I've missed you all

[DoYouKubuntu]

couldn't hurt to ask them to point you to some form of instruction on it ,,,their support staff is usually quite good ,,,,I have a system76 Bonobo Extreme and I remember them being quite courteous.

VINNY

You're right, they're very courteous--and helpful. I have a support thread going with them right now saying that some visual instructions would be very helpful. I told them that I really wasn't sure about the cables' connections. I hope it turns out when I return the 'faulty' keyboard that it really *IS* faulty and the problem wasn't ME!

ETA: Oh, nice, they just sent me a link to some pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oo2ze2lf3...Jg1bOTNSa?dl=0. Unfortunately, they don't shed much light on the connection issue, however they also included some instructions that may be useful when the replacement comes.

[GreyGeek]

I've stopped putzing with the innerds of laptops because my hands shake too much, but when I did I photoed step before I took things apart so I could remember how they went back together. Probably too late for that.

[GreyGeek]

....
ETA: Oh, nice, they just sent me a link to some pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oo2ze2lf3...Jg1bOTNSa?dl=0. Unfortunately, they don't shed much light on the connection issue, however they also included some instructions that may be useful when the replacement comes.

Zoom in on those pictures, especially the last one showing the ribbon connections. Zoomed in they are very clear as to orientation of the cables vs. the plugs and sockets.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Zoom in on those pictures, especially the last one showing the ribbon connections. Zoomed in they are very clear as to orientation of the cables vs. the plugs and sockets.

I've zoomed in but I'm afraid it's not helping. The problem I encountered when connecting the ribbon cables was not knowing if they were actually in place. What I mean is that you can slide them left to right freely; there's no defined 'container' for them, they just slide around freely. I had no way of knowing if I'd hit on the right spot when I pulled up the little bar that holds the wider cable in place. The narrower cable has a pop-up piece that you snap down to lock the cable in place but, again, it can slide around freely with no defined limits. Am I missing something? Is it supposed to be this difficult to replace a silly keyboard?!

[GreyGeek]

I've zoomed in but I'm afraid it's not helping. The problem I encountered when connecting the ribbon cables was not knowing if they were actually in place. What I mean is that you can slide them left to right freely; there's no defined 'container' for them, they just slide around freely. I had no way of knowing if I'd hit on the right spot when I pulled up the little bar that holds the wider cable in place. The narrower cable has a pop-up piece that you snap down to lock the cable in place but, again, it can slide around freely with no defined limits. Am I missing something? Is it supposed to be this difficult to replace a silly keyboard?!

Can you post zoomed in photos of the end of the cable and of the socket where it is supposed to fit?

[DoYouKubuntu]

Can you post zoomed in photos of the end of the cable and of the socket where it is supposed to fit?

The replacement keyboard arrived yesterday. I'm probably not going to attempt installing it today, but when I do I'll post pics as I'm in the process.

Did we ever get a consensus around here that an incorrectly connected cable would not yield an ALMOST fully functioning keyboard? I'm trying hard to convince myself that I am not at fault, the keyboard is!

[Snowhog]

The connecting ribbon cable will only go on ‘the right way’. That only certain keys weren’t working is almost a 100% certainty to be a defective keyboard; nothing to do with ‘you’.

[GreyGeek]

What Snowhog said. However, in fixing older laptops I've found that the plastic connectors get brittle with age and crumble very easily. So, DON'T force a connection. The female should slide onto the mail end very easily if lined up properly.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Good news! All keys are working with the replacement keyboard! Bad news, I no longer have backlighting--the little clip that holds the cable in place came off, and I can't see well enough to put it back on (assuming it's not actually broken). But whatever, at least the keys all work! So faulty keyboard it was.