HOW TO FIX BROKEN KEYBOARD CONNECTOR ON LAPTOP MOTHERBOARD

This guide explains how to fix a broken keyboard connector on a laptop motherboard. I do not claim that my instructions will work for any connector type in any laptop brand, but if I can help a few people, I can call my mission accomplished.
Let’s say the keyboard in your laptop stopped working properly and you decided to install a new keyboard yourself. You disassembled the laptop, removed the keyboard, tried to unlock the keyboard connector and… OHH! MAN!… a piece of the locking clip on the connector got broken!
What can you do? Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of options. The keyboard connector is permanently soldered to the motherboard and cannot be replaced at home. If the connector was damaged, you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard, use the laptop with an external USB keyboard, or…. try the following trick. Hopefully it works or you.

The keyboard cable is locked inside the connector on the motherboard. In order to remove the keyboard, you have to unlock the connector and release the cable.

On the picture below you see one of the most common connectors. It has the base (white in my case) and locking clip (brown in my case). The keyboard cable is jammed between the locking clip and base.
To unlock the connector, you have to move the locking clip about 2 millimeters in the direction shown by two yellow arrows.
IMPORTANT! The locking clip must stay attached to the connector base.
After that you can pull the keyboard cable (green arrow) and remove the keyboard.

If you are not careful enough, you can move the locking clip too much and break it.
On the picture below you can see the locking clip is missing the left hook.

On the next picture both sides of the clip are broken.

IMPORTANT! Do not though away the broken clip even though it looks completely useless.

If you insert the cable into the connector and will not lock it with a clip, the cable will not make good contact with pins inside the connector and the keyboard will not work.

Here’s how to install the broken clip back in place and make it work.
Position the broken clip the way it was before. In my case both sides of the connector are broken. What could have been worse?

Carefully insert the keyboard cable into the connector. Note, in this type of connector, the cable goes above the locking clip.

Carefully push the broken clip back in place. You can use a small screwdriver to push on the clip behind the cable.
The clip fits tightly when there is a cable inside the connector.

Secure the connection with sticky tape and you should be good to go. The keyboard should work just fine.

The keyboard connector shown on the following picture is very similar to the previous one. The only difference – the keyboard cable is routed under the locking clip. Fix it the same way as the previous connector.

On the next picture you see another type of keyboard connector. The cable is inserted vertically.

In order to unlock the connector, you’ll have to move the locking clip (brown piece) about 2 millimeters up in the direction shown by two yellow arrows. After that you can pull the keyboard cable (green arrow) and remove the keyboard.

If you move the locking clip too far, you can break it.
In my example the right side of the clip is broken. But you still can use it!

Insert the keyboard cable into the connector, position the broken locking clip correctly (behind the cable in my case) and carefully push it in.
Even with a broken clip the cable will make good connection with the base and the keyboard should work.

Here’s the same connector shown from the opposite side. You cannot even tell if the locking clip is broken.

If this trick worked for you, it means I just saved you a few hundred bucks on the motherboard replacement

HOW TO DISASSEMBLE LAPTOP KEYBOARD

How to disassemble a laptop keyboard? Can I take it apart and clean liquid spill? Is it easy to repair a damaged keyboard?
I’ve been getting these questions many times and today I show how to disassemble a laptop keyboard. You decide if it’s possible and easy or not.
By the way, in one of the previous posts I explain how to fix individual keys on a laptop keyboard.
I’m doing it for fun. I’m working on a damaged keyboard and have no intention to use it in the future.

First of all, you’ll have to remove the laptop keyboard.

For the keyboard disassembly I’ll be using one of my tools shown on the following picture.

STEP 1.
Remove sticky tape securing the keyboard cable to back of the keyboard.

STEP 2.
Part of the keyboard cable is glued to the keyboard. Carefully separate the cable from the keyboard.

STEP 3.
Start peeling off the aluminum protective film

STEP 4.
Remove the protective film.
After the protective film is removed it’s really hard to attach it back to the keyboard because it’s deformed.

STEP 5.
Most laptop keyboards have some kind of plastic separators.

These separators secured on the back of the keyboard.
Plastic pins are melted on the back of the keyboard and retain separators in place.

Push all plastic pins though wholes on the keyboard.

Start removing the separator.

The plastic separator has been removed.

STEP 6.
Now you’ll have to remove all key caps.
Before you start removing key caps, make a picture or xerocopy of the keyboard so you know the order in which keys are attached to the keyboard.

In order to remove the key cap carefully lift it up with your fingers.

Remove the key cap so the hinge underneath stays connected to the keyboard.

Some big keys have a different design.
In addition to the hinge, some big keys (Back space or Space bar for example) might have an additional support bracket.

