Laptops Forum

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Really Bad Yahoo Tech article

0 helpful
16 replies

by support gal

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

Did anyone else notice the Yahoo featured article yesterday on dead laptop keyboards? It made me shudder to think any of my customer might see it and try their suggestions. There's a blog about the article on BetweenCalls. Read the article at
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/dealing-with-a-dead-laptop-keyboard/153166
and check out the blog at http://betweencalls.com. Just click on Blogs in the menu. It's the latest one.

16 replies

by tig2

Hard to believe that anyone, much less Yahoo would be so irresponsible. I'm a certified tech and there are laptops I won't take apart. As the blogger suggests, every tech I know would rather eat glass!

The worst is that they put the best suggestion (use a USB keyboard) at the very end of the article, thus suggesting that the DIY approach is somehow better!

I have a Dell lappie with a dead keyboard. I use a USB keyboard with it and call it a day.

Sheesh!

by mayhem1969

just said beat it with a hammer and then go get a new laptop with a new keyboard that works. I don't see the difference.

by tig2

I just think it is irresponsible to put an article out there that assumes that the reader will know that. A tech MIGHT but only if that tech has some hardware knowledge.

That article was just wrong. And no way to set a disclaimer on it like "Don't do this for the love of God!!!"

by nitgundo

i have a gateway 500L and want to upgrade the cpu but i can't get the bios update . where can i find it.i tried gateway homepage but i get nothing as far as the model . i guess it's so old .

by the scummy one

It was not really a bad article. Most users can easily change their own keyboards, and the article does suggest getting the manual for their notebook. It even gives hints on replacing with 3rd party devices.

It wasn't a great article, but I dont see it as a bad one. More like a typical Yahoo one.

by charliespencer

Yahoo just posted it. The content is actually from a "... for Dummies" book.

"...open the laptop, removing whatever pieces stand in the way of getting at the connections to the internal keyboard. (These obstacles may include plastic casings, the hard drive, the battery, and sometimes much more.)"

That's the part that causes me concern. I can see Joe Laptop, no wrist strap, opening every conceivable orifice, taking out the HD, leaving the battery in, futzing with the RAM, shorting something something out with a casually placed screwdriver, etc.

by ganyssa

attempt to replace a laptop keyboard. He also left the laptop plugged in while he did it and dropped a screwdriver through the grate into the motherboard.

Then he called for support and said "my laptop won't boot up - I don't know what happened."

by forum surfer

I've been in the business for more than 10 years...granted that's not long, but whatever. I have never once killed a device via static and I can't bring myself to wear one of those wrist straps. The only time I ever wear one is in a server room installing cards on enerprise level cisco switches/routers...and only then because the equipment costs more than I make in a year. And taking apart a laptop is easy, it's just like anything else out there (cars, computers, whatever). Just put it back like you found it, down to the most minute detail and everything will work fine.

by seanferd

They should have put the Warning icon, found at the end of the article, right before the title.

Heck, I take these kind of risks, but not with a newer laptop, definitely not if it is under warranty. I am generally fairly good with disassembly of various things I want fixed, but I sure wouldn't suggest this to the general public. The worst part, usually, is putting something like this back together and getting the case to close properly without anything misaligning itself.

Perhaps we should watch for help postings related to this article for people who have done this as suggested, only to trash their laptop.

edit: Oh boy, "23 of 25 Yahoo! users found this helpful."

by cmiller5400

I've replaced a broken power connector on the mainboard for a Dell laptop. That was one of the worst repairs I have done. No room to work, 6 connections to remove solder from without destroying the rest of the board. Yuck. I will now double my going rate if they insist that I do that again.

by mjd420nova

I would expect this kind of article from a teenager who is unskilled and more of a danger than a help. I've had to clean up so many of these amatuer attempts to fix a unit following those kinds of directions. I guess it keeps us in coffee money. I cringe at this attempt to be helpful yet failing so badly to be of any help whatsoever. The biigest detriment to this approach is the missing grounding strap and the terrible ragged edges left on the case after using a screwdriver to seperate the upper and lower half of the case. And then all the broken connectors that get destroyed when they don't know how to unclip the hold down for the ribbon cable. It it marginally works before it certainly won't afterwards and will require a major rebuild to get it back in operation. IDIOTS

by seanferd

Yahoo Tech Article is downright reckless
http://betweencalls.com
Is the title if you are looking for this. Web address included for your convenience.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

D@mn straight, my friend!
This article, for folks who can't even find the "any" key.
I wonder if they tell you to clean a laptop keyboard by immersing the entire unit in a bathtub, also.

by iamlegend

If you decide to disassemble something like a laptop, use your digital camera to document the process of taking the device apart. If you're uncertain how exactly it is all put back together, reviewing your photos will help. This works for computers, as well as mechicanical devices.

by hal 9000

One of the IBM Main Frame Power Boards. I started by telling them to pickup a Soldering Iron and remove the Transistor whatever. This wasn't for public consumption but only for IBM Certified Techs and the very first response that I got was that the [b]Board Caught Fire[/b] while this guy was removing the Transistor. As I was going that way the next day I drooped in to find that a Plumbers Soldering Iron had been used one of those Petrol Fired Irons that was used to Solder up Guttering many years ago.

Needless to say what should have been a very simple repair resulted in the destruction of a Very Expensive Board & me rewriting the Manual. Instead of taking half a page of instruction I eventually wrote a Fool Proof one that took 10 Foolscap Pages. Even then I'm not completely sure that someone couldn't have messed up the repair but as IBM came out with a Service Document for this repair I was never asked to do one again.

Col

by seanferd

If it is no longer supported by Gateway, a la MPC, you'll just have to Google for your BIOS string. (Phoenix BIOS, it seems.)

You also might want to consider which thing you are attempting to do: Upgrade the CPU, or find a BIOS update. Hardware, software. I doubt there is much of a CPU upgrade available.

This discussion is closed to new replies.