next »

[clm42]

I fixed my keyboard by taking it out, and rubbing on the underlying sensor. I know its not a very technical fix, but it works. The keyboard is a bit tricky to get out of there, but I got it out using the wiki instructions and now my XO is just working fine again.

[goney3]

No pictures of your "fix" to post for all of us?
A step-by-step guide might help a lot of frustrated people.

[eden]

I fixed my keyboard by taking it out, and rubbing on the underlying sensor. I know its not a very technical fix, but it works. The keyboard is a bit tricky to get out of there, but I got it out using the wiki instructions and now my XO is just working fine again.

Nice!  Please update us if you have to repeat the process too. 

[GregYohn]

Hi!

My machine was replaced with a new machine in about 20 days delivered after shipping it back to Brightstar.

[clm42]

Keyboard is still working fine after a while. I try to use the ctrl key as much as possible (mapped it to the start button in ZSNES) to try and cause it to mess up again and it isnt. I think the issue is the way that the rubber is stuck to the board. My peel and restick seems to  have done the trick. I promise I didnt mean to rhyme.

[eden]

I like the rhyme!  And I'm glad to hear your trick worked.  It gives me hope in case I have to cope.

[loser]

I had ctrl and both alt keys stuck and for some reason disabling them through xmodmap wasn't working. i was skeptical about trying this but it seriously worked. no more sticky keys. thank you.

before after

[KayTi]

Cool! Any additional instructions from those of you who have BTDT? What specifically should we do to unstick? I've got one with the sticky alt or ctrl (or both, driving me bananas) and am itching to have an excuse to take apart the machine anyway.

[wolf9545]

We could always post step by step picture directions.  This way when someone tries to say which screw to remove you can point to it.  I would also love better instructions because sometimes I get the sticky CTRL key and sometimes I don't.  When I do it is sometimes bad and sometimes not.

[loser]

im sorry i didn't take pictures while my xo was apart.
if you can manage to get it apart from the wiki guide you should remove your keyboard like so.



now just gently peel back the rubber keyboard from the underlying sensor plate.
i peeled mine from the bottom row up and i stopped right below the numbers.
im not sure how much the rubbing does but since clm42 recommended it i gave it a shot.
now just put your xo back together using the wiki guide.
i had instant results.

[Nick Tindall]

Hey clm42 and others, I'm going to go for it. This on-again-off-again sticking is driving me bonkers!
One quick question though. Could y'all elaborate a bit on what you meant by "rubbing?"
Is this just polishing the sensor with a cloth, squishing it about with your fingers, or what? I realize that it might be apparent what's needed once everything's apart, but I'd feel more comfortable if I knew what to expect before I'm confronted with a pile of pieces.
Thaaaanks.

Update 2008/02/20:  following the peel and rub procedure, the situation is a lot less sticky. Not perfect, but hugely improved. For rubbing, I just grabbed a piece of TP...clean of course! Anyway, using the k/b test (boot+left rocker), where before the left ctrl, shift and alt keys invariably stuck, now I can only get them to stay on occasionally with rapid "drumming." This action can also get "regular" keys, s d i o..., stuck on, so it's probably a limitation on the speed of the keyboard handler.
By the way, the procedure here seems a lot easier to follow than the official version, which starts by unnecessarily disassembling the lid/display.

Nick

[LaPaglia]

A common problem is some sort of manufacturing "gunk" (technical term) gets under the keyboard. The next step you can try if just rubbing doesn't work is.
peel back the membrane from the underlying board and clean the back of the membrane and the board with 90% Ethel, 90% isopropol(not rubbing) or Methyl Alcohol.  Clean it well using saturated cue-tips that have been twisted extra tight. Clean, allow to dry well then wipe with a dry lint free cotton pad make sure there is no dust or lint between the board and the underside of the keys. This should solve most of the sticky problems. It will remove any of the "Gunk" that is under there. I've done this and it works great.

[clm42]

Thanks for the tip on the methyl LaPaglia! I just gave mine a good poke when I did it and the silly thing is still doing fine. The manufacturing gunk theory is what I figured was the problem as well. A piece of dust or something was stuck in there tripping the leads.

[LaPaglia]

clm42:
Years ago I worked for Sony and a $50,000 broadcast betacam unit would fail when the buttons for the menu would do like the CTRL key. Thats where I learned the trick. We fixed many expensive units with a pennys worth of alcohol  Since then I have found its great on remotes for the TV that has buttons that don't work or only work when you press really hard.

[markhadman]

I'll just add my name to the list of people who've successfully fixed an XO keyboard by taking it apart and rubbing the sensor pad