A couple of keyboard buttons not working

theowl_2

Hi,

Hopefully someone can help with this. My Dell Dimension keyboard is playing up. Specifically, the 'N' button, the right cursor key, and the '?' button work oly occasionally (see the typo? That was't a mistake!). As you can imagine it's very annoying. I've cleaned the keyboard, though I take pretty good care of it anyway, but it's not made much difference. Could this be a program flaw or something? All of the other keys are fine. Also, this doesn't always happen, so I'm not sure if the buttons are knackered. I mean, I hardly ever use the right cursor key, and I've only had this system for 2 years.

Thanks for your help.

isofa

You could try and gently pop them off from the keyboard matrix below, gently prising upwards with a flat screwdriver on the key... It should pop off and you can see if there is any more dirt below.

I assume you mean a desktop keyboard (Dimension being a desktop model), a replacement will be a tenna or less, so I wouldn't worry to much if you can't fix it, plenty to be had from all suppliers, from eBay to Staples.

trcooke

Keyboards are pretty much consumables when it comes to PC systems. You can fix them yourself but it takes a whole lot of patience as you'll have to take the keyboard apart and clean the contacts for the buttons with a contact cleaner (Isopropyl alcohol for example). It's a real pain of a job to do.

New keyboards are so cheap now, you can pick a new one up for less than a tenner. If you particularly want a new Dell one then have a look on ebay as there's loads on there.

I just read isofa's post and he has a good suggestion that I forgot to mention. Popping the key top off and checking there's nothing stuck underneath it is probably the easiest and first thing to do.

Sporticus

Hi

aologies if I'm hijacking this thread but I've come on here tonight as I have the same roblem with my Dell Insiron and the letter that comes between O and Q in the alhabet!

You could try and gently pop them off from the keyboard matrix below, gently prising upwards with a flat screwdriver on the key... It should pop off and you can see if there is any more dirt below.

I've done that but to no avail. Am I going to be destined to a life of pasting my letter p's into all my docs/search engines etc or am I able to get my pc fixed? I can understand that for a desktop you can buy a new keyboard but is that possible to do with a laptop?

TIA