OLPC Help: XO Laptop Keyboard Repair

   
   
   
   
   

So let's say that your XO laptop keyboard doesn't work. No matter if it's due to the "sticky keys" problem, or if you happened to dunk it in the kitchen sink in a foolish waterboarding test. Either way, you'll need to strip your XO keyboard.

Saturday night, I stripped my XO, and for your enjoyment, took a few photos and made two videos of the process. First, me, mid-fix:

Yes, I was a little frustrated at that point, burning through a Saturday night alone with too much technology. Still, I powered on and hacking away, I finally made the XO laptop work again:
Of course, I still have a few screws loose. Any clue where they go?

Related Entries

17 Comments

Q: "Of course, I still have a few screws loose. Any clue where they go?"

A: Ideally, back where you removed them from.

Maybe some help here:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Disassembly#Re-assembly_tips

"Don't drink an XO!" ... LOL! I need to get that drunk, looked like fun.
Awesome music in the background too. :)

Best of luck with the loose screws, I always hated when that happened to my car. Beer + Mechanical work = SNAFU

LOLOL

XOyan (XO + Wayan) video should be serialized.

This is better than Lost.

Isn't "waterboarding" torture and sort of cruel to do to an XO?

If you opened the handle part of the XO, that is suppose to contain extra screws, perhaps some of the screws came from there. The ones that look like they have locktite on them might be a source of concern, unless you replaced those with spares from the handle. Time will probably tell.

Dunk an XO and then spend the evening trying to fix it. That reminds me of of what Jerry Pournelle says, "I do things the dumb way so that you don't have to."

Are you sure the loose screws actually belong to the XO? ;)

I see Argonaut got where I was going with my loose screws lead...

LOL @ argotnaut and Wayan. :)

About those loose screws... I'm thinking that unless you've got a few pics taken after that second video, at least some of them might be related to the "neck" of the XO (for lack of a better word) -- the place where the screen can swivel left or right to go into tablet mode.

I see black wires in the video that aren't visible in a non-disassembled XO, because they're behind a white piece of plastic.

Too bad the video wasn't running while the XO was being taken apart. That would have helped track down which screws came from where.

Donna,

As I try to keep OLPC News family-friendly, there will not be videos of me in mid-XO disassembly. I was cussing way too much for young ears.

sure, you got it to boot. big deal. but does the keyboard actually _work_?? ;-)

My XO boots and the keyboard works. The lid doesn't latch closed so well anymore though. I think a few of those loose screws were from the latches that connected to the ears to seal the XO.

Best Post EVAR!!!eleven!

In all seriousness, though, it's pretty impressive that it survived, especially since it was turned on during that ordeal. Can you imagine recovering from waterboarding any other laptop out there? Heck, my rugged cell phone didn't ever fully recover from getting soaked during the heavy rains a few years ago...

Reminds me of the first time I disassembled my XO. Suspciously so.

The (extra) screw is still on my coffee table, the lid doesn't close cleanly, and the front green 'bumper' just in front of the mousepad keeps popping out at the ends.

Remember kids; electronics repair and alcohol don't mix.

Unless, apparently, you're myself or Wayan. The innards just seem to be so much more interesting when you're bored and half lit.

Oh, the actual reason I'm posting: Wayan, check that you replaced all the screws in the back of the keyboard - the first time I reassembled *ahem* I had 5 screws left over. Four of those were to attach the keyboard to the body. I still don't know where the last one goes.

I wonder actually what the issue was... did taking off the keyboard let things dry out?

I have a space bar that is wicked hard to press. I wonder if I should try it.... what would it fix, though?

LesleyT,

Taking the laptops apart is easy, and if you're sober, putting them back together is just as easy. Why not take yours apart and check out your spacebar. I have a space if you mess things up ;)

Laplabs provides a wide range of services in Laptops Repairs by experienced people for all Brands & models, Suppliers of Spare Parts & accessories of Laptops, We are experts in Laptop up-gradation, Data recovery, Sales & Purchase of Laptops.

I would suggest you to consult some laptop repair expert, to fix this problem. Although, the problem seems to be small but then too, such things can only be handled by experts.

Close