Thinkpads Forum

The keyboard on my W500 has a problem. The A and S keys aren't working (unless I press S really hard). I'm assuming there's a crack in a trace and I just need a new keyboard.

There appear to be six different FRU part numbers for US English (non-international) keyboards for this model. I seem to recall hearing that in some models, certain keyboards are preferable to others. Is that true of the W500? Are there specific part numbers I should prefer to all others?

Zak;
Please search this forum; and am sure you will see lots of writeup about the FAMOUS FLEXY keyboard for W series ..... and there are lots of 'equivalant parts" that are or seems lots of pple prefer to use the non 'flexy' models from eg T60P (14inch) etc etc ,,,,

From what you described - seems clear you be needing a NEW ONE - However i usually "pop out' the 'suspect' key (((Simply try it gently & it will pop out- than blow off any thing underneath etc ,,, and PRESS(gently) it BACK))) Often worked for me .....

hope this helps

I did search the W500 forum, and didn't find anything about a "flexy keyboard" or any discussion of one keyboard being preferable to another. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but all the results were from the past month or so; I didn't see an option to restrict to a specific time period.

I did try removing the key, and I tried pressing the rubber dome directly with both a finger and a screwdriver. No luck.

Zak wrote:I did search the W500 forum, and didn't find anything about a "flexy keyboard" or any discussion of one keyboard being preferable to another. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but all the results were from the past month or so; I didn't see an option to restrict to a specific time period.

I did try removing the key, and I tried pressing the rubber dome directly with both a finger and a screwdriver. No luck.

The T60, T61, R60, R61, Z6x, T400, T500, and W500 all have interchangeable keyboards.

I'd recommend you get one of the R60/R61/T60/T61 FRUs though, as the mostly-solid backplate makes for a *much* nicer typing experience.

I bought a 39T0958 on ebay for $20. I'm happy with it, and it does seem like it should be more durable than the original. I'm not sure I think it's actually *better* to type on, but it's quieter and that's worth something.