MY KEYBOARD One of those little things happened today, the kind of things that happen when routine maintenance is neglected just a bit too long. My keyboard crapped out. Well, not the board, actually, just the x key. I kept trying to copy and paste using ctrl + x to cut with no luck. I firmly realized that it was the x key while attempting unsuccessfully to type a word with x in it. Lovely, I thought. My wonderful Microsoft Natural Keyboard is no longer working properly. This kind of bummed me out because I love this keyboard, and I have only been using it for seven or eight years. I am not even sure that a Korean edition of this board is any longer available, but I was quite sure that I could not afford to replace it with a comparable keyboard. Grabbing the pair of nail clippers on the desk in front of me, I gently pried up the x key. I was both shocked and repulsed by the sheer amount of dirt, hair, and grime which had accumulated in the tray under the keys during its years of use. I presume that most of the grime is comprised of oil secreted from my fingertips. I sighed and began to pop off more keys. It became readily apparent that a full cleaning was going to be necessary. I disconnected the board, removed all fourteen screws from the bottom, popped off every key, and washed the tray and keys thoroughly with soapy water. I check to see that the rubbery membrane was still good and plugged the trayless keyboard back into my computer to discover that the membrane and electronics were indeed working flawlessly, that my issue with the x key was an entirely mechanical issue. Once the tray and keys had mostly dried, I reassembled the entire board, and tested every key, especially x. They all worked, but after a few presses, x got stuck again. Returning to the nail clippers, I pried x back off and reamed the rubberized membrane so that it fit properly into the hole for guiding the key, then popped the x key back on. BINGO! My x and every other key is once again working perfectly, and I no longer need to feel embarrassed about the steady buildup of grime and filth which had been accumulating under my keys. It is almost like getting a brand-new keyboard for the price of my efforts and a dash of soap.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 08:26:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015