Posted May 14, 200717 yr this time, a sony vaio laptop. okay, so the keyboard seems to not be working. or, well it is, but not to type. certain keys do certain things- if I opened word, I couldn't type anything, but pressing "n" would open a new document, pressing "w" closes the file "s" maybe saves it and so on. any ideas?
May 14, 200717 yr Author how do I unstick the control key? tried nando's "hit it over and over again" routine with no luck...
May 14, 200717 yr Well you could try lifting the keycover up with a screwdriver - flat ones work best. Then if the actual thingy wossname that the keycover hides doesn't spring up, you could try pulling it up with a pair of pliers. Alternatively, you could nick someone else's keyboard.
May 14, 200717 yr Author it's a laptop. the keyboard is attached to the rest of the computer. also, is there a way to do a hard reset or something similar?
May 14, 200717 yr Ah. That makes it more awkward. The keyboard should still be replaceble, but it can be fiddly with laptops. Hard reset: Varies with the machine. You could try disconnecting from the mains and removing the battery - usually there's a cover underneath the machine, some slide out, others are screwed in place. But how wil that help if the problem is down to a key being stuck? Incidentally, the bit about trying to remove the cap still holds.
May 14, 200717 yr You could get a can of compressed air (I'm serious) most good radio (computer) suppliers should stock it. Use it to clean under the keys (usually a thin plastic tube follows with the can)
May 14, 200717 yr Author it's fixed now- so much easier when you actually phyiscally have the computer (it's not mine, far too fancy for me to afford). the problem was to do with the function key and the num lock. thanks everyone for all of the replies though. and nando too. canned air sounds fun.