How to Clean, Upgrade, Repair, Disassemble a Laptop or Notebook Keyboard

How to clean, upgrade, repair or disassemble a laptop or notebook keyboard. Links to tips, tricks and HOWTOs. If you have written a free guide yourself (or if you know of a report not linked here), please submit a new entry.

N.N.	One or more keys fell off the laptop keyboard and you are not sure how to put them back? Don't worry, most likely you can fix the keyboard and it's not necessary to buy a new one.
Acorn A4	Dismantling the laptop as far as the motherboard, removing the screen and replacing the LCD panel, pictures from the motherboard and keyboard details.
Apple iBook Dual-USB	A fiber optic backlit keyboard for the notebook.
Apple iBook Dual-USB	A keyboard illumination hack, describing how to use white or blue LEDs to backlit the notebook keyboard.
Apple iBook G3	Zen and the art of keyboard maintenance. How to take all the caps off and fix a broken keyboard cable.
Apple iBook G4	Keyboard blues: make a hybrid keyboard of a G3-iBook-keyboard and G4-iBook-keyboard.
Apple iBook G4	Zen and the art of keyboard-maintenance.
Apple iBook G4	Keyboards can rapidly be covered with mud. But they can keep on for years if one takes carefully care of them and do not use them as a food tray! Quick cleaning of an iBook keyboard.
Apple iBook (White)	Tips, tricks and pictures about cleaning the keyboard.
Apple PowerBook 1xx	Memory upgrade, hard disk upgrade, modem installation, keyboard exchange (in Japanese).
Apple PowerBook Duo	Overclocking, cleaning the keyboard, changing the CAPS LOCK light to a red LED, adding a hard drive activity light, adding a ADB port in place of the modem, repairing the AC adapter port.
Apple PowerBook Duo 2xx	Memory upgrade, keyboard exchange, hard disk upgrade, modem installation, backup battery replacement (in Japanese).
Apple PowerBook 5xx	Memory and hard disk upgrade, keyboard exchange, modem installation, CPU upgrade (in Japanese).
Apple PowerBook 1400	Memory and hard disk upgrade, keyboard exchange (in Japanese).
Apple PowerBook 2400	Key-cap replacement instructions.
Apple PowerBook 3400/G3	Memory and hard disk upgrade, keyboard exchange (in Japanese).
Apple PowerBook 5300/190	Memory and hard disk upgrade, keyboard replacement (in Japanese).
Apple PowerBook G3 Series	Worried about an overly flexible keyboard?
Apple PowerBook G4 15''	Poison Powerbook: how to make the backlit keyboard glow red, Apple logo color mod, keyboard cleaning and take apart instructions.
Apple N.N.	Your quick guide to replacing Apple keys: there are several types of Apple laptops and therefore a lot of different keycaps. Luckily, most of the keys work the same way across all of the PowerBook, iBook, and MacBook models. The only tool that may be needed for key replacement is a flat head tool such as a nylon spudger or a flat head screw driver [PDF].
ASUS A4740KBP	How to integrate the receiver of an external cordless Logitech USB mouse and keyboard into the laptop case between the rear panel and GPU/chipset heatsink.
ASUS A8J (and W3J)	Replacing a laptop keyboard isn't difficult, if you know what you are doing. Most of the time, because laptops keyboards seem so well integrated, it is tough to get started without knowing where to start.
ASUS Eee PC 701 4G	How to add a light to illuminate the keyboard from above.
ASUS L3800C	This guide reveals the secret trick to get the keyboard removed and get access to the inside of the notebook.
ASUS M6N	How to make the notebook silent, by fixing the rattling keyboard.
Averatec AV3250	Laptop Keyboard Repair: Not all notebook keyboards are made the same, and the keyboard you get when buying one of those budget notebooks isn't always a high durability keyboard, especially if you are a heavy typist. This laptop had a few keys that died after about two years of usage. This HOWTO describes repairing the silicon membranes instead of buying an expensive original keyboard. After disassembling the defective keyboard, you will see that the silicon membranes that provided the support for each key where independent, unlike their desktop counterparts, where there is usually one big membrane covering the entire keyboard. So you may use the membrane of one of those slim desktop keyboards that are cheaply available everywhere.
COMPAQ Armada E500	Replacing laptop keys (and keyboards).
COMPAQ Armada M700	Keyboard replacement instructions.
COMPAQ LTE 5000	This page discusses how to safely and easily clean the keyboard on a notebook computer.
COMPAQ 486	How to convert a laptop keyboard into a desktop keyboard.
COMPAQ Presario 2500	Reattach a broken or lost keyboard key.
COMPAQ Presario V2000	Most V2xxx keyboards shared the same problem; when typing in the area where the arrows are, you can feel that there is space between the keyboard and the metal casing. You can hear a vibrating sound, like if the keys were bouncing. The easy fix is to remove the keyboard, and put some kind of thin cloth, kleenex, whatever below the keyboard. The keyboard now becomes firm and easy to use.
