how to disable laptop keyboard??

tomtomg123 · 05-16-2008, 10:18 AM

my laptop key board is broken. the laptop is two years old its a hp Pavillon dv9000 running XP.
the 4 key on the numpad is stuck down and when i turn on the NUMLOCK on the num-pad then the left arrow is stuck down so all my typing comes out backwards.
i have just bought a cheapo external usb in the hope that it would overwrite the laptop one but it doesnt.
is there any way that i can stop the laptop keyboard working so i can get some work done.

any suggetions

dai · 05-16-2008, 11:36 AM

see if this shows how
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01311536.pdf

tomtomg123 · 05-16-2008, 03:33 PM

i was hoping for an option that was not quite as drastic as disassembling the laptop to physically remove the keyboard..

i dont know much about the handling of interior compnents safely.

is there any way to disable to keyboard without removing it?.. so that an external keyboard may be used without the annoyance of persisting keys from the laptop keyboard. ???

thanks for the info tho, any help is apreciated..

grimx133 · 05-16-2008, 04:13 PM

I looked at the link (pdf service manual) that Dai provided for you and it's not all that big of a job to change a keyboard on your laptop. Looks like you only have to remove the battery and the switch cover, then you can take the keyboard out. Think it's about 4 screws total. It is very specific, tells you exactly how to do it and has pictures for everything. Hardest thing is probably reconnecting the ribbon cable when you put a new one in, it's a ZIF (zero insertion force) type thing, not like a hdd ribbon cable in a desktop. Maybe it's me, but I always find that the hardest thing about the keyboard when I strip my laptop down. Could be the aging eyes eh.
Take your time and you'll find it much easier than you think. While your at it save the service manual, you will find it quite handy at some future point.

tomtomg123 · 05-17-2008, 04:34 AM

seriously though, i dont have a replacement internal keyboard, and anyway that Zero Insertion Force sounds like the opposite of what i would do. the laptop is under warranty so i'll get HP to do that when i have time, and can do without my laptop for a few weeks.

is there any way to just turn off/disable the internal one so i can use an external usb keyboard??? that is all i want to do.

i have saved the pdf, it looks pretty handy. thanks.

**TriggerFinger** · 05-17-2008, 07:35 AM

you can always use an USB/external keyboard without doing that. but as you said in your post, your #4 key is stuck... that even if using the USB keyboard, the stuck key still gets in your way when typing.. is this correct?

if you want a solution/option as simple as switching it ON or OFF using some combination of keys like Fn+F8 or Ctrl+Alt+Del to be able to disable the internal keyboard, i'm afraid but that option is NOT available yet... and yes, because of that, you will need to remove/disconnect the keyboard cable from the motherboard to disable the keyboard.

tomtomg123 · 05-17-2008, 07:55 AM

ok then, i'll take your word for it.
thanks for all the advice.

i had just thought there would be a less drastic measure to solve the problem.

cheers guys.

classdanlyn · 09-15-2009, 08:13 PM

a simple way to disable the laptop keyboard (any brand) is to go to the device manager, go to update driver then install an INCOMPATIBLE keyboard driver instead of the standard ps/2 driver then reboot. You will see that after reboot your defective laptop keyboard is no longer functioning thus solving the problem. Hope this helps.