half the keys not working on a laptop

[K007]

I got in this Dell Inspiron 500M, and the keyboard keys on the right half not working.
For example you can type QWER but from T onwards does not work.
Same with other keys.
Checked the connections and all seem fine.
No signs of splilled coffee or liquids either.
Any Ideas, has someone been able to fix this without replacing the keyboard?

 

[basic]

Laptop keyboards, especially Dell's, are cheap enough that replacing it makes the most sense. Unless there is something that is obviously wrong with the keys it's probably the only way to fix it.

http://www.parts-people.com/

These guys have parts for pretty much every Dell laptop under the sun and the prices are usually good.

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

I got in this Dell Inspiron 500M, and the keyboard keys on the right half not working.

No signs of splilled coffee or liquids either.
Any Ideas, has someone been able to fix this without replacing the keyboard?

Please don't tell me the customer is too cheap to spring for a new keyboard?

Usually is due to a spill, especially if confined to one area like your are describing. We have all kinds of spare keyboards for replacing keycaps but that is only usually going to help if the key is loose/falling off/missing. If its dead keys its going to have to be a keyboard replacement.

 

[NYJimbo]

I got in this Dell Inspiron 500M, and the keyboard keys on the right half not working.
For example you can type QWER but from T onwards does not work.
Same with other keys.
Checked the connections and all seem fine.
No signs of splilled coffee or liquids either.
Any Ideas, has someone been able to fix this without replacing the keyboard?

Stop torturing yourself. Tell the client the only thing you can do at this point is replace the keyboard. Let them know its either the keyboard or the motherboard and what the price difference is. If they wont spring for the keyboard then walk away from it. You are not going to "fix" it if you already checked the cable. A keyboard for this is about $35 and takes 2 minutes to install.

 

[K007]

Thank you for all your help.
The customer said is not worth spending that amount of money on it because is ancient and it had the screen replaced last year.
All in all, the money would be better invested into a new laptop.
I got it for spare parts and paid £30.00 for it.
Of course add to that my diagnosis, makes it about £60.00 in total.
Will replace the keyboard and re-sell it. Hopefully will make a little profit.

Edit:
Forgot to say, this is a new customer, and even if I make no much profit, if he was happy (and he was) he'll come back.

 

[angry_geek]

It's a little late now, but I keep cheap usb keyboards around for just this type of situation. If they don't want to replace the one in the lappy, I sell one of the cheap usb kb's and charge for my diagnosis.

 

[Doctor Micro]

Just for the heck of it, pop the keyboard and see if the ribbon cable from the keyboard to the motherboard is loose and partway out.

 

[NYJimbo]

Just for the heck of it, pop the keyboard and see if the ribbon cable from the keyboard to the motherboard is loose and partway out.

I think he already did that in the beginning:

Checked the connections and all seem fine.

But you know what, just for the heck of it maybe he should reseat the cable. I remember a few months ago a customers touchpad was not working and it looked fine. I pulled the cable out and put it back in and it worked. So it could be some kind of corrosion or some crap on one of the lines. I've seen this on some super cheap SATA cables when they pull random errors.

 

[K007]

Just for the heck of it, pop the keyboard and see if the ribbon cable from the keyboard to the motherboard is loose and partway out.

That was the first thing I checked.
Looks untouched.
It may be one of the wires within the cable that is gone or maybe even the socket itself.
There is a 50% chance that the socket on the motherboard is faulty in which case it will make it's money back from selling/re-using the parts.
Just dropped it on the shelf. Will deal with it some other time.

I will keep you guys informed if I find the real fault.

 

[AtYourService]

probably spilled something on it

ebay is your best bet, probably could have gotten a replacement for less than $20