E6410 Keyboard Leaving Marks On Screen

Just purchased a new E6410 about 4 weeks ago. I carry it in my shoulder bag in a protective sleeve with only a moderate amount of others books in my bag yet I've noticed that maybe one out of every 6 times I remove it from my bag and open the lid the keyboard has left a grid of key marks on my screen! This never happened with my old Dell Latitude D620. I noticed the the E6410 has VERY thin lid bumpers that I was concerned would not provide enough clearance between the screen and keys and sure enough it doesn't.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any ideas to resolve besides the completely impractical one of never placing anything in my laptop bag that would remotely compress the screen against the keys?

Just finished chatting with Dell about this. They are dispatching a technician to make sure my LCD and keyboard are installed properly and will replace if defective. We'll see if this resolves....

 

I know this was an issue with the E6400, but on my E6410 I've not noticed this. Are you sure you aren't sitting something heavy on top of your laptop bag?

 

I am not treating my E6410 any differently than I did my D620 which I had for 5 years. Not once did my D620 show keyboard marks. I really do think the lid bumpers on the E6410 are too small. And no, I never place heavy objects on my laptop. In my opinion a laptop should be able to accommodate objects in a shoulder bag applying slight pressure to the lid.

 

I know for a fact that the previous E6xxx series machines had NO bumpers whatsoever, so they're definitely an improvement. I think most of the gap between the screen and keyboard is provided by the latch at the front, not the actual bumpers...

 

Yeah, I've noticed this lid has a weird design where the separation is created by the lid having some bow to it. The bumpers seem to be there simply to protect against unusually high pressure situations.

 

I had the same issue with a MacBook Pro. It may not be a perfect solution, but for $10 you could get an Allsap microfibre travel mousepad and sandwich it between the keyboard and the screen when you close the machine up. Just be sure that there is no grit on the top surface of the mousepad. (And aside from protecting your screen it's a dandy mousepad).

Allsop - Travel-Smart Mouse Pad

On the other hand, I've only had my 6410 for a few days but I'm seeing no marks from the keyboard on my screen, so you may be dealing with an assembly / quality-control issue.

 

Whoa. That's your first mistake. There's nothing all that "protective" about a laptop "sleeve." Basically, a sleeve is good for avoiding scratches, but it doesn't protect against shocks and compressive forces.

You need to buy real notebook case. You might love your shoulder bag, but you really shouldn't carry a laptop that way, even a business quality notebook.

You're not alone in making this sort of mistake.

First off, the E6400 didn't have any protective rubber bumpers. They were added to prevent the screen bezel from scratching the palm rest. Under no circumstances should the keyboard come into contact with the screen, even without the rubber bumpers.

Dell is doing the right thing by making sure that the keyboard and LCD are properly installed, even though your method of carrying the computer is entirely deficient.

Unless the keyboard isn't flush for some reason, the only explanation for the screen damage is that you've applied a great weight to the laptop, compressing the rubber bumpers, depressing the screen latch or even bowing the metal screen lid. I personally, can't imagine how much force it would take to do that, although again, the first problem is your method of carrying your laptop.

 

If the notebook is squashed in a bag then the screen and keyboard may touch. My E6400's screen has got a few marks but they are only visible when the computer is off.

A cheap and simple way to prevent the marking is to place a sheet of paper on the keyboard when shutting the computer.

John

 

I can see that happening with the E6400, but I can't imagine how much force it would take to compress the little rubber pads on the E6410

I can remember when notebooks used to ship with a protective sheet between the monitor and keyboard.

 

The problem is not compression of the rubber bumpers but deflection of the display unit which closes the gap created by the bumpers.

John