« My 8800GT SLi | Main | Macross PLUS 1/60 Perfect Transformation YF-19 25th Anniversary Model (Completed) »
Fixing my keyboard the poor man’s way….
By jykwan | August 19, 2008
OK. It’s already been a few weeks that my keyboard is starting to give out problems which is the ‘J’ key is getting insensitive. I know keyboards have this problem when used over a long period of time and tend to happen on cheap keyboards. Mines is Microsoft for christ sake. Anyway, instead of sending it for warantty which will end me with no spare keyboard and i’m reluctant to buy another one. I decided to see what i can do.
This is my keyboard. A Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 v1.0. Used for 2 and a half years now, all the keys are working perfectly except for the ‘J’ key which i’m mad about as my name has a ‘J’ in it and i can’t type my name smoothly.
OK, forgive me for the camera, my left hand can’t keep still while taking this picture. So now to check whats wrong i have to make a few things clear. To check the sensitivity problem i have to open the key and see if the key button is actually working or assume the electronic board is faulty. To this, i use a minus screw driver. I have no idea if this is the correct way, but i have been doing this for 8 years now. And it never spoils (so far). Also a note, put your hand above the key because once you snap it out, it normally goes flying. My furthest was an estimated 4 meters away.
OK, now the key is out. To test this you could use the screw driver to press the button to see if its the sensivity problem of the electronic board is faulty. Now then…. tap, tap…. tap, tap, tap… (checks notepad, and monkey test a few more times). Looks like my keyboard is not all that bad, its not so sensitive so the electronic board is working but the button need to be pressed harder to get a response…. by the screw driver that is.
Ok now what should I do to fix this. (Knocks on head and thinks)……………….. I thought if i put something small inside to make the pressing harder it would work. So i tried it. Errr lets see what i have?
Well I have paper, a small note paper to be exact. Crushing the whole thing won’t fit thou. Perhaps a smaller piece would work. OK, here I actually tried different sizes to fit it in. Actually you only need very little paper. And boy making a round ball with so little paper is hard.
Once you’ve found the right size, put it in and make sure it moves smoothly and not like you’ve chucked your failed exam report away from your parents.
To finish the job just put the key back and press it hard enough untill it snaps back in. Now test again to see if it works to your liking. At this point i felt the key abit allevated because of the paper beneath it but it doesn’t really matter cause over time i got used to it. If its not to your liking, just snap it out again and change the paper ball.
Yeah…. my keyboard is fixed. (Very Happy!). No need to send for warranty and loose my keyboard.
*An additional update, ‘enter keys’, ’space bars’ and other bigger keys are a little different, they have a metal support or assistance that drags the whole key down when you press it. So don’t use the way i showed up there at face value, you most likely have to be extra carefull when snapping it out. I’m adding this cause a friend broke her ‘enter’ key. So again, perform your maintenance at your own risk!
Topics: Computer Stuff | 1 Comment »
August 30th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
[...] to this post from my friend’s blog, I decided to be daring try n fix my ‘enter’ key since it is quite insensitive. Now, [...]