The Magic of Keyboards

DJ SlamÃƒÂ¡k · Post by **DJ SlamÃƒÂ¡k** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:49 pm

Following in the footsteps of our good friend Antimeasure, I too shall pose a hardware-related question to this forum, albeit likely a simpler and stupider one.

My keyboard, a fancy Genius SlimStar or whatever they call it (I call it "that piece of crap"), has finally given up the ghost. This is not the keyboard I want to fix, since it never really worked the way a real keyboard should (it was made using that compact technology they use for laptop keyboards).

I remembered that I had an older keyboard mothballed somewhere (a Samsung SDM4500 Intarwebs Keyboard if that means anything to anyone), which I had chucked when it stopped working partially. I took it out, plugged it in, and took it for a test drive. I was extatic - everything seemed to work just fine! Well, I soon remembered that not everything was fine; in fact, the keyboard hadn't fixed itself at all.

* Ctrl+Shift doesn't work
* Shift plus Q, T, O, \, Backspace, and the right arrow doesn't work
* The slightest touch of the leet programmable keys has a fairly high chance of activating the E-mail key's circuit, which fires up outlook fucking express, and I have to disinfect my room.

However, it's still the best keyboard I've got right now, and I'm totally dead broke so I can't buy a new one (just any keyboard won't do, you see; I have some very specific and unreasonable demands, plus I tend to attach myself emotionally to my hardware). And here's the best part: About a day after I took it out, it actually started to work properly, although it lasted only a few minutes before reverting to the same old borkedness. So there is hope. A slim hope that few know of.

So here's my question - any of you got experience fixing keyboards that got water in them about a year ago?

Wooo, 600 posts

S4ur0n27 · Post by **S4ur0n27** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:16 pm

Why don't you just buy a new one? The cheap ones are like 8$. You can't really be that broke? If so, ask Teatime for tricks.

Thor Kaufman · Post by **Thor Kaufman** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:32 pm

buy the cheapest Logitech keyboard, they're great

Frater Perdurabo · Post by **Frater Perdurabo** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:57 pm

Is it wireless?

atoga · Post by **atoga** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:13 pm

Are you really a DJ?

Antimeasure · Post by **Antimeasure** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:25 pm

Change the keyboard to a piano.

vx trauma · Post by **vx trauma** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:38 pm

and plug the instrument through distortion, reverse reverb and fuzz. and maybe ovedrive. and eq's between all effect units.

Redeye · Post by **Redeye** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:53 pm

DJ SlamÃƒÂ¯Ã‚Â¿Ã‚Â½k wrote:Following in the footsteps of our good friend Antimeasure, I too shall pose a hardware-related question to this forum, albeit likely a simpler and stupider one.

My keyboard, a fancy Genius SlimStar or whatever they call it (I call it "that piece of crap"), has finally given up the ghost. This is not the keyboard I want to fix, since it never really worked the way a real keyboard should (it was made using that compact technology they use for laptop keyboards).

I remembered that I had an older keyboard mothballed somewhere (a Samsung SDM4500 Intarwebs Keyboard if that means anything to anyone), which I had chucked when it stopped working partially. I took it out, plugged it in, and took it for a test drive. I was extatic - everything seemed to work just fine! Well, I soon remembered that not everything was fine; in fact, the keyboard hadn't fixed itself at all.

* Ctrl+Shift doesn't work
* Shift plus Q, T, O, \, Backspace, and the right arrow doesn't work
* The slightest touch of the leet programmable keys has a fairly high chance of activating the E-mail key's circuit, which fires up outlook fucking express, and I have to disinfect my room.

However, it's still the best keyboard I've got right now, and I'm totally dead broke so I can't buy a new one (just any keyboard won't do, you see; I have some very specific and unreasonable demands, plus I tend to attach myself emotionally to my hardware). And here's the best part: About a day after I took it out, it actually started to work properly, although it lasted only a few minutes before reverting to the same old borkedness. So there is hope. A slim hope that few know of.

So here's my question - any of you got experience fixing keyboards that got water in them about a year ago?

Wooo, 600 posts

Too bad its not a regular keyboard you need.

You could just "trade" yours for one from a school or public library or Internet Cafe.

hat_man99 · Post by **hat_man99** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:17 am

[quote="DJ SlamÃƒÂ¡Ã‚Â«Ã‚Â¢]Following in the footsteps of our good friend Antimeasure, I too shall pose a hardware-related question to this forum, albeit likely a simpler and stupider one.

My keyboard, a fancy Genius SlimStar or whatever they call it (I call it "that piece of crap"), has finally given up the ghost. This is not the keyboard I want to fix, since it never really worked the way a real keyboard should (it was made using that compact technology they use for laptop keyboards).

I remembered that I had an older keyboard mothballed somewhere (a Samsung SDM4500 Intarwebs Keyboard if that means anything to anyone), which I had chucked when it stopped working partially. I took it out, plugged it in, and took it for a test drive. I was extatic - everything seemed to work just fine! Well, I soon remembered that not everything was fine; in fact, the keyboard hadn't fixed itself at all.

