Thinkpads Forum

I cleaned a bit my T60's old keyboard. I removed carefully the keycaps from the keyboard, after that I used compressed air can and toothbrush (gently) to get rid of the hair and dust, what was here. I didn't use any water or other liquid.

When I reassembled the keyboard, I found that the following keys are not working: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, ö, ü, End. (I have a Hungarian layout, so "ö" and "ü", which are nation-specific characters, might be "0" and "-".)

Mechanically all of these keys work like they were good as new. Simply Windows doesn't seem to acknowledge I pressed these keys, but when I press, I didn't feel any resistance or obstacle, something that would indicate there's any pollution or dirt which may cause the problem. (I use Windows 7 Pro 32 bit.) So I disassembled again, inspected the mechanics of these keys, carefully blew a little air... but it ain't helped. What can I do?

I have another keyboard, but this keyboard is a bit more comfortable to me. FRU P/N is 42T3220.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

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I put the keyboard to my Z61p. The "faulty" keys are working, I don't know, what was the problem, but the keyboard seems to be OK now.

Maybe you had switched NumLock to ON?

RealBlackStuff wrote:Maybe you had switched NumLock to ON?

No, the keys in question are not the numlocked ones. At least not with a hungarian layout.

This is a simulated hungarian keyboard:

RealBlackStuff wrote:Maybe you had switched NumLock to ON?

No, that was my first guess. In that case, the 5 and 6 keys wouldn't work too (but they indeed worked). And NumLock doesn't explain the malfunction of the End button too.

Maybe some dust caused temporary problems within the mechanic or the sensors of the keyboard. It'll remain an X-File...

When I took the keyboard in the Z61p, it worked without any hiccup.

You might have gotten something inside the hole where the keys go in. Try using vacuum instead of compressed air to lift out what might be inside.

You would all probably barf if you saw the keyboards we have to use over here...

And not just because they are dells either!

cadillacmike68 wrote:You might have gotten something inside the hole where the keys go in. Try using vacuum instead of compressed air to lift out what might be inside.

That's a good idea, thank you!

When I put back the keyboard to my T60, suddenly the same keys aren't working, so I'm exactly here where I started the thread. Can be the connector cable the problem's source? Maybe there's something damaged inside? In the Z61p there is much more room for the cable than the T60. (I try to figure why worked those [censored] keys in the Z61p and why not in the T60.)

Tim82 wrote: That's a good idea, thank you!

When I put back the keyboard to my T60, suddenly the same keys aren't working, so I'm exactly here where I started the thread. Can be the connector cable the problem's source? Maybe there's something damaged inside? In the Z61p there is much more room for the cable than the T60. (I try to figure why worked those *****Expletives removed by Moderator***** keys in the Z61p and why not in the T60.)

Grab a can of compressed air and clean out the connectors (Mobo and keyboard). Sounds a bit similar to the keyboard issue with my old macbook. Also, make sure the connector is correctly and firmly seated.

However, don't rule the cable itself. I've seen all kinds of crazy issues when similar flat cables were damaged.

I'm surprised a bit about the moderation, in my point of view there was nothing "expletive", but another country, another customs, so if I sounded too harsh, apologies.

DaKKS: my T60 works flawlessly with another keyboard, so I would rule out the port on the mobo. I'll clean the connector of the faulty keyboard, thanks for the advice.

Tim82 wrote:I'm surprised a bit about the moderation, in my point of view there was nothing "expletive", but another country, another customs, so if I sounded too harsh, apologies.

DaKKS: my T60 works flawlessly with another keyboard, so I would rule out the port on the mobo. I'll clean the connector of the faulty keyboard, thanks for the advice.

The swear-filter has the tolerance of a soccer mom, mate. Don't worry, nobody cares. And its automatic too, your post wasn't edited by a moderator.

So what does the offending word(s) rhyme with?

The cable - those are very thin lines there and they are easily damaged, and if it's not fully seated, keys will not work.

cadillacmike68 wrote:So what does the offending word(s) rhyme with?

The cable - those are very thin lines there and they are easily damaged, and if it's not fully seated, keys will not work.

It was "d-a-m-n-e-d".

Sadly, I was not able to restore the keys to fully functioning. I'll use the keyboard as a donor. Mechanics, keycaps seem still perfectly good.