As many of you probably know, earlier this past week I spilled coffee on my laptop, and the keyboard is basically hosed. Also, the right-click didn’t work on the touchpad. The “Q” key would be intermittently stuck – occasionally forcing qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq on whatever I was typing – and the “fix” usually involved smacking the keyboard near the “Q” key, to make it stop. But today it decided to go nonstop. Urgh. So I disassembled my laptop, and disconnected the keyboard from the motherboard. Realizing how simple that was (thanks to Dell’s handy-dandy online Service Manual), I decided that it would be much cheaper (and with less down-time) for me to just order a replacement Dell Inspiron 6800 keyboard, and swap it out myself.
So that should be arriving later this week – yay! Meantime, I still need to get the right-click problem resolved. Since it is likely just some dried coffee in the affected area, I followed the multiple-step instructions on Dell’s site to taking apart the laptop, (removing the screen, keyboard, fan microprocessor thermal-cooling assembly, and palm-top) wiped the area with a Windex-soaked Q-tip, and then closed it all back up. (Note: I seem to have two screws left over; not sure where I forgot to screw something back in – eeks!) However, the right-click button now works. Huzzah!
Part 2 of the repair will come later this week when the replacement keyboard arrives; and I’ll also try to figure out where those two extra screws go!