* Ctrl+Shift doesn't work
* Shift plus Q, T, O, \, Backspace, and the right arrow doesn't work
* The slightest touch of the leet programmable keys has a fairly high chance of activating the E-mail key's circuit, which fires up outlook fucking express, and I have to disinfect my room.

However, it's still the best keyboard I've got right now, and I'm totally dead broke so I can't buy a new one (just any keyboard won't do, you see; I have some very specific and unreasonable demands, plus I tend to attach myself emotionally to my hardware). And here's the best part: About a day after I took it out, it actually started to work properly, although it lasted only a few minutes before reverting to the same old borkedness. So there is hope. A slim hope that few know of.

So here's my question - any of you got experience fixing keyboards that got water in them about a year ago?

Wooo, 600 posts[/quote]

How the fuck are you typing if you key board bit the dust

Edit: Why the fuck didnt it quote it properly? Dammit!!

POOPERSCOOPER · Post by **POOPERSCOOPER** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:20 am

I had a computer teacher that would put keyboards in the washing machine and let dry for couple days and they seemed to still work fine afterwards. You can always open up your keyboard and relign the buttons inside but I haven't done it before and don't know if thats even the problem.

atoga · Post by **atoga** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:40 am

Wouldn't that just be, like, for cleaning it of sticky subtances? Sounds useful though.

Koki · Post by **Koki** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:09 am

Contrary to popular belief, water does not make electronics go boom if they're not plugged in at the same time. As a person who literaly washed my comp in a bathtub: I GUARANTEE IT.

Can't you just look inside and see what's up? It could be, for example, a cord's fault.

DJ SlamÃƒÂ¡k · Post by **DJ SlamÃƒÂ¡k** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:51 am

This is all very... DAC.

Why don't you just buy a new one?

I devoted an entire paragraph to that.

Are you really a DJ?

No. I thought you knew.

Too bad its not a regular keyboard you need.

Yep.

How the fuck are you typing if you key board bit the dust

It works other than what I described. There are ways to get around the errors, but they're a pain in the ass. (I don't want to have to hit Caps Lock every time I want to type an uppercase T.)

Can't you just look inside and see what's up?

I can, and probably will. I just wanted to know what I'm doing.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:19 pm

If it sometimes works and mostly doesn't, I think the keyboard probably "can't get contact". The wires might be nearly cut etc. Arm yourself with a soldering iron and prepare for the worst, corporal

Antimeasure · Post by **Antimeasure** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:09 pm

Im hijacking this thread, from now on this thread is all about my faulty scrollwheel and the steve miller band.

ExtremeDrinker · Post by **ExtremeDrinker** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:20 pm

Are you a midnight toker?

S4ur0n27 · Post by **S4ur0n27** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:16 pm

My wheel used to be fucked too; I needed to go all wild on it for it to scroll windows, but now she's okay. My

is :gutten:

Mandalorian FaLLouT GoD · Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:03 pm

I can tell you that I have no knowledge of keyboard repair because it just isn't done that often.

Most of the time, you can't just open it up and look. Those compact keyboards don't look much like the normal cheapo keyboards everyone else uses.

Odds are that the water may have partially fused the circuitry between the buttons which seem to connect and may have partially severed connections between the buttons that don't work. Connections like that can cause any type of random problems and appear to work just fine at other times

Which pretty much means that it is fucked so you are either fixing it or buying a new one. Or dealing with your problems.
I mean, emotional attachment is reserved for main components, such as a computer tower or a nice automobile. Not a keyboard.

DJ SlamÃƒÂ¡k · Post by **DJ SlamÃƒÂ¡k** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:59 pm

As I said, FUCK the compact keyboard. That one was a piece of crap from the start. (I probably didn't make it very clear, but the Samsung is normal.)

Eventually though, I just did the thing where you simply take something apart and put it back together again, and the magic fairies from poofter kingdom do all the work. It was effective. The only problem is that the left Shift key now needs to be pushed stronger, but I suppose I've just left some screws loose inside. I'm not sure if I'm going to open it again, though, for fear of fucking it back up.

I honestly have no idea what the problem was. There was a visible stain on the metal plate and there was (permanent) discoloration on the circuitry, but they didn't match. That's it.

Mandalorian FaLLouT GoD also wrote:stuff

No way. A keyboard is a very important thing. It's the most important part of the interface between your computer and your mind. It laps up your words eagerly as it whispers its sweet clickety-clack. It laughs with you, cries with you. It grows up with you. What is this about keyboards not being important? You talk just like those shadow people, Mandy. Are you one of the shadow people?

Antimeasure · Post by **Antimeasure** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 9:53 pm

dont be lazy, you could use your mouse to copy paste the letters your missing.

Duck and Cover

The Magic of Keyboards

The Magic of Keyboards

Re: The Magic of Keyboards

Re: The Magic of Keyboards