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Computer Magic
December 2007
What is that sound? That near-silent ruffle of feathers at your shoulder, like the whisper of a snake close to your ear? Yes, it's the Green Goblin, aka Mr. Magic.
Computers get way too much attention in this household. Mr. Magic decides to rearrange the keys on Norma's laptop keyboard. Nobody uses these keys anyway.
Quote from a local repair shop says it'll cost me about $300 in labor plus parts, and take about three to six weeks..... I've got a better idea.
Picked up a spare keyboard online for about $70, plus shipping. Time to get into it.
Couldn't find any really good instructions online, so I decided to just take the whole thing apart. Above, you see the top construction of the laptop pulled away from the motherboard. The keyboard, wireless NIC and sound card are connected—at least I think that's what it is. Magic watches from a safe distance.
No reason to go through all the trouble of taking it apart—the top strip can be gently pried off of the case and tilted up with the hinges. This allows the keyboard to be lifted out (after removing two screws). Take it slow and unlatch the keyboard ribbon.
Need to reconnect all the wires I disconnected. The black and white plugs just snap on with a small amount of pressure.
The keyboard strip is held in place by a small, very fragile lever (between thumb and index finger).
I ripped the old ribbon off the bad keyboard and practiced several times. It's really frustrating work if you're hands are big.
Once you get it right, it should look like this.
Test the keyboard... Looks good. Also, if you're testing the wireless network card, make sure you've flipped the wireless "ON" switch on the side of the case.
Well, my work here is done. Must be something else to do to get into trouble...
