I recently was given an Acer Aspire 5100 (used) that has a problem with the keyboard, touchpad, and USB ports.
Specs: (as far as I can tell)
AMD Turion 64 Mobile MK36 @ 2.0 GHz
Windows XP MCE 2005
2GB RAM
ATI Radon Xpress 1100
The problem: the keyboard and touchpad do not work. After several Google searches, it appears to be a recurring problem with this model. I have determined that the keyboard will wake the laptop from sleep, but the touchpad will not. It is impossible to use the keyboard to get into the BIOS, or Windows safe mode. There are three USB ports on this laptop, and all but the one on the side emit power. (I tested the ports with an IDE to USB adapter/enclosure with a HDD connected. The drive did not spin up, but the power indicator lights turned on.)
As to any troubleshooting/testing, I have verified that the ribbon cables for the KB and touchpad are connected. I did notice, however, that the silver pins (for lack of a better term) on the touchpad's ribbon cable had folded over. I unfolded them, and reinserted the cable into its socket, and tightened the lock. The keyboard cable appears to be fine. The keyboard itself in good condition, except for the N key and the down arrow key. The down arrow has lost it key top and the rubber part underneath it that registers the key press (I can post a picture); the N key is only missing its key top. I have also tried to reset the BIOS by crossing the J2 jumper underneath the RAM, but that did not seem to work. Linux live CDs boot fine (as long as I pull the HDD before booting), but the KB and touchpad do not work.
What are my options? Is there anything else that I can do? Is it even worth trying to fix the laptop?
