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Greetings -
This is my first time posting to the forum. Hopefully it's as helpful as the Lenovo forum ;-)
Has anyone replaced the plastic circuitry panel(s) for an MS Ergonomic 4000 keyboard? I have the vertical row in the center (/ to 2) that no longer functions, Not complaining as this keyboard has seen long daily use for over 5 years now, but because of that I also just want to REPAIR it with a replacement circuit, not replace an otherwise totally functional workhorse of a keyboard.
Thx for any help on this in advance.
Best, Hugh
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Answer accepted by question author
I found this, which looks to be a lot easier to use than what I have used in the past (small bottle and a toothpick):
http://www.newark.com/itw-chemtronics/cw2200mtp/chemical-coating-pen-0-3oz/dp/00Z1498
Most everything else I searched for brought up repairs using stick-on copper traces, more for hard PCB use, I would think.
SC Tom
I agree with Mike Hall's assessment that the parts are from China, and Microsoft MTL has no individual parts in store. If anything under warranty is repaired and not merely replaced (as is usually the case on items like keyboards and mice (mouses?)), it's handled by some third party organization, not MS.
If you know where the problem is (broken trace), there are trace repair products on the market. The ones I've used are a fairly thick "goop" with silver dust in them that were applied with a small pointed brush. Of course, this is assuming that the traces are far enough apart to allow a thin line of the material to be applied without touching another trace. Maybe protect the other traces with something like clear fingernail polish first (better test that on an unused portion of the film first)? I don't know, but if you're game to try something like that, it might be worth a shot, if the cost of repair materials doesn't outweigh the cost of a new keyboard :-)
SC Tom
Microsoft don't make them. They are made for Microsoft in China and the only part # held by Microsoft Hardware and warranty support is for the complete unit. There is no mechanism in place which enables the circuit panels, key tops, cables, wrist pads etc to be replaced individually.
If Microsoft replaces it for you, you will get a brand new, boxed keyboard.
I imagined this to be the case - but Microsoft has to a] make them and b] warranty them when they don't work so c] they exist somewhere and Microsoft has them stacked up in a warehouse (along with all the other parts that might need replacing) ;-)
I just hate to throw out a perfectly good piece of equipment over a lack of parts availability for a unit still under production by a major international manufacturer - not very green way to go about things - and OK I wouldn't throw it out but keep it for cannibalization of parts (especially if I can't get parts) but that's not the point.
At any rate I plan on calling the US next week and talk to Hardware & Warranty Support to see if we can work anything out. If anything positive comes out of it I'll FYI on this thread. I would enjoy nothing more than reporting back a positive outcome on sustainable service for a superior product.
I doubt it because nobody sells the circuit panels as spares..
