home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.misc
- Path: sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!destroyer!ubc-cs!unixg.ubc.ca!kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca!atlantis!bugs
- From: bugs@atlantis.uucp (Dan Berry)
- Subject: Re: Cleaning the keyboard
- Message-ID: <1992Aug27.062202.22924@atlantis.uucp>
- Organization: Atlantis Communications, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
- References: <59828@mimsy.umd.edu>
- Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 06:22:02 GMT
- Lines: 51
-
- Alex Blakemore (alex@cs.umd.edu) wrote:
- : In article <1992Aug21.192538.8459@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au> ede978e@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (Robert D. Nicholson) writes:
- : > Can somebody explain how to clean out the gunk in my keyboard?
- :
- : this worked for my new style keyboard - no guarantees
- : 1. take off some keys by pulling straight up with needle nose pliers.
- : the space bar lets you clean more but is hard to replace.
- : 2. clean
- : 3. replace keys
- :
- : under the space bar is a thin metal rod - it needs to snap into
- : the two small plastic slots under the key.
- : the only way I could reposition it was to
- : 1. put on the space bar,
- : 2. take out the screws from the back
- : 3. gently pry up the top (partly),
- : ... (and other cleaning instructions) ...
-
- WHOA! Wait a second here! Do *NOT* do this, at least in this order and with
- these tools. This is all you need, and how to REALLY go about it in a safe
- way that won't snap keys off or potentially ruin things.
-
- Get these materials: 1) a cleaning cloth. Yes, CLOTH. Not a Kleenex(tm),
- just a plain cotton cloth. 2) some isopropyl alcohol. Go to a drugstore if
- you have to; get the highest % of isopropyl you can find (read: NOT rubbing
- alcohol). 3) Q-tips. 4) a Phillips #2 screwdriver.
-
- Do this: Disconnect the keyboard and mouse from the (powered off) monitor/
- keyboard (respectively). Dismantle the keyboard by unscrewing the 7 screws
- on the underside; 5 are visible, 2 are under the rubber feet. Pull the
- plastic case apart, and remove the keyboard from case.
-
- NOTE: Although keyboards are essentially not much more than a mess of
- switches wired together on a board, there ARE I.C.s in your keyboard. Avoid
- touching the PC-board at all costs, if you can.
-
- Set the keyboard down on a clean tabletop, and if you have to remove the
- keycaps then DO IT BY HAND. Do NOT force them off by twisting them or yanking
- too hard. Be specially careful about the spacebar, as other people have noted.
-
- Use the Q-tips, cloth and alcohol to clean as you need to. Do NOT use water
- or any other liquid substances that can corrode your wirings. At this point,
- I'm sure you can figure out how to stick the whole thing back together again.
-
- If it doesn't seem obvious, you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.
-
- --
- Dan Berry == President, NeXT Edmonton Owners Network / UofA Computers Tech.
- bugs%atlantis@cs.ualberta.ca (bugs@atlantis.uucp) *** NO NeXTmail! ***
- "On a first date, watch how your date treats the waiter, the bartender,
- and so on. That's how she'll be treating YOU after three months."
-