Toshiba Laptop Woes

[ironman2003]

Here's the issue - I came home today to find out that my daughter spilled a full mug (24oz) of water into my laptop with it's lid closed and powered down. She mopped it up, then turned it on, the system powered up, but keyboard ran away (repeating key forever). She didn't know any better and left it running until it's power saver went into effect and shut it down.

When I attempted to turn the laptop on without knowing that this had happened, I noticed the keyboard issue. I have it completely locked down which requires a password upon power on (no way that I know of to bypass). This has left my laptop crippled.

I called toshiba support and spoke to them and was informed that they will not repair this under standard warranty. Ok, so I bite the bullet and ask what part number I need, and was promptly told they could not give that out.

So, now I am on Ebay and can't figure out if it is compatible with other models. Here are my specs:

Toshiba A55-S106 (Walmart Special)

It seems to me that it would be directly compatible with the other A55 series, but they wouldn't advise me on that either.

I am now letting the system air dry after popping all the keys off, will go away for the weekend and come back to hopefully a healthy keyboard, but need to know my options if at all for the keyboard.

Can anyone advise on the compatibility of this model, or part numbers?

Thanks!

[IcemanND]

the part number is normallly on a label on the back of the keyboard.

check out www.mpdparts.com and www.nationalparts.com they have a fairly large selection of toshiba parts listed by model.

[LLXX]

A spill of pure water will probably be recoverable, just wait a while for it to *completely* dry.

It may help to remove the entire keyboard assy. from the case and check to see if any moisture remains on the mobo below. Let it dry in a warm area (not HOT!) for at least 2 days.

Did you mention it was spilled while the lid was closed?

Check for moisture on the mobo. The keyb itself is probably not at fault here.

Edited February 21, 2006 by LLXX

[ripken204]

she turned it on! she should have let it dry for a day or two, or put a blow dryer on it.

oh well, i hope that it dries out when you get back, good luck

[ironman2003]

It may help to remove the entire keyboard assy. from the case and check to see if any moisture remains on the mobo below. Let it dry in a warm area (not HOT!) for at least 2 days.

Hey thanks for your help! I do have one question though - how do I get the assembly open? I removed all screws, all boards inside which were removable (Ram, modem HDD etc), but upon pulling the unit open, it will not come apart. I believe I a missing a screw somewhere (No pun intended).

[IcemanND]

not sure exactly what this model looks like but there are usually screws under the keyboard that hold ti together more. Remove the bezel above the keyboard then the 1-3 screws holding the keyboard dowm. then take out more as needed.

If it's like the other Toshiba laptops I've taken apart.

[LLXX]

...also on most laptops you have to slide the keyb assy. forward or backwards slightly to disengage the retaining clips before it will come out. An upward+forward or upward+backward motion should work.

Just don't rip the ribbon cable connecting the keyb to the mobo.

Edit: Found it~! Look http://irisvista.com/tech/laptops/ToshibaA...ve_keyboard.htm

Edited February 22, 2006 by LLXX

[ironman2003]

Nice find!

I actually just managed to pull the keyboard out about 1 hour before I got your message here. Go figure!

I am pretty sure it is toasted. I checked it out, and to the touch, it is quite dry. I am going down to the store to pick up a USB keyboard to try it out and will see if it works. Cross your fingers.

If all works well as I hope it should, I will use that until my replacement comes from Good 'ol neighboring Canada. (have to hit ebay first where I saw the one I need.)

Now for those that don't know, to dissasemble the keyboard requires an act of congress as it is completely "welded" at the plastic points, so no luck. I used to work on keyboards which had carbon pads such as this and they were quite easy to repair, but not on this one.

Thanks for all your help and I will keep you all posted.

[Chozo4]

oddly, have you tried putting something like cardboard under the removed keyboard to insulate the metallic bottom from the rest of the laptop? Test it out if it works that way then, if so... you might have a short in the keyboard itself but it might still be fully functional. It would stop working then due to conducting with some other parts in the laptop.

Did work on an IBM laptop that got 'wet' in the keyboard as well. Somehow it would stop working when any metallic contact had been made to certain areas of the keyboard un the underside. Using pakaging tape to insulate the whole bottom fixed the problem. Do note that the repair was done 1 month after the incident so it was most definately dry at the time.

[ironman2003]

I didn't think of that myself as far as insulating, but do know that for about 99% of it, all electronic components are either covered by the plastic casing itself underneith, or covered already in a thin plastic film.

I did hook up the external USB keyboard and it works just like a charm, although very un-natural for a laptop.

[ironman2003]

Ok, just got the new replacement laptop keyboard plugged in, and it didn't work too well. The following keys did not work:

8il. Down arrow and a few others.

I thought that it was a dead deal and the mobo decided to fry due to the water. But then I went ahead and took another stab at it. I removed the keyboard, played with the seating of the connector and it still did not work, BUT, after positioning the keyboard a little oddly and then fastening it in w/o the shield to cover the connector, it works perfectly.

Any oddball ideas out there as to why it works w/o the sheild and the ribbon cable tilted off the normal horizontal plane?

I am considering myself lucky in this one for now.

[LLXX]

Any moisture in the connector, and are the contacts inside it in good condition?