Remove the key cap with the support bracket. As you see, the key hinge stays connected to the keyboard.

STEP 7.
Some laptop keyboards might have blank covers on the left and right sides from the up arrow key.

Lift up and remove the blank cover.

All keyboard key caps and plastic separators have been removed.

STEP 8.
Now you can start removing key hinges – key lifting mechanisms.

Carefully separate the key hinge from the keyboard.

Each key hinge has two parts – external and internal pieces.
When you remove the hinge, try to keep these parts connected to each other the same way they are connected on the keyboard.

If the external and internal pieces got separated, you can assemble them together.

On the following picture you see the lifting mechanism (hinge) assembled.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I’m taking this keyboard apart just for fun. That’s why I don’t care about removed parts.
If you following this guide to repair the keyboard, I would recommend to keep all hinges in the right order.

STEP 9.
The keyboard has two sheets laying one on the top of another.
Remove the sheet with silicone (or rubber) nipples.

STEP 10.
Remove the second sheet with traces.

Both sheets have been separated from the keyboard base.

STEP 11.
The sheet with traces has two layers and all traces are running between these layers.

STEP 12.
In order to access and repair traces you’ll have to separate to layers from each other.

The keyboard has been disassemble.

As you see it’s not easy to disassemble a laptop keyboard and even harder to put it back together.

FIXING COMPAQ PRESARIO V6000 LAPTOP MOTHERBOARD WITH “NO VIDEO” ISSUE

Here’s how I fixed a Compaq Presario V6000 motherboard with “no video” issue. Not sure if this fix will last forever but it works and the laptop is back to life.
Also, this fix might work for the following HP/Compaq laptop motherboards: HP Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000, Compaq Presario V3000 and probably some other models.
WARNING!
This repair might be harmful for your health and baking motherboard in an oven could be a bad idea. It could be toxic. I don’t know if it is or not. I did this repair for myself, at my own risk. I’m just sharing my experience. If you decide to fix your motherboard the same way, please do it at your own risk.
Again, proceed at your own risk. Otherwise, close this page and take your laptop to the professional repair shop.

FIXING “NO VIDEO” ISSUE BY BACKING THE MOTHERBOARD.

Problem description: I had an abandoned Compaq Presario V6000 laptop. The laptop was turning on when I press on the power button but after a few seconds turning off by itself. There was no video on the laptop screen or external monitor. I tried another AC adapter, new memory modules but it didn’t help. I was pretty sure this is motherboard related failure.

Research: After I did some research on the Internet, I found that this is a known problem with Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000 and Presario V3000/V6000 motherboards and most likely related to the graphics chip failure. The graphics chip (aka GPU or video chip) is soldered to the motherboard. Apparently, there are bad solder joints between the graphics chip and motherboard. Overtime the graphics chip separates from the motherboard causing all kind of different video problems.
Possible solution: One guy suggested baking the failed motherboard in a conventional oven preheated to 385 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly 8 minutes. This process should reflow the graphics chip solder joints and give the motherboard a second life.
I had nothing to lose and decided to give it a try. Here’s how I did it step by step.
First of all, you’ll have to disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard.
STEP 1.

Remove all peripheral components installed on the motherboard (memory, cooling module, CPU, etc…). Remove all protective films from the motherboard. The motherboard will be baking at a very high temperature and all that can burn has to be removed.
Tip: Make lots of pictures while stripping down the motherboard. They will help you to put all removed protective films back in proper locations.
STEP 2.

Here’s how the same side of the motherboard looks without protective plastic films.
You can see the problematic graphics chip, it’s on the right side from the CPU socket.
STEP 3.

Remove all protective plastic films from the other side of the motherboard. Disconnect the audio cable.
STEP 4.

The motherboard will be seating in the oven on the baking pan. In order to elevate the motherboard above the baking pan I’ll use a few screws.
STEP 5.

I installed screws in four corners of the motherboard. There are plenty holes for screws.
STEP 6.

You can see there is a 3/4 inch gap between the motherboard and desk surface. By the way, I positioned the motherboard so the graphics chip seats on the top.
STEP 7.

Place the motherboard on the baking pan. Make sure it’s not touching anything.
Preheat the conventional gas oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit and place the motherboard in the middle of the oven for 8 minutes. You’ll smell some burning plastic in about 6 minutes.
After that remove the baking pan with motherboard and let it cool down for about 30-40 minutes.
Install the motherboard back into the laptop, assemble the laptop back together and see if it works.

This fix worked for me! After I assembled the laptop, it started properly right away taking me to the BIOS setup menu. I didn’t have the hard drive, so I tested my laptop with a Knoppix live Linux CD. The laptop video works great!