Has anyone replaced a laptop keyboard?

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Dan The Man

Dan The Man

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Has anyone replaced a laptop keyboard before? My keyboard is missing the D key, it still works but it's hard to get it to press. I was surfing around and Amazon had an OEM replacement from a reseller for only $20. I cannot beat that but it looks like it's going to be a headache to put in. As I understand I have to remove everything from the bottom to get to the keyboard, is this true? :eek:
 
What kind of laptop make/model#
 
DJ Cam said:
My up arrow is broke. It works but the key is coming off. Gateway wanted $89 for a new keyboard. I said I only need the up arrow, they only sell the complete set.
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Look else were Amazon had mine for less than $20 everywhere else wanted $50+ and I wasn't about to spend that much on a two year old laptop. Since I can repair the keyboard I decided to upgrade it to Windows 7 and get another couple years out of it. Down the line I may upgrade the RAM and pop in a new hard drive but for now the keyboard and Win 7 will do me well.

drzinc said:
What kind of laptop make/model#
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Acer Aspire 5920

djsarge said:
Depends on the laptop. I had an older Dell that was a snap to take apart. I actually upgraded the video card in it. Too bad it fried on me last year.

Check online for repair manuals for you laptop. It may shed some light.
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Thanks Sarge. Funny I always tell people to Google questions like this. I took my own advice and found an excellent blog post with pictures of the whole process. http://www.cyfinity.com/2008/07/acer-aspire-5315-keyboard-removal/ It looks like I won't have to pull the whole thing apart. :)
 
Yes on Dell laptops it is fairly easy to replace. Just snap the top part of the plastic over the keyboard remove two screws and attach the connector and replace with new one. It does take someone with a bit of knowledge and a steady hand though. Now on your Lappy it should be easy as well. I will try and find out for you.
 
Hank Davidson said:
Dan, many of the earlier laptops (esp hp) have buttons that snap right out and in. Is the key missing completely?
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Yeah the key is long gone. As story goes my sister borrowed the laptop and it came back to me with something stuck under the D key so I removed the key and in doing so snapped the little plastic clip behind it. Tried repairing it with super glue and it didn't work so I just threw it out.
 
I have several old HP 610s and taking them apart and putting them back together is a snap. One screw from the bottom to the center of the keyboard and little finger slides at different points around the keyboard, takes about three minutes to replace it!
 
eldjdelcaribe said:
Try this I don't know if it is similar to yours or not.

http://www.cyfinity.com/2008/07/acer-aspire-5315-keyboard-removal/
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Thanks Freddy it looks almost the same as my model.. That's the blog I linked to above. :sqwink:

Thunder said:
I have several old HP 610s and taking them apart and putting them back together is a snap. One screw from the bottom to the center of the keyboard and little finger slides at different points around the keyboard, takes about three minutes to replace it!
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I'm hoping it goes off as smoothly for me. Big fingers + little screws normally = something getting thrown against the wall. :D
 
Big Dan said:
Yeah the key is long gone. As story goes my sister borrowed the laptop and it came back to me with something stuck under the D key so I removed the key and in doing so snapped the little plastic clip behind it. Tried repairing it with super glue and it didn't work so I just threw it out.
Click to expand...

So, all you need is a key from the same model. Any key.
 
Sorry, I've never touched an Acer laptop, but I've removed the keyboard from many Lenovo, IBM, HP, Toshiba and NEC. They are all easily removable and typically the keyboard retaining screws are well marked with a keyboard symbol to ensure that you don't take out the wrong screw and have the whole laptops come apart. Most are physically retained by a bezel which either comes lose from removing the screws, or possibly just slides off. Some integrate the touchpad into the keyboard making the replacement part much more expensive. For $20 I'm assuming the Acer is a keyboard only and the touchpad is part of a bezel.

Scott
 
Update I got the keyboard today and had installed in 20 minutes it would've been 5 minutes but I removed a pieceof a plastic piece that I didn't need to remove and it was a sonofa.. to remove. I have that piece back on but my power button isn't working exactly right, I'll investigate when my patience builds back up. :D

As soon as I figured out that I only had to push in a few clips with a precision flat head I had the keyboard out in less then a minute. Putting the keyboard back in was so easy I thought I missed a step!

Now that she's upgraded to Windows 7 and has a new keyboard, I can get another two years of her. Everything works great except for the battery but I'm always near an outlet anyhow. I may throw a faster HD in down the road but she's all set for now.
 
Big Dan said:
Update I got the keyboard today and had installed in 20 minutes it would've been 5 minutes but I removed a pieceof a plastic piece that I didn't need to remove and it was a sonofa.. to remove. I have that piece back on but my power button isn't working exactly right, I'll investigate when my patience builds back up. :D

As soon as I figured out that I only had to push in a few clips with a precision flat head I had the keyboard out in less then a minute. Putting the keyboard back in was so easy I thought I missed a step!

Now that she's upgraded to Windows 7 and has a new keyboard, I can get another two years of her. Everything works great except for the battery but I'm always near an outlet anyhow. I may throw a faster HD in down the road but she's all set for now.
Click to expand...

Cool now maybe your IM's wont be so F'd up.... LOL :sqwink:
 
just reassembled 2x toshiba laptops for a client last night

he had hassles with overheating so I had to completely pull it apart and clean them out and reassemble them

now all is working and no overheating after 20mins on
 
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