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Coke was spilt on my desk a few weeks ago, and even though (as far as I could tell at the time) none had been spilt on top of my keyboard, the bottom part was soaking in it. Slowly but surely, after I've cleaned everything up as best I could (without taking apart the keyboard) the tab key started feeling sticky, and now for the past 2 days the tilde/backtick key (right above it) is now getting depressed at the same time I hit tab, adding that character to whatever field I was trying to leave.
Long story short, the keyboard's been taken apart and cleaned, those keys now work great, but the spacebar now either has to be hit right in the middle to register at all, or pressed hard. I can take the spacebar out and put it back without disassembling the rest of the keyboard, but so far all my attempts to pop it out/back in have failed to improve it or the way it's supposed to bounce back into position (the membrane underneath it is positioned correctly).
I found another box (that I had forgotten about) that contains an identical keyboard, and after plugging it in, I realize, has the same problem - and now that I've tried it, I remember going through the same thing with that one...and getting this one as a replacement, with the intent to eventually take it apart again and do a better job of putting it back together.
And honestly it's not the first pair of keyboards I've taken apart, and have run into problems after that, specifically, with the spacebar. It's not exactly rocket science, yet apparently I lack the "finesse", perhaps, to reassemble these correctly. And no, there are no leftover parts.
I hate buying replacement keyboards just for the sake of a spacebar that won't go back correctly.
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similar issue happened to my gaming keyboard. soup, not coke. "C" key, not spacebar. I guess I am a sloppy eater.
which brings me to - does one "eat" soup? 
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Slacker007 wrote: does one "eat" soup?
If it's one of mine: yes! 
Bacon and potato chowder, with fresh bread and butter. Hits the spot for a winter lunch - but it's way too thick to pour into a glass!
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Damn straight, good soup has chewy bits
( well, tomato doesn't ( I grew up in S. Jersey - ever see a flat bed of bushel baskets of tomatoes going down the road? ))
Split pea & ham, chicken veg., c**k-a-leekie, even egg drop and sweet sour have bits. ( Note _I_ didn't censor "male fowl" that's auto-mangled.)
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I make mine as Tomato and Chorizo, so it does have chewy bits! 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Slacker007 wrote: which brings me to - does one "eat" soup?
One is eating soup if the soup is in a bowl and a spoon is employed to convey it to the mouth. One is drinking soup if the soup is in a cup (or mug), and the cup is raised to the mouth.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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I should have known there was some technical documentation somewhere on this subject.
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Slacker007 wrote: I should have known there was some technical documentation somewhere some nitpicky people in the internet on this subject.
FTFY[^] 
Nothing against you Daniel
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Slacker007 wrote: which brings me to - does one "eat" soup?
While we're on the off-topic, how about this one - Is cereal soup?
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excellent question.
What exactly differentiates cereal from soup? they both have solid food matter in a liquid (soup can just be liquid). They both are primarily served in a bowl with a spoon.
soup can be served hot or cold, and I suppose cereal can too.
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The space bar usually has a hinged wire, a hoop, at the underside with at least two guides near each end for steering the movement straight downwards, no matter where you press it. Are you quite certain that you have successfully gotten this wire properly into the guides? I have had keyboards where it certainly was not easy to get it in place!
On the other hand: Unless you want a super top rate keyboard (well ... I do ), they are so cheap nowadays that if it takes hours to get it to work, you hourly pay is quite poor, when the alternative is to buy a new one.
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trønderen wrote: The space bar usually has a hinged wire, a hoop, at the underside with at least two guides near each end for steering the movement straight downwards, no matter where you press it. Are you quite certain that you have successfully gotten this wire properly into the guides?
Yeah, it does have the wire you mention, and I've tried to position it every way I could think of. I know how it won't go, because I've managed to get it so it wouldn't spring back up at all. I took it out of the guide altogether and re-inserted it multiple times...I feel that's what I'm missing. I can't quite get it back to where it should be going...?
It's a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. There's pictures, and even videos of it being disassembled. I can't quite see what I'm doing wrong...
trønderen wrote: they are so cheap nowadays that if it takes hours to get it to work, you hourly pay is quite poor, when the alternative is to buy a new one.
You're right. I still hate to throw away something that I know could easily be made to work...
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back in the day, I found that the worst thing to get in a keyboard was Coke and cigarette ash. Sticky and conductive.
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
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I was teaching at a tech college in the days when not every student had a PC. So the college offered a hall full of fifty machines, available to all students. Frequently, the students had their lunch break by the PCs, or enjoyed all sorts of snacks.
There was a discussion among the IT maintenance guys which were worse: Coke, or yoghurt. Yoghurt spills ended up as being voted the most hated matter in the keyboards. The situation was so bad that we ended up pulling 'safe sex devices' over all the keyboards. Well, they were not plain safe sex devices, but models made for that specific use. I'll say that it might be difficult to tell the difference. They did prevent spreading of contamination, but were nevertheless hated by the students. (Again: Hard to tell the difference )
The students did get the message. So after some time we could remove the latex devices, and the students had learned to honor the 'No food, snacks or drinks in the PC hall'.
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I once had a mechanical keyboard which just felt right. I kept that keyboard at work for over ten years. Every six months or so I brought it home, disassembled it including the keytops, cleaned it, and reassembled it. It finally developed an intermittent electrical problem in the board. I have a feeling there was a broken trace caused by the repeated disassembly. I gave up and grabbed a keyboard out of our lab.
Here at home I've used el cheapo keyboards for a long time. When the pandemic started and I was working from home full time, the keyboards started annoying me. I finally gave up and bought a Logitech K840 mechanical keyboard. It wasn't expensive - $65 at Best Buy. It's a full-width, standard layout, numeric keypad keyboard. Good tactile feedback without a whole lot of noise. Cleaning is easy as well, as the keys sit on top of a metal plate so I can just spray air through it. Excellent value for the money, considering I've seen mechanical keyboards for $300 or more.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I should have qualified my statement: $300 or more for a practical keyboard. Those are toys, and not intended for heavy use (IMO).
Software Zen: delete this;
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Gary R. Wheeler wrote: Those are toys, and not intended for heavy use (IMO).
Toys!? How dare you!?!
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The comments on both of those are (almost) worth the asking price.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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The answer is simple. Stop eating and drinking while you work. I eat at my desk, but move the keyboard out of the way. I know this does not solve your current problem, but for future reference...
My train of thought is constantly getting derailed. there must be something wrong with my tracks!
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You know that's not gonna happen.
I already tend not to eat around my desk, although there have been exceptions. But never in my life has food ever been a problem around a keyboard.
I'll take a sip and stretch a can of Coke or other soft drink over an entire afternoon rather than finishing it off during lunch break, so "no drinks around the desk" becomes kind of impractical unless I stop drinking altogether.
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Try a neural implant! They're all the rage, lately.
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As far as actually cleaning stuff like coke and coffee off electronics, I have two words for you: "Brake Cleaner" (read "universal solvent").
Generally with space bars, I tend to find the problem has less to do with the mechanical key press stuff than with the little metal balancing bracket thing that's also attached to the key, and somehow has to hook into the keyboard's base as well - many times, one of the anchor points for that isn't fully engaged, and that in turn throws off the whole thing...
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Here's an out-of-the-box solution... buy a new one... a good quality wireless keyboard/mouse combo is less than $100. I know that's not nearly as fun as fixing it yourself and learning new things about DFM, but there are more challenging things to apply your curiosity to.
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