Thinkpads Forum

I apologize if this is answered elsewhere, but a search of the forum didn't turn anything up, and most of the complaints about squeaky parts involve the palm rest. Pressing the Tab, Caps Lock, or tilde key makes a creaking noise that seems to come from the plastic bezel over the left speaker grill, right above the VGA port. It's only recently that it's started making the noise; I've opened my T400 up to add more memory which could have been the initial cause, but the noise didn't start right away. Has anyone had this problem, and do you have an easy solution? I've been meaning to open the laptop up for a keyboard cleaning anyways and may just try making sure nothing is rubbing inside, but any actual fixes are appreciated.

Thanks.

The only time mine has made sounds there was when I had improperly attached the keyboard support plate (added post Nov 2009). It was a metallic vibrating sound every time I hit ESC, so it might be different.

The only thing I can think of that would be under there is the left speaker itself. However, part of the keyboard bezel on the left side is held in place by the palmrest screw on that edge, so maybe tightening a bit more (without overdoing it) will help.