T42 Key loose - any hope for repair?

[HankB]

The 't' key on the wife's T42 stopped responding to presses so I popped it off and cleaned underneath it. Unfortunately I fear that I damaged something in the process because it now comes off easily and won't stay put for long in normal use.

Is there any hope for repairing this or should I start to look for a new keyboard?

I don't suppose parts are interchangeable with the T500 keyboard. I have a flimsy T500 keyboard that Lenovo replaced with one that does not flex.

thanks,
hank

Edit: I removed the key and mechanism from the spare T500 keyboard and seem to have successfully installed it on the T42 keyboard. Time will tell.

[dr_st]

That's a tough call. Did you really break it, or did you just not put it back together properly? Look carefully to see whether one or more of the plastic pieces holding the assembly is broken or out of place. If unsure, take some high-res pictures of the back side of the key and all the plastics, and post them here (as links), so we can take a look.

[Johan]

Hank:

Try browse these threads - there may be useful information there: T41 keyboard key fell off or How do you re-install a key on the keyboard? and Anybody have an old keyboard lying around? and Success: Installed a key on TP42 keyboard (Blue Cup Version).

You might also want to have a look at eBay for "IBM keyboard repair" --> here or here. Good luck with fixing these awful tiny things - I hate messing with these very small, fragile parts!

Johan

[HankB]

That's a tough call. Did you really break it, ...

I'm pretty sure I really broke it. I've tried to snap it back on repeatedly and it just doesn't stay long.

Hank:

Try browse these threads - ...

You might also want to have a look at eBay for "IBM keyboard repair" ...

Wow! Much better at searching than me. I looked for loose key and found a lot of threads with loose and key, but very few with "loose key." Thanks for the pointers and eBay hint. For now we'll see if the repair I did last night holds. They're pretty small parts, but I think I got it OK!

thanks,
hank

[sktn77a]

Given you were having problems with the keyboard anyway before you removed the key, it might be time to bite the bullet and put in a new one. You should be able to look at the keyboard assembly screws on the underside of the T42 and see if they match up with your "flimsy" T500 keyboard. I recall seeing a couple of posts asking if T6x keyboards fit T4x and if T500 keyboards fit T6x (I take it your T42 is a 15"?).