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    Swapping out the Keyboard

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by modalsaliency, Jul 9, 2011.

  1. modalsaliency

    modalsaliency Notebook Enthusiast

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    Bit of a niche question, but as my m14x is still stuck in production limbo I thought I'd ask anyone with takedown experience. Is it possible to remove the keyboard in some relatively safe (if complicated) manner and swap in one of the m14x keyboards sold by Dell in other countries? The keyboards can apparently be bought as retail units if you bug the local reps enough.

    I'm worried because in this particular case it's not just the the backlight-compatible alphabet letters that are different - the keyboard has the right shift key removed in favor of a language switching button as well. I don't know if that takes special hardware/software not included in US versions of the machine to function.

    What I'm implying, here, is that I have little to no experience with keyboards on laptops.

    Much obliged, gentlemen.
     
  2. niko2021

    niko2021 Notebook Evangelist

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    You can replace the keyboard no problem. In fact, it's a really simple process. Looks like a few screws and two cables. Here's the link...
    Documentation

    I love how they made everything easy to get to. Design is great.