An update to my post about the Phantom of the Laptop…
This morning the phantom struck again, at the same keyboard keys I have had trouble with. And rebooting the laptop twice did not solve the problem.
So in an act of desperation, I lifted my laptop off the table, and firmly tapped the bottom of it underneath the acting-up letters (YES, it was a “tap”; I did not “hit” my computer, although I wanted to).
Presto. It now works perfectly. So maybe the phantom is just wanting a massage or something. So I’ll try the tapping thing for awhile.
For now, the laptop is still running. Now where did I put that duct tape?
Wayward Son
Musician. Composer. Recovering perfectionist. Minister-in-transition. Lover of puns. Hijacker of rock song references. Questioner of the status quo.
I'm not really a rebel. Just a sincere Christ-follower with a thirst for significance that gets me into trouble. My quest has taken me over the fence of institutional Christianity. Here are some of my random thoughts along the way. Read along, join in the conversation. Just be nice.
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If it dies and doesn’t look like it wants to resurrect (and only then – don’t attempt this before hand), most laptop keyboards come off with a little wrestling (you may be able to find directions for your model if you search online). Then you could take it off, shake it out (to get all the crumbs out :o) and even vacuum it. That may help.
Also, at least at home I presume you use an external keyboard anyway. If not, you can get one cheap and at least extend the life of your machine for a while longer.
Good luck, citizen!
Tried any of that compressed air stuff?
the only hope of killing the phantom is to buy a Mac 🙂
I had similar problems on my Mac – caused by my brother-in-law spilling a glass of water on it! I think the water washed bunch of junk into the keyboard – that I couldn’t get out again.
A new keyboard solved the problem (an easy switch on an iBook).
In the interim, I just used an external keyboard.