Replacement keyboard for a novatech laptop

[Andr0id]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to buy a new keyboard for my Novatech Discovery 17" laptop.

How much are they and do you have any in stock?

:xsmile:

[~Steve-o~]

Hello there Andr0id. Could you read the MODEL off the bottom of the unit itself and we'll see if we can a figure for you.

[Andr0id]

Hi! Sorry I didn't reply for so long. I took my laptop into a local pc repair shop for them to have a look at, and I've only just got it back... in a worse state! They took it apart and I'm not sure whether they bothered putting it together properly, because it doesn't switch on now. :(

I wanted a new keyboard, a new bigger hard-drive and more RAM putting.

The pc repair shop said that the keyboard controller was faulty and it's beyond economical repair. They said something about it needing a new motherboard...

The laptop serial number is: KNB 542010958, Model: 8317

Can Novatech repair it? Or do you think it's not worth spending money on? I had a budget of around £150 for all of the above...

Thanks!

[Mike]

Hmm that's not good at all. *If* the motherboard is faulty then the repair shop are probably right about it being beyond econmical repair. Especially as it sounds like an older one (Mitac 8317 - probably 5 to 6 years old roughly?) - we cannot always guarantee being able to get hold on spare parts for such old models. Motherboards themselves can range from £100 to £200 plus VAT as a very rough estimate.
You're probably better off purchasing a new notebook or second hand notebook than going for a repair.

As you're not certain that this is a board fault (a keyboard controller failure is not that common where as keyboard failure is a little more common as it is a physical device with moving parts that is in constant use) we do have an inspection service. It costs £32+VAT (£37.60 inc VAT). We can then advise the actual fault and any costs for repair (if it is indeed repairable). If you go ahead with the repair then you are not charged the inspection fee: You only pay that if you do not go for the repair or the unit is not repairable.

If you want to try this then please call our tech support line 0871 222 1221 option 6 option 4 and they'll generate a return number for you. Alternatively you can use our livechat service (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/hdcontacts.html?d=technicalsupport).

[Andr0id]

Thanks for your reply!

I think I'll send it in for an inspection.

Basically, I spilt tea on the keyboard when I just bought it (end of 2005), but it was working fine up until few months ago. I was getting millions of help applications in the task manager, and after googling for hours I found that it may have been caused by a faulty keyboard. So I went to my local pc shop to replace the keyboard, and they found that fault with the controller... Even if it costs £200 to replace the motherboard, it's still cheaper than getting a new one for now, I guess. Plus for al I know it may not be that at all!