Let the stalking begin.

-snorts- no kidding. And not a helluva lotta places to hide in the Islands. Stupid mother.

You could hide better on the Big Island or Kawai. Ok, if you are white, maybe not so much. Now if you are an Island Girl it should be pretty easy.

Using my laptop for the first time since I got it back from HM on Weds.
The "p" key isn't working properly. I mean you can make it work, but you have to hit it harder than the other keys.

Yes it might have happened if I'd taken the laptop with me originally, but given the state the house was in, I suspect something has been spilled on it.

Grrrrrr.

And the screen is filthy.

Glad you got unacked. Being acked sucks. :D

Sundae, have you tried prying off the P key to make sure there's not a little crumb or something underneath it?

turn it over and tap it and let the crumbs fall out

Clean the screen. Wear gloves. Don't think about it too much.

Strongly not recommended especially on laptops. The mechanism by which the keycaps connect to the keyboard is very delicate and subject to injury by removal. Sure, you can muscle them off, but can you reinsert the metal pin into the plastic hinge of the keycap without pranging it?

I speak from first hand experience, both in mangling laptop keycaps and delivering the last rites to keyboards murdered by other well meaning amateurs.

It can be done, but it is a very delicate operation. And if the obstruction is a mechanical one, that is, something physical impeding the physical motion of the key, then it can likely be removed, dissolved, dislodged by other means (canned air, a little bit of solvent like water or alcohol, and much shaking and blowing and shaking and vigorous keypresses, rinse repeat). If there is some other problem, like a liquid having been spilled on the keyboard and then penetrated beneath the silicone membrane switch, impairing the electrical contacts, then removing the keycap is not going to help, and you still have the problem of getting the keycap to stay on when you try to replace it.

One idea if you're set on removing the keycap, google up a diagram of your exact keyboard and try to get an illustration of your keycap hinge mechanism. Then you can know what you're up against before you begin your demolition work. Or you can just work on exercising your right pinkie.

Just put the whole thing in the dishwasher. That will fix it.

Hand wash only. Hot soapy water, operate all the keys while wet, rinse thoroughly, dry times measured in days or weeks, though. I've done this successfully.

I've done the shaking and blowing thing, it seems to have helped.
Phew.

I've used a vacuum cleaner with the couch/brush attachment. Seems to help a lot.

It helps me a lot....gnnnhhhhh

;)

Merc, I'm about as white as they get... and I'll be on O'ahu... same island as Waikiki and Honolulu. So, big cities, but not a lot of room, yanno?