LAPTOP KEYPAD : OPERATION FIX IT YOURSELF

You’re working on your laptop and all of a sudden the “I” key stops responding, or a whole section of your keyboard stops responding to keystrokes. Or, worse yet, the keyboard cuts out entirely. According to www.pcmag.com, while this can be a hassle, particularly when you have work due, there are a few things you can try yourself to get back to the job at hand.

Check for crumbs

Hold your laptop upside down, or at the very least, at a 45-degree to 75-degree angle from horizontal and give the laptop a good shake. Sometimes bread or snack crumbs can get stuck under the keys. This can be more of a problem if the laptop is an old one.

If you have a keyboard vacuum or a can of compressed air, give the nooks and crannies of your keyboard a quick cleaning. If one or two keys are stuck because of soda spillage, then you can try cleaning those individual key switches with a rag soaked in a couple of drops of cleaner like rubbing alcohol or even warm soapy water.

Make sure you apply the liquid to the cloth first and not directly to the keyboard. Pop the offending key cap off the keyboard and try to clean as much dried liquid from the key switch as possible.

A cotton bud can come in handy here, just be careful and don’t disassemble the key switch unless you know what you’re doing. If an extensive section of the keyboard is stuck because of liquid damage, like spilled cup of soda or coffee, then your best recourse may be to have the keyboard assembly replaced.

Reboot your PC

A reboot corrects a thousand ails. If you can’t use the trackpad or mouse to reboot the PC, just hold down the power button for about 10-15 seconds to turn the PC off.

Check for driver problems

This problem crops up if you install third-party software often and/or you turn your machine off all the time without using the Shut Down command.

Check the Device Manager on your laptop. If the keyboard line item has a yellow exclamation point next to it or if the keyboard icon doesn’t show up at all, then you should try to get to your laptop maker’s download page, then download and install the latest drivers for the keyboard.

Go USB

If all else fails, find a USB desktop keyboard and plug it in. It’s not elegant, but it will let you finish whatever you need to do now, then you can figure out the main problem with your laptop keyboard later.

Check for bad connections

Sometimes the keyboard loses connection with the laptop’s motherboard, and you have a keyboard that either works intermittently or not at all.  Check out sites like ifixit.com or your laptop manufacturer’s site for service manuals and diagrams to help you disassemble your laptop and reconnect the ribbon cable. If you aren’t comfortable disassembling your laptop, take it to an IT engineer.

Check for defective keyboard

If you’re still in your warranty period or have an extended warranty, then try your laptop manufacturer’s tech support line. If they determine that you’re using a defective keyboard, then you should be able to get it replaced at a service depot without too much hassle. Before you send your laptop in or surrender it to a service tech, however, it’s always advisable to back up your hard drive or remove it entirely and hold on to it. That way you’ll still have your data, which is the most important part of your laptop.