Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 ... 350 351 [352]

Author Topic: The Generic Computer Advice Thread  (Read 600858 times)

King Zultan

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The Generic Computer Advice Thread
« Reply #5265 on: February 12, 2025, 03:44:44 am »

How would I know if the keyboard is a membrane one, it seems like a mechanical one to me but I'm not sure. Would it help if I said that the computer in question is a Thinkpad T410, the keyboard felt very sturdy when I pulled it out.

I have removed the keyboard sense discovering this due to breaking the power jack by putting a screw through it and I made sure to clean the socket out and use canned air to blow stuff out from under the keys before I replaced the keyboard but the problem is still there, but I do get them to respond every now and then.

When I push the keys they go down all the way just they don't type so it doesn't seem to be crap stuck under them. My only worry about pulling the keyboard and trying to fiddle with it while the computer is on is the fact that the keyboard has the power button on it. I did set it on a table and look at it and it seemed to sit flat but would bending it help any or would that make it worse?
Logged
The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

Starver

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The Generic Computer Advice Thread
« Reply #5266 on: February 12, 2025, 06:51:37 am »

It seems to me (from an abbreviated check of "how to fix that type of keyboard" images) that you've got a fairly common "scissor/pantograph"-over-rub er-dome-switch keyboard (probably not the 'official' name). It uses membrane-like contact switches below a mechanically independant keytop to have some of the advantages of a pure-mechanical key-switch (the 'feel') and membrane (the thin nature), with the (part-spring part-poke-the-membrane) domed-rubber sheet making tactile contact between the two.

Photos also show a metal backplate, that should have prevented the membrane layers from shifting seperating easily, and top-down damage would more obviously result in loss (or looseness) of the keytops. (Not many views that give any decent edge-on perspective, but seems fairly likely to be thin (aluminium?) baseplate, two or three 'contact' layers, rubber-bubbles poking up through the plastic 'foreplate' upon which all the pantographs clip, and the keycaps onto them, probably with strategic nubs from the rear of the plastic plate, through incisions in the membranes, to key in/attach through the rear metal plate and prevent latreal dislocation of components, also accidental[1] disdassembly.) The connector looks too 'thin' to have separate column-of-keys fully parallelised connector, so it might be serialised down within a sub-board within the structure of the keyboard unit.

You don't need to worry about the 'live' power going through the keyboard's power-switch, it'll be a low-voltage connector signal at that stage, and prompt the mobo/PSU sub-board's power-switching function. But I'm less sure that you'd easily identify the physical problems that I'm anticipating you'll have to uncover, so maybe it's not something I'd ask you to do yourself. (Also, according to one "replace a T410 keyboard" walkthrough, you need to (re?)remove all kinds of things, like the RAM, to get to the keyboard screw. No doubt you did this all, 'willingly', to replace the mobo itself, but you'd want to avoid doing it all again until actually necessary, and running it 'half re-opened, half re-reinstalled' might be outside your comfort zone.)

If you were anywhere near me/some computer workshops I know well, I would prefer to suggest you just pop it over so me or my occasional 'colleagues' would give it a quick once-over and then tell you if it's a big problem or (equally possible) so minor that it was fixed inbetween unscrewing everything and screwing it all back up, for zero/peppergrain total cost. Perhaps you can still find a sympathetic (and honest) workshop by yourself, perhaps glad for once that it's not as difficult to repair (or even open) as a water-damaged iPhone. Yet, notwithstanding anything LB might say (and I'm a bit rusty at handling random 'pop-up' repairs, so possibly LB rightfully has more optimism), I'm more and more tempted to suggest getting a brand new KB module (not cheap, of course, but not necessarily expensive either). Though still some chance of fudging it back into shape, with appropriate amounts of luck and care. I'd be happier with my own hands on it, but ...what else can we suggest that you do? I'm resorting to just explaining what my current full understanding is, but I'm not sure how useful it's being. (I know I operate mostly with mental images and concepts, but not always so good at verbalising them.)

...so. Where are we again?


[1] Or deliberate... I mean, you probably can separate it if you quickly need to dry it out from a drinks-spill on it, but they often try to make them into no-user-servicable-parts as a unit component. Because separating the electrical-contact layers can cause problems of the kind you're getting, though rarely just that, if care isn't taken to reunite them.
Logged

King Zultan

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The Generic Computer Advice Thread
« Reply #5267 on: February 13, 2025, 06:38:25 am »

I didn't notice any damage to the ribbon when I last looked at it and for the most part it seemed to be clean, would that mean that the problem was inside of it that requires to take it apart to fix, also would bending it where the problem is help or make it worse?

What physical problems are you thinking there might be the problem here?

The keyboard isn't as hard to remove as the guide seems to indicate as none of the items it want's you to remove first are actually blocking the screw that holds it in, at least it's easier to get to than the last computer I messed with.

Everything everyone has told me so far has been helpful.
Logged
The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?
Pages: 1 ... 350 351 [352]