Sony Vaio SZ (quasi)TUTORIAL: Clean Keyboard and Keys Without Actually Removing the Keyboard from the Laptop [PICTURES]

Mods, if there is a problem about the picture size, I will change it ASAP.

Hi all!

First off, a little background on why I'm writing this how-to. For the longest time I have been some sort of a perfectionist clean freak, and especially after over a year of use with many a pastry-flopping and crumb-sprinkling incident, I really wanted to clean my keyboard, especially considering the fact that every time I typed on it I'd have to wash my hands because my fingers would be all sticky. However, after many hours of forum trolling and utilizing my above-average Googling skills, I came up with nothing. So, let's get started, shall we?

QUICK NOTE: This wasn't meant to blow anybody's mind, but rather act as a reference for those who want to protect their investment and keep it in top-notch condition, without fear of doing something that might break it, since there's already someone who's done it (me, if you were wondering ).

DURATION OF PROJECT: Dependant on hastiness, whether or not you're a perfectionist like me. I took a good hour or two, trying to look for resources and cringing every time I took off a key, but you have nothing to fear or search for as it's all here

DISCLAIMER: ALL INFORMATION ON THIS THREAD IS FOR REFERENCE ONLY. ANY ATTEMPT TO DISASSEMBLE OR CLEAN YOUR OWN LAPTOP ARE AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND I BY NO MEANS TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY HARM DONE TO YOUR COMPUTER.

Okay, now let's actually get started

First, two links that I found regarding taking the keyboard out, but has nothing regarding cleaning underneath the keys.

LaptopLogic: I tried prying the keyboard out (gently), but gave up soon after and came to the conclusion that you MUST take out screws for this to be possible.

EDIT: My suspicious were confirmed by SPEEDwithJJ, meaning you do have to take a screw out in order to remove the entire keyboard, and that would be that sweet little screw in the very middle, as shown on the laptoplogic site.

Also, you can replace your existing keyboard with a new one from Sony parts for $75, and the keys come in either black or silver. Very easy to replace. (Thanks, MxMoney!)

Disassembly: PDF file for taking apart the entire system.

This is a third link on eBay where you can buy replacement keys and latches for your keyboard, but when the link dies, just search something along the lines of "Sony Vaio SZ keyboard keys".
eBay Link

Step 1
Turn off your Sony Vaio SZ and remove the battery.
Although this isn't absolutely necessary, I'd still advise you to do it for the (off) chance that your precious might come in contact with water. (Or maybe it's just me, because I brought my lappy into the bathroom for its yearly bath.

Step 2
Stating the obvious: Remove the keys off the keyboard.
VERY IMPORTANT!!! There are specific keys that have latches oriented differently than others. For this, I have provided images for you to refer to:









As you can see, the latches under keys like F and J are taller than they are wide, compared to keys like G and H which are wider than they are tall. They have essentially the same type of latch (looks exactly the same), but one can say that some are in portrait mode, and some in landscape, if I may use that analogy:


Look at the juicy bits of dust lodged under there.


Dust bunny haven, sans the cute bunnies from The Big Comfy Couch (anyone?).

So, let's get cracking! (you'll understand this pun as we go along)

With my ear flashlight on hand (or on-ear, for cheeky technical people like me), I first started with the F key. So, knowing that it's taller than it is wide (portrait mode), you would pull the key off from top to bottom, or vice versa. This means hooking your fingernail underneath the top of the key, and pulling gently until you hear a crack/pop noise (like I said earlier, I cringed every time this would happen, and do you get the pun now? ). Now, it will appear that the key is slanted. Stating the obvious once again, you would now do the same for the bottom of the key, except this time put another fingernail under the top of prevent it from cracking/popping back into place with the levering motion. I repeat, do all this gently, as though the latches don't seem like they can break that easily, you'd be better off not risking it. If you heard the pop for both the top and the bottom but it's still not free, give it another gentle tug with fingers underneath the top and the bottom of the key and it should pop off with no problem.

For the landscape oriented keys, do the same as above, but this time pull it off from the left to right, or vice versa. So, for a letter like G I would hook a fingernail underneath the left side of the key, tug upward so it pops free, do the same for the right side, and pop it straight off.

For larger keys like the spacebar and shift, one would do the same as for the smaller keys, except one has to be more careful about where you pull, as simple physics would tell you that the further you pull from the pivot point the more force you exert. In other words, make sure you don't bend the key to the point where if the key had a mouth, it would scream in agony. Also, these keys also have pivoting metal axel things that keep them in place. You don't have to worry about them while pulling them out, because they slide straight off, and putting them back is a piece of cake.

Here's the bottom of the spacebar as an example:

For this one I actually accidentally took it out with one of the latches. No biggie, though. I also apologize for the length of my fingernails, as I seem to have misplaced my clipper...I've got a piano lesson tomorrow too... The black dot underneath my nail is from scraping and washing the metal axels.

