I've started to introduce my mum to the 21st century, and she's using the internet with my old Packard Bell EasyNote running Windows XP. The return key's suddenly stopped working. Is it worth getting repaired, or should I replace it? I've a limited budget (£250) and she thinks netbooks are too small!
Steve Saul
There may be dirt under the key that you could remove using compressed air, or you could pop off the key, clean and replace it. Laptop Repair 101 has a good pictorial guide. Alternatively, a local PC repair shop might be able to fix it.
However, cheap notebook keyboards are not built to last, and it might be better to replace the whole keyboard, if you can find a spare. Try searching for "replacement keyboard" with the precise model number of your laptop. But Cyfinity has documented the replacement of one EasyNote keyboard and it seems to be a finicky job.
If your EasyNote is on its last legs, £279 is about the lowest price for a name-brand product that's not a netbook, though you might find a supermarket deal or "manager's special". November could be a good time to buy: there might be lots of old stock at clearance prices when a flood of new Windows 7 machines appears on October 22.
Backchat: Tony Schroder, Andrew Richards and Anne Barry, sensibly suggested plugging in a separate keyboard. Something like the PC Line PCL-SK1, £6.99 from Currys or PC World, should be fine, and Maplin has a large collection. Check if you need a USB or PS2 connection.