DELL Inspiron 1100	"Captain Disassemble" to the rescue: how to replace the keyboard.
DELL Inspiron 1100/1150/5100/5150	Keyboard removal instructions.
DELL Inspiron 3700/3800	Keyboard replacement tutorial.
DELL Inspiron 6000	How to exchange a broken or lost laptop keyboard key.
DELL Inspiron B120	This article tells about keyboard key replacement.
DELL Latitude CPx	Keyboard replacement guide.
DELL Latitude CPx	The Ultimate DELL 8IK Keyboard Fix: how to replace the original laptop keyboard with a small USB keyboard.
DELL Latitude CPx	There is a problem with some of Dell's notebook/laptop computers periodically or permanently a diagonal row of keys 8 i k , will stop functioning. Here is a simple but unofficial method of repairing a laptop that had the dreaded 8ik keyboard flaw.
Fujitsu-Siemens LifeBook S-2110	Replacing the keyboard: an illustrated step-by-step guide.
Fujitsu LifeBook P-5000	All the tips and trick to get a keyboard key exchanged.
GateWay 4000	Need to fix a broken or fallen off keyboard key? This illustrated HOWTO explains all the dirty work.
GateWay M275	You need to replace a broken keyboard key? Here is a useful guide.
GateWay MX7000	How to substitute a keyboard key: step-by-step explanations and pics.
GateWay Solo 400SD4	Keycap substitution guide.
HP Pavilion DV1000	A tutorial about laptop keyboard key replacement.
HP Pavilion DV2000	A guide to keyboard key substitution.
HP Pavilion DV6000	How to reattach a lost keyboard key.
HP Pavilion DV8000T	A keyboard checkup guide.
HP Pavilion N5425	Reseating the keyboard connector.
HP Pavilion ZE 1000	Keycap exchange: a concise guide.
HP Pavilion ZV 5000	Here are instructions for upgrading the laptop memory in seven relatively easy steps. Upgrading memory on this laptop could be tricky because one of the memory expansion slots is located under the keyboard.
HP/COMPAQ NC6400	How to remove the keyboard (aka: Where is the second RAM Slot?)
IBM ThinkPad 560	Repairing a design flaw of the keyboard.
IBM ThinkPad 770	DaliPC: an old laptop being transformed into an "electronic painting". Booting with no keyboard hack.
IBM ThinkPad 770Z	An illustrated explanation of the key mechanism, how to remove the spring, ring and frame of a keyboard key.
IBM ThinkPad i1400	HOW-TO: Laptop resurrection and upgrade, battery revival, membrane keyboard repairs, trackpoint transplant, adding USB ports and wireless LAN.
IBM ThinkPad T20	How to change a broken keyboard key.
IBM ThinkPad T20, T21, T22	Keyboard replacement instructions.
IBM ThinkPad N.N.	How to repair a missing notebook key.
LG S1	How to remove the keyboard from the laptop.
One Laptop Per Child - OLPC XO	So let's say that your XO laptop keyboard doesn't work. No matter if it's due to the "sticky keys" problem, or if you happened to dunk it in the kitchen sink in a foolish waterboarding test. Either way, you'll need to strip your XO.
Panasonic ToughBook	Putting a LED into the case to light the keyboard (includes take apart pictures).
Panasonic CF-50 ToughBook	How does the hinge mechanisms under the keyboard key work? Key exchangement tricks.
Panasonic CF-S23J8 Let's Note	How to open the keyboard to get access to the hard disk drive (in Japanese).
Samsung X10+ XTM1700	RAM, hard disk and keyboard upgrade, with disassembly pictures.
Sony VAIO PCG-C1MZX	Keyboard removal guide with pictures.
Sony VAIO PCG-FX501	How to change the CPU, fixing the noisy keyboard (in German).
Sony VAIO PCG-K	This short step-by-step tutorial explains how to change a single keyboard key.
Sony VAIO VGN-FE	Keycap substitution: how to fit the plastic hinge mechanism into the metal keyboard hooks.
Sony VAIO VGN-S150 (aka PCG-6C2L)	How to remove the laptop keyboard and clean it from spilled soda.
Sony VAIO VGN-SZ160P	How to fix the spacebar (video).
Toshiba Libretto 50CT	A quick guide on how to install PS/2 mouse and keyboard connections to the standard port replicator.
Toshiba Portege M200	How to replace individual keys on your laptop's keyboard.
Toshiba Portege M600	How to remove and replace the keyboard on this laptop.
Toshiba Satellite A15	Individual keyboard caps replacement guide.
Toshiba Satellite A75	Keycap replacement guide.
Toshiba Satellite A215	These instructions show how to remove the wireless card from the laptop. Also, you can use this guide for removing the keyboard.
Toshiba Satellite P15	If you need to replace the key of this laptop or similar models this tutorial tells you all you need to know.
Toshiba Satellite U305	How to remove and replace the laptop keyboard.
N.N.	Cleaning a laptop keyboard.
N.N.	How to reattach or replace a laptop keyboard key.