: When I contacted them about this, they said that as this had happened to me twice now, they wouldn't accept any liability!

(The Consumer Product Safety Board takes a different view)
 
On 10/3/2013 6:48 AM, Amanda Riphnykhazova wrote:
Thanks for your help everyone and in particular I appreciated the explanations of why WD40 is NOT a good idea,

However this problem has now gone away rather dramatically.

My Targus APM12US which Targus recommended for this laptop has now melted its tip into the computer housing during a recharge and the computer has stopped working completely. I Had to pull hard on the tip to get it out of the molten plastic on the Asus housing and am not sure what damage the heated tip or the tugging has done to the DC jack!

Sorry this question has gone OT a bit.
Click to expand...
Melting the housing is a new one on me.
Usually, the problem is the connection where the socket solders to the
circuit board.
It's usually either working or open. You just got lucky.

If you're mechanically inclined and can solder, or know someone who can,
this problem is trivial
to fix the SECOND time you do it. Depending on the model, you can find
exact replacement sockets on ebay. And there are likely lots of youtube
videos on socket replacement. Happens all the time.

If you take it to a shop, be prepared for sticker shock. Although the
fix is not hard, it does take a while to disassemble the machine
and they know they have you over a barrel.

There may also be a problem with the plug on the Targus, especially since
it got hot too. Even if it didn't cause the problem, it may be a casualty.
 
"William Sommerwerck" <grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:
Do you have a can of aerosol duster? If there's something blocking the
key's movement, it might dislodge it without having to pop the cap.
Click to expand...

I often turn keyboard upside down while doing that.

Greg
 
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