Laptop Keyboard for Dell Inspiron 630M 640M 6400 9400 E1405 E1505 E1705 XPS M140
January 9, 2010 · Posted in Laptop
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5 Responses to “Laptop Keyboard for Dell Inspiron 630M 640M 6400 9400 E1405 E1505 E1705 XPS M140”
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I had broken the letter “i” off my Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop (got something, probably a crumb stuck under it and accidentally broke the metal binding of the key while trying to put it back on). I was told that breaking the metal binding was a death sentence, and needed to replace the keyboard. So I shopped, saw lots of positive reviews for SunValleyTek keyboards, and went with them. I got the keyboard shipped to me and it arrived several days earlier than predicted (they told me Thurs, I think I got it mon or tues). I installed this new keyboard and it works great (I’m typing on it now). I tested each key, and every key on the board works. And this keyboard is quieter than my original keyboard! I’m very happy with it.
For details on installing keyboard, it’s not that difficult once you know what to do and obtain the proper tools. First, you unplug your laptop and take out the battery. Then I used a butter knife to pop up the plastic cover that has the text “Inspiron|E1505″ printed on it and the power button on it (you’ll see the little indentation on the right side of this panel, that’s where you put the butter knife). It sounds like its breaking, but it actually pops off nicely and cleanly if you’re gentle (read the instructions from Dell on how to remove this panel [. . . ]). I followed the guide provided by [. . . ] to remove the old keyboard. You use a “small” Philips screwdriver (often included in a generic computer repair kit) to unscrew the 2 screws listed on the Dell website. Then you carefully pop out the keyboard, which at that point is only held in by plastic tabs. Finally, to detach the ribbon cable connecting the keyboard to the motherboard, you fold the grey latch bar up, and then you simply lift out the old ribbon connector. You then insert the ribbon connector of the new keyboard (had to peel it off the plastic on the bottom of the new keyboard) and fold the latch closed (this was the most difficult part, I couldn’t get the old ribbon to stay in the slot and fold the latch back, the ribbon is so light and springy it kept wanting to pop out before i could lock it in). After that, you simply secure this new keyboard the same way you removed the old keyboard, reinsert the panel, battery, and power cable and you’re done, you can boot up computer and you’re all set to go with full functionality. It was a bit of pain, but now I know how to do it, i’d say I could repeat this process in about 15 minutes (for another Dell laptop, but also probably not that difficult for other laptops as well). Great do-it-yourself fix up, and a small investment to lengthen the life of your laptop.
Hope this helps other people out there.
Rating: 5 / 5
This laptop keyboard is exactly what I needed. Arrived in 3 days, fits perfectly onto my XPS M140 and is soft to type without the irritating noise. Typing feedback is less as someone pointed out before but that is not a big deal as its enough for me.
Ensure that you read instructions to install properly for your laptop and the replacement effort will be minimal.
Rating: 5 / 5
keyboard quality is very low : high key resistance + no click feedback result in numerous typing mistakes – DO NOT BUY
Rating: 1 / 5
Product quality is high, looks just like the original. Feel of keyboard when typing is the same as well. An easy product to install and I have no pc repair experience. Simply follow the instructions in your Dell manual. It took me about 5 minutes to install on my Dell XPS M140.
Rating: 5 / 5
Great price, great service from the shipper. The issue is the quality. The new keyboard has lasted about 4 months. Now a key has popped off.
Rating: 4 / 5