Keyboard characters wearing out

[Ripplinger]

On the bad G15 that I had, the spacebar where I hit with my right thumb was the first to go. Then the left shift, E, S, C, N, M (not as much as the others though), I, O, H and the period key.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

11-year-old laptop here, and the keys haven't been worn out at all. It was originally my mother's and she types a lot.

It's a Dell, possibly lending credence to HarryT's claim. OTOH, it has some pretty weird power problems, and I know which problem I'd rather have.

Dell Laptops power connectors were notorious a few years back

My first (286) Laptop had a round 4 pin power (5V, 12V) connector that stressed the mainboard and disabled the builtin trackball

[harriska2]

I have an 11 year old dell keyboard that I used daily and a 9 year old dell laptop with original battery and harddrive. Keyboards are great on both. The track thingy on the laptop is the best I've ever used.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by theducks

Dell Laptops power connectors were notorious a few years back

My first (286) Laptop had a round 4 pin power (5V, 12V) connector that stressed the mainboard and disabled the builtin trackball

Rumor has it, the problem is really easy to fix all I have to do is tear apart the whole thing down to the motherboard and re-solder the power supply connector... properly this time.

[Nabeel]

Originally Posted by Katie1

You could paint them on with Nail Polish. When the K3 ereader had those problems that was a suggestion several folks made. I no clue how long they last bur nail polish is only $1 for elcheepo & there is enough in the bottle to last awhile.

I'm now trying the nail varnish trick. It took some time, as I needed to find a girlfriend first!

The nail varnish trick seems to be working.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Rumor has it, the problem is really easy to fix all I have to do is tear apart the whole thing down to the motherboard and re-solder the power supply connector... properly this time.

Just spotted your answer.
Traces were cracked in many places.

(I do own a Weller W-TCP and a bin of tips. Unfortunately, todays stuff is surface mounted and my smallest (fine point) tip bridges 3-5 traces. gone are the days of 1/10 centers )

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Nabeel

Thank you all for your responses.

I am working on a laptop, so a new keyboard isn't really the answer.

I will have a look at geekhack, and I'll try the nail varnish trick.

Did you say what kind of laptop you had? On HP Pavilions, the keyboards can be replaced. Alternatively, you could either use whiteout to paint the worn-off characters on the black keys or - as others suggested - buy stick-on letters. (On my desktop, I used a black Sharpie to write worn-off characters on the putty-colored keyboard.)

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Froide

Did you say what kind of laptop you had? On HP Pavilions, the keyboards can be replaced. Alternatively, you could either use whiteout to paint the worn-off characters on the black keys or - as others suggested - buy stick-on letters. (On my desktop, I used a black Sharpie to write worn-off characters on the putty-colored keyboard.)

New keyboards can be had for Toshiba's also. Not as cheap as the Cheaper ones for desktops.

Google: how to replace Keyboard on <your brand + model>
Mine, was pop a strip and 2 small screws. unplug 2 flat cables. Reverse the steps