v089pfrb@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Jeffrey C Murphy) (11/04/90)
>> Quite often I have a problem with my Amiga 500 keyboard. One or >>two of the keys seem to not respond at all until you beat on them really >>hard. Cleaning the keyboard seems to have no real effect on the problem. >>If anyone has had similar problems to this, let me know if you have a >>solution! >Woh! I have exactly the same problem! At a certain moment my DEL and >cursor RIGHT key started to fail. No matter how hard I pressed them, >they wouldn't work. When I, being irritated, slammed my hands on the >keyboard, pressing many keys at once, the keys would sometimes suddenly >start to work again, both. I never had this with other keys, only these >two, and they always failed *together*. Now they don't work no more at all >(snif!) so help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! > >Of course I checked out whether this would be some kind of virus but >no, that can't be, unless the virus is able to jump physically from >disk to disk. I even removed my memoryexpansion. No use. In response to you letter about the failing keys on your amiga: I have the same problem. It is due to the way the keys are activated. The keys have little contacts that are normaly held apart (when the key is not pressed) however it seems that over a period of time these contacts tend to remain apart So when you go to press your key, the contacts do not touch and the amiga does not realize that you have pressed a key. This is the case with HiTech keyboards which inhabit some amigas, usually the older ones (mine is from 1988). If you look down at the numeric key pad, I believe you will see a screw. This indicates that it is a HiTech keyboard. Aternately, you can just pop off the key and check, as follows: To solve the problem: 1) Pop off key cap (with a small screw driver) 2) Pop off white spring holder (don't lose the spring!) 3) Gently press down on contacts a few times. This should push them back together. SIDE VIEW OF KEY _____ | |X| | | | | | Where the "X" holds the two contacts apart until the key is depressed. The x is part of the white part and slides up and down with each key press This has worked for me, however it proves to be only temporary. :-( Jeff Murphy