Here's the actual latch for the ones with axels up-close:




Step 3
Clean your key-less keyboard.
First, set aside your keys in a safe place where you won't lose them, like inside a tall plastic cup (ooo me me I did that!) Then, it's off to the sink. I first tried using a face towel, but I found that the thread kept getting caught on the metal hooks on the latches. So, I eventually arrived at a combination of wrapping paper towel or a thin cloth around a pointy object, wetting it, and steering it between the rows and columns on the keyboard between the latches (much like a taxi cab down the streets of New York, sans traffic). I also used wet Q-tips, not only between the latches but on and under the latches themselves, especially on the rubber grip things (they get really dusty...[insert sound of disgust here]). Alcohol wipes work quite nicely also, but evaporate and dry very rapidly. So, use your imagination.


You can see the dust on the rubber grips. There's more under the white latches.

Step 4
Clean your keyboard-less keys. (would you consider that clever, in reference to the last step?)
Inside my tall, plastic Buzz Lightyear cup I got at Tokyo Disneyland a few years back, I put all the keys that don't have the metal axels, along with a couple globules of hand soap. I then swished them around with my hand, did the tornado thing with the cup by spinning it around in circles all the while gleefully exclaiming "Whee!" in a child's voice, and slowly filtered out the water and kept the keys in the cup. I changed the water 3 or 4 times until all the suds were gone, and then laid the keys out on a paper towel:



Oh, and while I did this, I had my laptop next to a running fan so that dust wouldn't have time to gather again.

Next, I took the keys with the metal axels and removed the axels. They just pop right off. It'd probably best to remember which axel is for which button, but a little size comparison and common sense will do you nicely too.

Here's a picture of the metal axels before they were wiped down.

Yummy.

At this point, wash the keys with axels (but with the axels off, because you don't want them to rust), and wipe the axels down (especially if yours were as gross as mine).

Step 5
The best part! Putting it all back together!
You can refer to the LaptopLogic link at the top of this post, or to my pictures, or just use your common sense and amazing memory to figure out which piece goes where. Brilliant game for a night relaxing at home with the boys/girls, or with your kids. You roll a die, and that's the amount of pieces you get to put on. The person to put in the last piece has to fix all the keys that are in the wrong place before daddy gets home.


It's getting close!


Quick, daddy's almost home!

Optional: Step 6
Buy A Keyboard Protector/Silicone Cover
That's what I'm doing. In the meantime, I have this sad piece of 8x11 white scrap paper on my keyboard, and I'm using another keyboard via USB. I'm sure you can come up with better ideas than scrap paper, though.

Step 7:
Don't flame Snoopster J for his lame jokes, analogies, and non-existent wit in general.

While you're at it, you may also want to wipe the sides, palm rest, touch pad, and fingerprint sensor with an alcohol wipe or a damp cloth as to kill two birds with one stone. Except in this case, it's to kill two cultures of bacteria with one alcohol wipe...ha...ha...

So, ladies and gentlemen, fellow owners of this lovely piece of equipment, I hope this little how-to was of use and was informative, and also thank you for making NotebookReview such a wonderful resource for us laptop lovers. Good luck, and God bless!

Snoopster J

 

Woah...thats incredible. I'd never do it myself hehe. The pictures sizes are fine. Viewable on my XGA screen. Nice guide, I am sure alot of people will appreciate it.

Johnny T

 

wow those are some crazy looking close up pics. its almost like your using a DSLR camera.. amazing.


yeah iam crazy.. but iam not crazy enough to take apart my whole keyboard like that.. i would be too scared i would mess something up permantly...

 

Haha, thanks to both of you I thought I was being a little crazy myself at first, but I couldn't stand the sticky keyboard. Though I'd consider myself a little bit on the crazy side, this is definitely doable, and is a fairly simple project (if you can call it that) at that. It just requires a little bit of patience.

As to the camera, I just used a simple point-and-shoot Canon IXUS. However, I like to think I have a bit of camera know-how and I know from experience how people like clear, non-blurry pictures especially for tutorials Macro is the keyword, people

 

A+ for effort!

 

This is a very nice workup. I would only add that you can buy the keyboard new from Sony parts for $75 in two different colors, black or silver keys. The new keyboard snaps in with minimal effort. It took me about 30 seconds to replace it. Still, this was a very well thought out project with great pictures. Good job!

 

Great pictures. And to take out the whole keyboard, you do have to unscrew the very "middle" screw from the bottom of the SZ laptop.

 

Thanks for all your kind words! All the additions have been...well...added It's somewhat disheartening though to see those brand spanking new SR's with their spaced keys that don't let anything fall through being released at the same time I write this tutorial. I haven't had and loved this SZ nearly long enough, but I know what my next machine will be once anything happens to this one, whether it be becoming completely obsolete or being damaged in some sort of way (please no). However, for some reason I still seem to like my SZ more, even without the well-placed USB ports and HDMI and whatever. Maybe it's because I fell in love with its keyboard the day I literally got my hands on it. Ahhh...*falls into a deep, nostalgic dream of the day SZ-y (like Suzy...a girl...anyone?) and I first met, thankfully ending the rant while doing so*

 

Amazing guide! Thanks for publishing this!!

Anyone know of something similar (ideally with pictures like this one) for cleaning the inside of the SZ ? I have a feeling it's really dusty especially since my core temp quickly reaches 60 and progresses to 70 after hardly anything strenuous.

Thanks.