Argh

[Slater]

Ok, it's official. My sister will never ever ever touch any piece of electronics I own ever again. She has a history of installing viruses and spyware into systems, dropping stuff, and generally messing stuff up. This morning, she added to the list with my brand new laptop (less than 2 weeks old). I let her borrow it for the night and I go in to take it to school and I hear a rattle inside. I open it up, and there falls out the F4 key. Somehow, she managed to rip the thing off of the keyboard! and to make matters worse, she got fingerprints and junk all over the screen, which I am afraid to touch.

So, that's the story and now the questions. First, how should I reattach the broken button? My dad recommended some funky type of Elmers glue, and I listened to him. It was like a gel and the button's sticking on but just barely, and it wiggles a lot, so I wanna redo it. Is there any harm in using super glue?

Second, how should I go about cleaning the screen? Any recommended chemicals or cleaning cloth material?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

For the keyboard, you should simply beable to snap it back in. Unless she broke off connector peices.

With the screen. Just use a warm damp cloth towel. Use windex if you want.

[Slater]

there's no "snapping" mechanism, it looks like the factory (Toshiba) simply glued each button on to the colomn that pushes down.

[Nate]

With the screen. Just use a warm damp cloth towel. Use windex if you want.

I heard Windex has like abrasive chemicals that can really tear up LCD screens. I don't know if it's true or not, but I've read it in more than one place.

[Locke]

I heard Windex has like abrasive chemicals that can really tear up LCD screens. I don't know if it's true or not, but I've read it in more than one place.

This man speaks the truth!

While you can do that to a CRT, LCD screens need either a damp cloth or those special wipes they sell at computer stores.

[Puritan]

I find that microfiber cloths are great for this type of thing (they're sold at most walmarts or targets). They clean glass and screens really well, don't scratch, don't require cleaning fluid, and can be washed and reused. As for they key, a bit of glue might be the best thing to use. Good luck with getting things back together!

[Slater]

D:
Mom gave my sister the laptop over the weekend and I got it back today and she had broken YET ANOTHER button... the shift key! and she tried to fix it using rubber cement. Now the button is constantly getting stuck under the capslock and z keys and sometimes doesn't work all together because she glued it so off center from where it should be... should I risk prying the key back off to fix it? I really don't know if the mechanism under the key can take that kind of stress, but it's useless right now...

[Radical Dreamer]

Wow, that's...really awful. Sounds to me like one of the first things you need to do is set some major boundaries with your family. Other than that, though, what those above me have said will work for cleaning your screen and the like.