Replace keyboard on alienware 14?

[ritaxis]

I have a lovely alienware 14 (mid 2013) laptop. A while ago I dropped a glass of water on the keyboard. The computer was not damaged in any other way but the keyboard does not work. Currently I'm using a USB keyboard with it and it makes me very very whiny (since the laptop os no longer at all portable and is quite unwieldy). I have tried to get a replacement for the keyboard. After hours on the phone I know that Dell does not stock them. I have a suspicion they never did. I thought I might find one somewhere online, but no.

Any advice beyond "buy a new computer?" For example, is there another brand of keyboard replacement that will fit in the oddly-shaped space of the alienware one?

 

[1shado1]

https/www.google.com/search?q=alienware+14+keyboard&oq=alienware+14+keyboard&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.9108j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8

Maybe one of those? I don't know what it looks like.

 

[ritaxis]

Thank you! I've gone through them, and found the right one, and bought it. I did a google search myself too and I didn't get anything! Is that because Google thinks I don't need to know the same things you do?

Anyway, thank you for solving a problem I've been banging my head against for weeks.

 

[1shado1]

Thank you! I've gone through them, and found the right one, and bought it. I did a google search myself too and I didn't get anything! Is that because Google thinks I don't need to know the same things you do?

Anyway, thank you for solving a problem I've been banging my head against for weeks.

You're very welcome! So glad I could help. Not sure why I had better luck. At first, I Googled "2013 Alienware 14 keyboard", and got nowhere. Then tried just "Alienware 14 keyboard", and bingo!

 

[ritaxis]

When I googled it, any combination of words just got me new laptops. And when I searched in Ebay itself, I just got new alienware laptops or loose USB keyboards or keyboards for other machines...I'm told that google filters searches according to what they think a person wants, but I would hope that Ebay wouldn't. If they are doing it, they're doing a lousy job (b oth of them).

Thanks again.

 

[1shado1]

Interesting comment about the filtering. I had no idea.Maybe that's why I had better luck. I might spend more time searching for replacement parts than you do. Still, I don't like the filter idea. Search for what I type, not what you think I want, LOL.

Is the keyboard on your AW 14 easy to replace? That's what I like about the laptop in my sig. Everything is easy to get to/replace. Maybe 5 minutes for the keyboard, for example.

Any idea how long it will be before your new one arrives? I don't know about you, but I hate the wait...

 

[ritaxis]

It looks like it will arrive late next week or early the week after. I have a USB keyboard hooked up so I can use my laptop.

Actually, the keyboard is not really easy to replace. I'll have to pretty much take the whole thing apart to get at it. But it's not hard, either--everything comes apart pretty simply and goes back together pretty simply too. Just a lot of little screws to keep track of, as I remember from the abortive attempt we made a while ago (source sent the wrong keyboard).

I've run into this filtering nonsense before, but this is possibly the worst example I've experienced directly.