EliteBook 2760p memory upgrade - keyboard removal problems

[MikeMackHP]

Hey HaggisCat, those are great pics - and you were right, I had bent the pin on the left.

Ironically, I just missed your post before deciding to try again myself to work out what was wrong.  I fell across laptopkeys.com, which didn't have the right vid (you could teach them some camera skills as well !!) but did introduce the heady concept of the black plastic mechanism being taken off from the underside of the key cap and placed on the keyboard 'hooks' first, then the key top itself being snapped on.

Excited by this new concept (!) I donned my newly bought Rolson hat with mangifying lens and LEDs, and set to work. As you suggest, I gently bent back the hook on the right (waiting for the awful snapping sound that normally happens when I do this kind of thing!), removed the black plastic mechanism from under the key cap and fiddled around untl various bits of it secured themselves under the three hooks (note to other users - you'll need to sort of open the black mechanism like an ironing board's legs to do this).

The keytop then clicked back on with a satisfying sound.  And the key doesn't rock around and then spring up and hit me in the eye anymore !!!

So, thanks to HC, and we leave this forum post as a valuable legacy to the next 2760p RAM changer !

(By the way, although this escapade has prevented me from actually using my 2760p much, it really is a great, great laptop. Not leas because it can take 16gb of RAM which means you can run virtual machines, even a server and some clients on there.  Great for demo purpoeses, or for anyone wanting to get to grips with a server OS.

p.s. fearing the worst, I did head off earlier to find the cost of a whole new keyboard, expecting it to be around USD250 - in fact, more like USD80, so no rip off.

[HaggisCat]

I'm glad you got the key back on, would you believe that some people in a serious or rather obsessive cleaning frenzy remove all the keys to clean out the dust bunnies underneath the keys ? !!

 The tricky part was bending the tang back and installing the hinge mechanism back on the board.

 I did check laptopkeys.com and a few other places, but your machine is so new that there is nothing out there.

 Sorry I should have mentioned this to save you the time.

 80.00 dollars is still expensive for a keyboard, ounce your model is a round for a while you will be able to find them on e-bay for around 14.00 to 20.00 dollars (this will be a new board) and they will be the same thing from the HP parts store.

 All the parts are made in China for next to nothing, I am guessing that the actual cost of the keyboard is around 3.00 or 4.00 US dollars.

[MikeMackHP]

Removing each key .... for fun???!!!! - performing open-heart surgery would be easier...

Thanks for all your help again, it gave me the confidence to proceed (slowly and carefully). The Rolson magnifying hat helped too, like I could actually see the pores in my fingers !!!

I'm used to parts costing 50% of the original price of the item, so even if it has a huge profit margin since leaving China, I was ok with it.

Have to say the 2760p is turning into a good choice (umm, now I have a keyboard back..).  Was considering a Lenovo x220t, but it has a narrower screen format (silly for Tablet use), and feels blocky to hold.

The 2760p really feels classy build-wise and every hardware/software part feels 'business like' if you know what I mean.  First Windows Tablet for me with Touch, and it makes ALL the difference, especially with the new resizeable on-screen keyboard.

Docking station is neat in all senses of the word too.

One downer - Dell invented intelligent updating years and years ago... so why the heck does the HP software manage to miss out on updates, or worse, try to download two different versions of an update...  Weird.

[HaggisCat]

It's interesting that you should mention HP's auto update failure. One more word of advise.

 If it wants to update the BIOS at least make sure your HP Tools partition is still on the hard drive or better yet, if you want to update the BIOS, go to your support page and update it yourself. Look at what the improvement is for in the BIOS update, if it does not apply to you, do not update it.

 There has been a few cases where the HP support assistant has given the wrong BIOS in the past.

[MikeMackHP]

Yikes, thanks for the advice - though does make one wonder about HP's Q&A systems...

[dman666]

I wanted to upgrade my 2760p's ram as well...and had been told by HP I couldnt go past 4 gigs...so it was great to read that I could...as I had already bought the ram...

so ...I read this whole thread and it was helpful.

I unscrewed the 5 screws and had a tiny flat head screwdriver and I maybe got lucky or something but I put it against the edge of the keyboard ridge in the little gap in the general area of the middle of the keyboard back where the monitor attached and it was SUPER easy to apply enough upward pressure to lift the keyboard up enough to lift it up and back.

it took me seconds to do it.

