Laptop keys

jgallcash

Could someone please help?

I've recently bought a new laptop and in the process of wiping my old one to send to a charity project.

Having done all the prep it seems that now 3 of the 4 arrow keys are not working along with the left shift and the space bar half working.

I have tried system restore to get the lappy back to a point when it worked but to no avail. I havent taken off the keys just yet as it seems strange it is just 5 keys from the keyboard. The keys are pressing correctly without resistance so i'm presuming there is nothing stopping them in that way.

Any suggestions?

Strider590

Little unclear, sounds like you've either got it set the wrong keyboard type, or you need to download the drivers for that keyboard from the manufacturers website.

Im of course assuming that this only started after the reinstall?

jgallcash

No you're right the post was pathetically unclear.

Not installed anything new at this point (i need the arrow keys to work in order to do that)

My arrow and other keys are simply not working and i'm not sure how to get them to after unsucessfully trying a system restore.

The other keys on the laptop are working its just approximately 5 or so that are not.

Taffybiker

Keyboards work on a matrix wiring system. If one "wire" is damaged then a number of keys will stop working. Sounds to me like this is what has happened, and unless you are technical enough to locate and repair the break then a new keyboard would be indicated.
You could try making sure the ribbon connector is securely plugged in.

jgallcash

How would i even start to repair a laptop keyboard? It's obviously integrated into the whole machine

gel_boy

What's the make and model of your laptop? Changing the keyboard can be surprisingly easy depending on the make.

timbim_2

In fact in most laptops, the keyboard is easy to remove, as it provides access to most of the other parts on the motherboard. Might be worth testing the keyboard in the BIOS to see if it is a hardware fault or a Windows driver issue.

On another note, I would recomend downloading and using DBAN on the hard disk, before reinstalling Windows, to ensure that no traces of personal data are left behind.

jgallcash

Hi model is a packard bell easynote R1910. I'm trying to use dban the disc, hence the need for the keys to work. The keys are also very iffy when in BIOS mode so probably Not a driver problem. Is it expensive/ difficult to change the keyboard? as I'll be giving this away I don't want to pay too much. Obviously I'm more worried about ensuring any sensative data is removed

culpepper

If you can see how to unscrew the main cover, you can probably lift up the keyboard carefully and check that the ribbon cable is properly inserted into its connector.
On my lappy, it is in the middle under the actual keyboard and to get to it you must unscrew the hinge screws, which are behind the screen on the edge of the main unit,then lift off the plastic fascia. Yours is a different model but there are probably pictures of someone dismantling one if you google keyboard removal for your model.
If it has dislodged a little bit right or left, it can mean missing keys as I discovered when reassembling my machine once.

jgallcash

in the meantime does anybody know of any free software that can wipe my HDD? Obviously i planned to use DBAN which a lot of people have reccomended but without the arrow keys working its useless.

Any other suggestions?

Taffybiker

I don't know about your machine, but I have seen low level formatting available within some BIOS screens. That was a while ago though.

You could also boot to DOS and use a windows disk to FDISK (partition) the drive. After doing this all data will be lost and the disk will require formatting, but the new owner can do this.