Thinkpads Forum

I have a T42p and the left mouse key is starting to fail. First it required more than one click to engage and now it doesn't click anymore. Instead it is harder to depress. Is this a part that can be fixed?

Which left mouse key are we talking about? There are (2) of them on a typical T42. See the attached image.
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/3073.jpg

Sorry I wasn't more clear. The bottom left mouse key under the mouse touchpad.

You can either replace the bottom part of the palmrest, which includes the touchpad, or if you are lucky, find only the touchpad.
Try our marketplace forum or eBay.
In your search, check for 14.1" or 15" (LCD-size) parts, whichever model you have.

It might be worthwhile to buy another UltraNav assembly on eBay to see if it repairs the problem.
http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Thinkpad-T40-T4 ... 0034148059

Thank you. I guess now I need to figure out how I can change it once I buy it.

Sometimes crumbs or dirt can get under keyboard or mouse keys, preventing proper operation. Try blowing around the key with canned air. A toothpick can also sometimes be used. Just be careful not to pop the key off. They can be reattached, but it's a bit tricky.

GomJabbar wrote:Sometimes crumbs or dirt can get under keyboard or mouse keys, preventing proper operation.

That's so true. When I spilled water into my X300 a few weeks ago and had it apart drying it out, I took the opportunity to clean out all the little nooks and crannies in the keyboard. When I first looked at the mouse buttons, I thought there was a felt pad under the left one that was missing from under the right one. Then I poked at it with a toothpick and pulled out a dust bunny's worth of just lint. It works much better now.

You can lift the Key and you will see under, there is a small rubber
most likely this rubber as moved out of place or is worn out
What I did on mine is exchange it with the one under the middle boutton ( scroll mouse button) since I don't use it that much anyway

I use a toothpick to gently pry out the button

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