Grex Do-it-yourself Conference

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Grex Do-it-yourself Item 39: Keyboard Clean Up
Entered by cmcgee on Fri Dec 20 20:12:24 UTC 2002:

Ok, I spilled a cup of water on the keyboard of my Mac PowerBook G3.  It has
dried out a couple days, but the keys are still not working right. 

Along the top row, ` through 9 work, 0 doesn't, - does and = doesn't
Next, the y, i, p, ], are out of commission
Next h, k, ;, ', and the return key don't work
Next n, m, /, are out of commission
Also the arrow keys don't work

The mousepad works fine as does the enter key.

Is there a diy solution to this?  I can't seem to figure out how to pry the
little lids off the keys to remove gunk and dust and unstick things.  Surely
I don't need to pay computer medic $100 to solve the problem.

10 responses total.

#1 of 10 by scott on Fri Dec 20 20:31:08 2002:

Very short term you should be able to plug in a USB keyboard.  Beyond that,
I don't know.  Maybe do a web search on something like "cleaning powerbook
keyboard"?

#2 of 10 by gull on Fri Dec 20 21:18:41 2002:

I'd probably try to buy a dead machine with a good keyboard on eBay.  Every
so often laptops turn up there with broken screens or the like for pretty
cheap prices.

This depends, though, on how easy it is to get the keyboard out.  I've seen
some laptops where it was extremely easy, and some where it was pretty
difficult.  I've had some older Macs, and my experience is that Apple tries
to make getting inside as difficult as possible, but I don't know if they
carried that philosophy over to their laptops.

#3 of 10 by scott on Fri Dec 20 22:38:08 2002:

Recent Apple notebooks (like my iBook) makes it very easy to get the keyboard
off, since the memory and wireless card both live underneath it.

Look for little catches or clips at the upper (farther from you) side of the
keyboard.

#4 of 10 by keesan on Sat Dec 21 02:45:14 2002:

I pry my keys off using a slot cover, the type with a crooked end.  A nutpick
will also do.  Maybe a bent paperclip?  Pencils are not recommended, the
points break off and make the problem worse.  I clean my keyboard often as
I am often eating at the desk.  It is possible you have created some
electronic problem, not just wet gunk.

#5 of 10 by scott on Sat Dec 21 03:42:51 2002:

Notebook keyboards are usually based on a different mechanism than regular
keyboards.

#6 of 10 by cmcgee on Sat Dec 21 13:13:21 2002:

Yes, I'm pretty good at regular keyboards, but this one defied all my "clean
up after myself" skills.  Much to my surprise, the little caps didn't pop off.

#7 of 10 by davel on Sat Dec 21 14:02:12 2002:

Sometimes they pop off as the plastic breaks, if you try a little harder.

#8 of 10 by scott on Sat Dec 21 14:15:54 2002:

You can get "tuner cleaner" spray at Radio Shack (or email me, I've got a
couple cans) which may help the keyboard contacts.

#9 of 10 by cmcgee on Sat Dec 21 19:34:44 2002:

Thanks, scott, and you too davel *grin*.

#10 of 10 by davel on Mon Dec 23 15:35:28 2002:

Always glad to be of assistance.
(I did have it happen to me, on a standard keyboard where they should have
just come loose, once.  I no longer trust them to pop off correctly.)

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