Question for the geeks

[selenay]

Just purely hypothetically, if one had accidentally knocked the C key off their laptop keyboard while removing it from the docking station, what would be the best way to reattached said C key?

Am I looking at sending my baby to a workshop to get this fixed?

It's a Dell lappie that was absolutely lovely until about fifteen minutes ago :-(

That bit about Christmas can only go up from here? I'm still waiting for the up.

Comments

[evil_plotbunny]

Take a look at the back of the c. Usually on a keyboard it just clips on, and you can replace it yourself by putting it where it belongs and pressing down until it clicks.

If the bits that hold it in place are damaged, that's another question. You might be able to contact Dell and have them send you a replacement.

All of this is based on my experience with desktop machines. Laptops have a different form factor, but I think the setup's the same.

[selenay]

I think that one of the tiny prongs that should hold it in place has been damaged :-( So I'll have to contact Dell and see whether they can give me a replacement and then see about trying to re-attach. Darn.

I still can't quite see how to reattached - doesn't look as easy as 'snap in place'. Bah!

[evil_plotbunny]

I think it depends on how it's fastened into the keyboard. I don't have a dell laptop, so I don't know the form factor.

Good luck. And if you have to send your machine off, backup your data first. I know some companies will send the laptop back reset to factory defaults.

[gmul.livejournal.com]

As mentioned above, should just(*) clip back on. If any of the tabs are broken then don't throw it away just yet but try and get a replacement as otherwise it's unlikely to go well. The exact method of reattachment can take a while to work out - I did see one which used a sort of scissor effect which was a complete nightmare. Others just clip in one place and are easy...

(*To make a bear skin rug, "just" catch a bear...)

[mingmerciless.livejournal.com]

I have a 2003/4 vintage Dell Inspiron 8500 and have knocked keys off it. It does indeed have a plastic scissor clip snap-in system for mounting keys. After my last accident where I did break the clip, I discovered there were guys on eBay who would sell individual clips and key caps. Never actually got round to ordering one though...

[selenay]

I'll contact Dell first and see whether I can get a replacement - I think that a teeny tiny little tab may be broken on the clip on the back of the key. If that fails, at least I know that I might be able to find something through eBay. It's not unusable at the moment, but it's inconvenient and worrying.

Hopefully the scissor arrangement (yup, it's one of those) won't be impossible to put back when I have an unbroken one.

Sometimes, I wonder whether I should be encased in cotton wool so that I can't touch things and break them.

[nic]

I have a Dell, and I've accidentally knocked keys half-out before. I have never figured out how the clipping thing works, but I push (hard) and wiggle and eventually it seems to snap back into place.

[selenay]

Hopefully when I've got a replacement, it will be that easy to put it in. Looks like a teeny tiny itty bitty clippy tab thing on the fastener has come away (I can see a tiny scar on the plastic, anyway) which may be why I can't get the key to push back in place. I'll see whether I can get a replacement from Dell otherwise I'll have to start trawling eBay.