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Dell X200 Keyboard Replacement

Well, the old Dell X200's keyboard gave up the ghost. Not entirely, but the good old backspace key stopped working, and it's really hard to use a keyboard without a backspace key. Happily, it was easy to fix, as follows:
  1. Buy a replacement keyboard (I bought my "like new" replacement keyboard through eBay for about $20)
  2. Remove the battery
  3. Unscrew the six screws from the bottom of the Dell marked with a (K)
  4. Lever out the old keyboard from the bottom left. There is a little latch there.
  5. Before fully removing the keyboard, un-snap the ZIF ribbon connector
  6. Remove the keyboard completely
  7. Slide the new keyboard into place
  8. Push the keyboard cable into the ZIF connector; lock the ZIF connector
  9. Screw the keyboard back in place with the six screws
  10. Reinstall the battery
The end result? My 8 year old Dell X200 laptop is still running strong! It'd be awesome to get 3 more years out of it. Its only real shortcoming is its limited RAM.

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