[X-HW] Apple Keyboard problem

[Mark Des Cotes]

On Friday, August 29, 2003, at 09:04  AM, Jim Robertson wrote:

> The keyboard on my son's G4 SawTooth has started to malfunction, 
> entering
> the same keystroke repetitively whenever a single key is pressed. It 
> isn't
> just one or two keys in one area of the keyboard. I assume it's because
> something has gotten into the keyboard mechanism. Blowing compressed 
> air
> between the keys didn't help. (By the way, the keyboard behaves 
> identically
> on two other Macs).
>
> Can the keyboard be disassembled and cleaned? Is it worth trying? 
> Should I
> just give up and buy a new keyboard?
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Jim Robertson
> -- 

Jim

Three times over the past 2 years a coworker of mine has spilled her 
coffee on her keyboard (we have a no eating/drinking around the 
computers policy but she always finds some excuse as to why it 
happened). Every time it's been left up to me to "remedy" the problem. 
I fixed the keyboard by "popping" the keys off of the keyboard and then 
using a damp toothbrush to clean everything out the tray. I also soaked 
the keys in a bowl with dish detergent, wiped the off and then placed 
them on a towel to dry. Once everything was clean and dry I replaced 
all the keys and voila, a fresh non sticky keyboard. To "pop" the keys 
out I inserted the end of  a kitchen knife between two keys and gently 
pried one out. Once a couple are out and you can get your fingers 
around them you wont need the knife anymore. One thing to remember is 
if you don't have another keyboard to compare it to when you replace 
the keys you might want to make a diagram first. I have to mention that 
on the third time, when I replaced the keys, I purposely mixed a few of 
them up to get back at my co-worker (she's a two finger typer that must 
stare at the keyboard in order to type) The rest of us all had a good 
laugh that day.

Hope this helps

Mark Des Cotes
Systems Manager/Graphic Designer

Astro Printing Service (Cornwall) Ltd.
3308 Second Street East
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