Z Damaged Beyond My Repair - HELP ME! :(

A little history with my Z these past few months...

1. One SSD failed, causing me to lose all my data. Sony replaced the SSD along with my LCD, which had one random green line through it that just appeared one day.
2. A month or so ago, I broke the LCD. When I called Sony to replace it (I had accidental damage), they informed me the laptop repairs up to that point would now cost more than what I paid for it and therefore they were going to cancel the warranty. They sent me a check for $590 to buy me out of the contract.
3. I bought a FHD screen from overseas. It cost $450.
4. In attempting to install the screen, I broke the keyboard ribbon (and cracked the plastic around it in one spot, though it's hardly noticeable). I called Sony on Monday to get the new ribbon and it arrived today.

And now...

5. I pushed the ribbon into the connector, but it ended up bending the prongs. Turns out the ribbon they sent me had an extra piece of plastic that the original did not. So now I cannot power up the laptop, even though it is still fully functioned.

My questions to you guys... what should I do now? I can't take much more of this drama. Film school starts for me this Monday and I don't have a laptop to edit on. I could at least turn it on and use it with an external mouse and keyboard prior to today, but now since the prongs are damaged I can't even power it up. Should I sell it as a broken laptop? Should I take it apart and sell the parts, such as the new screen, individually? Should I try to get it repaired? Should I buy a new one? Should I send the ribbon back and ask for a refund? I just don't know what to do at this point and I would greatly appreciate any advice. I am seriously on the brink of losing it.

 

Hate to say it, but it sounds like you need to either find someone locally with expertise who doesn't charge to much to try and repair your Z (not terribly likely) or, quite honestly, purchase a new laptop. The good news is that you can buy many very powerful laptops for around $700. I'll leave it to others to suggest, or you may want to post to the "Which notebook should I buy" thread, or just read recommendations to others with your needs.

If you really want another Z, there are several for sale right now on NBR's Market Thread, and they are not selling very fast, so you may be able to get a bargain. I happen to be selling one of mine, but it is not yet listed in the NBR market thread, so I cannot say it is for sale.

Good luck - you're due

 

The keyboard ribbon cable is very fragile, it broke for many people here. I do think perhaps you do have a chance to repair it on your own.

Please do that: Take a closeup picture of both the keyboard connector at the mobo and the ribbon jack. I have seen some members here where just a piece of plastic from the old, broken connector was left inside the jack and they thought it is broken.

Post a pic and we can tell you more precisely what to do.

 

He should pay someone to fix it because every time he opens it he breaks it in one way or another.

 

Update update!

Last night I got a magnifying glass and examined the connector. I thought to myself, "Why did Sony send me a ribbon with an extra plastic piece?" As I stared at it, I noticed there was something a little odd about it - there seemed to be a teeny tiny, beyond small piece of black plastic lodged in there. I looked at my old ribbon and then at the new one again and figured that the reason I thought the new one had an extra black piece of plastic is because the old one was missing its own! And that must be it in the connector! So I grabbed my grandma's old tweasers and started to pull on the prongs. They all got bent even more. "Am I just breaking it more?" I approached it from the edge, and lo and behold, a small piece of black plastic emerged with prongs attached to it - a piece of the old ribbon! I naturally screamed with excitement, lol. So I popped the new ribbon in and it went in perfectly!

BUT THENNNNNN....

Where the ribbon goes into the keyboard, the little plastic arm that holds its prongs to the ribbon was missing. I finally found it on the rug and tried to snap it back on, but to no avail. I booted up the laptop holding it down with tape and a lot more of the keys worked, the speakers worked, the backlight worked, etc.

BUT THENNNNNN....

It showed an error on the SSD they had just replaced. THE SAME FREAKIN THING THAT STARTED THIS WHOLE CYCLE MONTHS AGO!!! It's like I'm living a bad drama. Luckily, Windows still booted, so I'm not sure how the failure is actually damaging things this time.

SO NOW, I'm going to a laptop repair shop to ask them to snap the plastic arm back on. I hope they don't charge me since I'd imagine it'd only take them 5 seconds. Will post back here once I come back.

 

well glad to hear this nice development
hope you Z makes it through.

 

Just got back. The guy said the plastic part is broken off and can't be snapped on. He told me I could use a glue gun to push the ribbon down, but even after doing that I am still not getting full functionality from the keyboard. He said if it didn't work that I should order the green chip the ribbon connects to on the keyboard. Problem is I can't find the part number. Anyone know it?

EDIT: I think it's A-1769-456-A. Can anyone confirm for me? There's 4 different part numbers listed for it. I'm looking at the manual here: http://www.mediafire.com/?4ff79ea39e65o45

EDIT 2: Referring to this:
1 A-1769-456-A COMPL PWB SWX-328(FP/BL_KB)(S) FP,Back Light KB
A-1769-459-A COMPL PWB SWX328(NFP/BL_KB)(S) No-FP,Back Light KB
A-1769-460-A COMPL PWB SWX-328(FP/NM_KB)(S) FP,Normal KB
A-1769-461-A COMPL PWB SWX328(NFP/NM_KB)(S) No-FP,Normal KB

EDIT #3: The Sony parts site only has the first one (A-1769-456-A). Is it compatible? What is FP and Back Light KB?

 

Those look like the keyboard? FP = fingerprint sensor, backlight = backlight?

 

here's the part number of the ribbon cable just in case you need it.. A1769469A.. if you're in the US, it should be easy for you to source for the part..

good luck in finding the parts..