I then upgraded the ram and closer everything up and restarted my machine.

yay! everything worked great and I had more ram...but...my keyboard was partially working...some....keys worked...

some didnt...

I checked the bottom and I had one of the tabs bent like the guy in the thread...so I fixed that...but it didnt make any difference.

so I resigned myself to reopening things again and reseating them in the hope that I had gotten the tabs inserted poorly or whatnot.

it looked like maybe one of the keyboard tabs was not totally inserted correctly.

I opened everything up again.. (had more trouble the second time around...and ended up prying the f7 key off...fixing that...then prying the f5 key off and having to fix that...)

I got the tabs inserted as well as I could tell they needed to be...

the cable that attached the keyboard to the cpu maybe isnt folded the exact same...

I tightened everything up partially and restarted...but now no keyboard....

shut things down and tightened the screws up in the hopes that the issue was because not all the screws were in place but I ended up tightening them ...too well...

the screws arent very strong...and I ended up snapping the head of one of them off....so I cannot unscrew it any longer.

: ((

I tightened all the other screws up in the hopes that it would work...

but no...

keyboard is dead ...dead...deadski.

I can only presume that perhaps the ribbon cable inside, not being folded the exact same way...is making some weird contact internally thats making the keyboard non-functional.

the pc reports no problems.

I'm currently using a wireless keyboard....and am not sure how to fix the keyboard issue....other than to install a new keyboard.....

but I didnt break the ribbon cable....or at least I'm pretty sure I didnt...

and the sheared off screw is going to be problematic to get out.

I'm not sure what the best solution is.....other than to use an external keyboard and leave well enough alone.

any thoughts on what might have gone wrong with my keyboard?

can closing the case on the ribbon cable in such a way that its not broken cause it to touch things inside the case that are no beuno?

its not a total dealbreaker that the keyboard is dead...its just a pain in the butt

[HaggisCat]

It sounds like you need a new keyboard and I would highly advise that you get someone to install it for you who knows what they're doing.

That fact that you wretched on some of the screws to the point where you broke the head off indicates to me that you shouldn't be replacing the keyboard.

 I don't want to be a wet blanket, but I don't think you have the skills to replace your keyboard.

[dman667]

well...I dont think its broken...but thanks for the tip.

I opened it up again (getting fast at that...it really just takes two small screwdrivers...a flathead and a phillips... and a little sideways twist at the keyboard seam once the screws are out)

there's two ribbon cables that come off the keyboard to the pc...one is little and thin and in the middle (for the little mouse nubbin joystick thing in the center of the keyboard) and another big blue one that is for the keys themselves..

I hadnt seen the blue one before...it hugs the back of the keyboard...it slots into the pc and a little bar clamps down on it to keep it in place.

I had just moved the keyboard too far away from the pc and managed to unseat the larger blue cable.

its very tricky to get it seated back into the slot and to close the little bar down on it to hold it in place...and then get the keys back into place.

I thought I had it sorted this last time, but the little bar doesnt seem to exert much pressure on the ribbon cable and it seems fairly easy to unseat.

I'm going to get it, just havent got it yet. Im pretty sure nothing is broken...its just tricky to reseat the cable, push the retaining bar down, and get the keyboard back in as the cable is so short...and the retaining bar is not very latchey.

the instruction do say to try and not move the keyboard much and to keep it close to the pc as much as possible when you remove it...I guess this is because the ribbon cable is easy to unseat.

anyway..I'm down one screw...but have learned to not overtighten them...and the case is still closed well with just 4

[dman667]

yup...thats all it was.

the big blue ribbon just has to be seated under the little pressure bar...or no keybard function.

yay.

so one the topic of the original post...does anyone know what the max amount of memory the 2760p can be upgraded to?

clearly at least 16 gigs per the previous poster...but is that it? or can it go higher.

my next step is to upgrade the harddrive to a 500 gig sata (they are only 59$). I'm tired of the teensy drive my 2760p came with....but I dont care to shell out 900$ for the 960 gig ssd.

I have 8 gigs of ram now...I do a lot of photoshop photoretouching and cg so can always use ram....wouldnt mind maxing out the memory. anyone know what the it tops out at?