Replacing notebook PC keyboard?

[jsteinhauer]

My braindead wife left the conure out when she left the house today.

My VAIO notebook computer lost half its keys, several of which are completely broken and not fixable. Sony will take 7-10 days to fix and informs that I will lose ALL data on my hard drive. This is a computer used for business, and backing up and restoring will be a HUGE inconvenience, not including the loss of use of the computer for over a week. My marriage is also VERY strained tonight (it's not the conure's fault).

So, is it possible to obtain and replace a Sony notebook keyboard myself?

[jw]

can you hook an external keyboard up and save all your information to another hard drive?
and whats a conure?

[JasonR]

I did it on my HP a couple of weeks ago. I bought one off of Amazon for 25 dollars. I have replaced them on Dells before as well, you should be able to get one for a Vaio. They are pretty easy to replace, a little housing to pop off and a few screws to remove.

Don't know what your model is, but maybe this helps...

http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Keyboar...9695865&sr=8-1

Bought mine from there, Osprey-Talon was the seller.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

can you hook an external keyboard up and save all your information to another hard drive?
and whats a conure?

Actually, I got all of the keys back on except some function keys and a CTRL key and the ESC key, so it's usable, but needs to be fixed. Some keys don't seat correctly and fall off easily. So, yes, backing up can be done, but it still takes time, and I still have to go without it for probably more than two weeks (counting shipping time). I have to install some software on a different machine for the time being, as well, and share with the wife who also uses her's extensively for work. I'll call some local shops during the day tomorrow, to see if I can get it done in town. Perhaps someone can order a part and I can drop it off for a day or so.

That guy in my avatar is a sun conure. He's mostly a pretty good guy.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by JasonR

I did it on my HP a couple of weeks ago. I bought one off of Amazon for 25 dollars. I have replaced them on Dells before as well, you should be able to get one for a Vaio. They are pretty easy to replace, a little housing to pop off and a few screws to remove.

Don't know what your model is, but maybe this helps...

http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Keyboar...9695865&sr=8-1

Bought mine from there, Osprey-Talon was the seller.

Did you have to install new drivers and wipe out all of your data?

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

Did you have to install new drivers and wipe out all of your data?

No, that is CRAZY!!! It is a keyboard, nothing to do with your hard drive. The drivers should already be present from your previous keyboard, if you would need any at all.

[WickyWoo]

remove the hard drive before shipping worse comes to worse

[jw]

good idea, but I bet they tell you that in case something happens so you back it up. May just be a regular recomendation they suggest to avoid future issues. Or maybe they service it when they have it to clean the crap of the hard drive. Im sure they get PCs back just full of spamware bots etc they kill the performance and they just wipe it clean and do a reinstall
Just a thought

[Marquoz]

I recently replaced a keyboard on my Toshiba laptop. All i did was remove the old one, and plug in the new one. No driver changes or anything, all in all 10 minutes of work. The website had detailed instructions on how to remove the case so I didn't damage it. Not once did I ever have to mess with my hard drive or anything. Check e-bay to find a cheap keyboard as chances are good ordering it from the manufacturer will cost you 10x what you can get it for.

Until I replaced it though I used a cheap usb wireless keyboard, worked just as well, and it was hard going back to the tiny cramped laptop keyboard.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by JasonR

No, that is CRAZY!!! It is a keyboard, nothing to do with your hard drive. The drivers should already be present from your previous keyboard, if you would need any at all.

That's what I thought right away. I've built many PC's, and that made no sense to me. I've swapped processors without any data loss.

Originally Posted by jwbbud

good idea, but I bet they tell you that in case something happens so you back it up. May just be a regular recomendation they suggest to avoid future issues. Or maybe they service it when they have it to clean the crap of the hard drive. Im sure they get PCs back just full of spamware bots etc they kill the performance and they just wipe it clean and do a reinstall
Just a thought

I specifically asked, if they would preserve data "if possible" and was told "NO!" Granted this was a telephone rep who probably knows nothing. I will find a keyboard and replace it myself.

Thanks, all!

[jsteinhauer]

DSCN2494.JPG

This is how it looks after I began reattaching keys!

[Jim L]

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

Attachment 2410

This is how it looks after I began reattaching keys!

Damn!

That's a destructive little beast!

I used to have a lilac-crowned Amazon (parrot). He could get into a lot of mischief too.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by Jim L

Damn!

That's a destructive little beast!

I used to have a lilac-crowned Amazon (parrot). He could get into a lot of mischief too.

We have a Jardine's parrot and a yellow-naped Amazon, too. I think the Jardine's would behave all day long, if left out, but the Amazon would probably destroy the entire house.

[dadkins]

This is from HDD replacement walkthrough for my VGN-A190.

On the bottom there are arrows pointing at the screws(all of them).
For the two keyboard screws on this laptop, there are arrows with dots(two of them).

See pics.



Marked Screws - the dot next to the arrows:



This was translated from German(I think) so wording is a bit off.
Watch for possible pry tabs/clips!





*NOTE*: Your's may or may not be similar!
IF your's has these marked screws and you remove them, DO NOT assume that you can just muscle the keyboard off!!! Might be other clips/tabs/screws that need to be removed/released.

Overall, VAIO keyboards aren't that hard to replace.

Hope this helps!

[jsteinhauer]

I have not yet figured out how to get the keyboard off. I suspect I have to remove the black panel surrounding it. There is one screw with the dotted arrow, though, but it looks like the keyboard has tabs that sit below the black panel and two others below the silver panel. I'm not sure which one is easier to remove, yet. I have yet to even figure out the part number, which will require getting the keyboard out.