The Acer Aspire One netbook is an excellent all-around machine; it is affordable, small enough to be portable yet flexible enough to be used as a desktop machine when you are at home.
If you use your Acer Aspire One heavily you may eventually find that some of the keys stop working or that your netbook gives a several-minute long beep whenever you turn the power on before it loads Windows.
These are signs that your keyboard is failing.
While the Acer Aspire One may be an inexpensive internet appliance you do not need to throw it away if your keyboard fails. If your netbook is in warranty Acer will replace the keyboard at no cost but if it is out of warranty you can do the repair yourself in just a few minutes. Replacement keyboards can be purchased on eBay for less than $20 – much less than the cost of a replacement netbook.
While you are waiting for your new keyboard to arrive you can plug in an external USB keyboard or use the on-screen keyboard feature built-in to the Windows operating system. You will need to use earplugs and just wait out the warning beep if you need to restart your computer before you make the repair. I recommend leaving the netbook turned on to avoid restarting it if the sound hurts your ears.
Once your new keyboard arrives you will need a small flathead screwdriver or the tip of a razor blade (a box cutter blade is perfect) to replace the component.
Note: This tutorial was written for the Acer Aspire One ZG5 but should work for several other models of the Acer Aspire One netbook.
**As with all computer repairs, take precautions against static discharge before repairing your Acer Aspire One netbook.
Step One: Go to Start, Shut Down to completely power down the machine. Do not use hibernate or standby; these could cause damage to your computer during the repair process.
Step Two: Remove the battery from the Acer Aspire One by sliding the latches that secure the battery in place and lifting it out of the battery compartment.
Step Three:
Disconnect the power cord from the netbook.
Step Four: Insert your thin tool (the screwdriver or razor blade) above the F1 and F2 buttons and gently press the tab away from the keyboard (North or toward the screen) until the tab disengages.
Step Five: Insert your tool above the F8 key and gently press the tab away from the keyboard until the tab disengages.
Step Six: Insert your tool above the space between the Pause and Insert keys and gently press the tab away from the keyboard until it disengages.
Step Seven: Insert your tool between the keyboard and chassis on the left side of the Caps Lock key to disengage the tab there.
Step Eight: Insert your tool between the keyboard and the chassis on the right side of the Enter key to disengage the tab there.
Step Nine: Lightly grasp the top of the keyboard component and lift upwards. Take care not to damage the ribbon cable underneath the keyboard that connects the keyboard to the netbook.
Step Ten: Grasp the ribbon cable and pull to disconnect from the netbook. Place the old keyboard aside.
