Failing keyboards?

Hi,

I've only been using my Thinkpad T410 for about 2 weeks now, and parts of the venerable keyboard have begun to fail.

First it was the two alt keys. Then the two ctrl keys. Next came the left Ultranav/Touchpoint button.

I'm getting a technician plus a new keyboard replacement done tomorrow...but I was wondering if this issue has occured before?

 

What do you mean by failed. The keys just don't work...? I sort of find that hard to believe that BOTH alt and BOTH ctrl keys went bad. Ultranav might not be related to the keys necessarily. But I guess just see what the replacement does.

 

Failed...as in they do not respond AT ALL. Boot/reboot doesn't seem to solve anything. The left touchpoint button became unresponsive this morning :S

 

Weird thing happened to me today, first time in almost 6 weeks I had my W510. The c, d, e, and 3 keys stopped working. See my post here: [post]6032341[/post].

 

Very odd...
I would try a live boot into linux but you already have a tech coming out so whatever.

 

Interesting...well the thing is, the night before the Alt/Ctrl keys failed, the keyboard became unresponsive; requiring abnormal amounts of impact and straight-down travel to register the presses. Closing a window using Ctrl+W or opening a new tab using Ctrl+T literally needed re-pressing or forceful presses. As for the alt key, I booted up from a fully shut down machine, to find alt+tab didn't work; alt+F4 didn't work. Tab obviously worked because there were items in webpages/desktop being tabbed back and forth.

I thought it might've been a software issue or something, so I tried using the onscreen...that works...but who wants to click to alt+tab? =(

 

that's why i never trust laptop keyboard, i always carry around with me my Happy Hacking

 

I'm guessing if you carry around an external keyboard, what's the point of using a laptop computer in the first place?

 

There are two distinct possibilities:

1) a reboot fixes it: This most likely means that some buggy driver is eating keyboard interrupts.

2) reboot does not fix it: Something is wrong with the hardware. Could be something simple as a loose keyboard cable or might be deeper problem with the new keyboards.

 

the loose cable keyboard cable actually might be the problem..weirdest thing, the touchpoint left mouse button came back to life late last night, but is no longer working this morning...

edit: Great...more keys have passed away, the printscreen, scroll lock/num lock, pause and insert keys are now unresponsive.

additionally, I called Lenovo just then and it seems that the technician will now come on Monday; when I will be @ uni, and not at home. It could be late as next Friday before I may get a fully functional keyboard. The rep told me the tech will call/email me sometime and let me negotiate a more suitable time.

Hopefully the entire keyboard doesn't go bad in one week, eh?

 

Why not just get a keyboard overnighted and change it yourself. That is faster than a tech coming.

 

What about the warranty? And BTW, if say, a system has a bad CPU, will they send you a new one to DIY without voiding the warranty?

 

No. CPU are soldered. HIGHLY unlikely for a CPU to go bad unless a manufacturing defect in the design of the motherboards...or a terrible CPU production run (which would never get through QC at intel).

 

Woot?? Are you serious? I mean there's an option to go Emdedded with the 520/540/620. But AFAIK the true quads are free to be removed.

 

Here! Intel claims the quads are not Imbedded! So the W510 is free and can be upgraded.
But I guess the question about warranties still remains...

 

Sure you can change it yourself without voiding the warranty. They sent me a replacement keyboard, it got to me in 2 days and saved me a lot of time compared to taking my W510 in for servicing. Plus I didn't have any technicians that don't care about my machine scratch it all up.

 

You can change a keyboard as it is a CRU. CPU is NOT...if you even can. As far as I know lenovo solders most.

 

New TP Keyboards are made in hell!

 

Having never serviced a notebook by myself, I'm just going to wait for tech to do it himself so I don't screw it up. I can work on desktop rigs, but laptops aren't my sort of thing.

That said, the T410 keyboard is rock solid with ZERO flex. That was one of the best things when I first got the laptop.

 

This is very difficult to accept coming from the gaming notebooks sector.
I guess you're right, but hope - not

 

If you are scare of messing it up, check out the video lenovo put up on their service website http://www.lenovoservicetraining.com/ion/

 

by the way can one just by a spare keyboard to be sure it's still there in a few years' time? I think I may just do that ... keep a spare one !

 

get a happy hacking pro 2, it's so compact, uses Topre technology, with Dvorak, you can easily get to 120wpm.

with qwerty on a thinkpad, you'd be lucky to get to 80 wpm

or at least a filco with blue cherry if you can't spare 300USD for a happy hacking pro 2

 

I am quite able to get more than 80wpm on qwerty on a thinkpad...

And this is totally extraneous for a laptop. You still want your laptop keyboarding to be working.

 

Just got 106 wpm on my first try at http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php on my new W510 keyboard, with 2 mistakes.

 

30ish word per minute in my Lenovo S10-2

 

Need to practice .

 

I wish there's a way that i can put a mechanical keyboard on my thinkpad, no matter how good the scissor keyboard are, the still feel mushy

 

...and the techie came along today and replaced the keyboard. I also get to keep the old one.

Everything works now. =)

 

Good on ya! (Is that what you say in Aussie land?)

I kept my old one too, in case I ever need replacement keys.

 

keys on the keyboard may not interchangeable, it depends on the make and model of the keyboards.