ChevyCam94 Skilled Fixer

So yeah, Acer says I need to send in the whole laptop, pay for shipping AND repair costs, and have it back in 10 days. Oh, and this'll tickle ya, they want to wipe all the drives in it before sending it back to me. Don't ask why, even they don't know why. That's a huge red flag. I think it's time to sell this guy and buy…

So I ordered a key, and low and behold, they are NOT the same. The Helios 500 keys are about 0.5mm thinner, just a hair narrower left to right, and don't share the same mechanism underneath. The 500 has two opposing metal bars, the 700 has a single (larger and thicker) metal bar. *****, now I'm back to seeing if Acer will…

I had to get a hold of Acer directly, and since mine was under warranty, I talked them into sending me a new keyboard assembly, swapped it out myself at home, and sent them back the old one.

What kind of computer is that from? I've been working on computer repair for almost 20 years, and I've never once had to replace a keyboard by melting a mounting post. Besides, it looks like, from that photo, that you would also need to replace the keyboard bezel, as you'd destroy the posts when your melt them. But no, the…

What rivets?

I replaced the entire keyboard. Different serial number. Acer would know if I didn't send back a different one. If you're curious what they keyboard mech looks like, these are my disassembly photos.

I have it all fixed now. Got the replacement keyboard today, had it replaced in just under 2 hours. This laptop is NOT tech friendly. lol

I worked it out with them that they will send me a new complete keyboard slide, and I'll do the swap at home. They will put a hold on $150 (price of the keyboard), and when they receive the old one, release the hold. That way I get to keep using my computer for my business and still get it fixed under warranty.

Yes. I called support first, because I'm still under warranty until December. They wanted to send in the whole laptop just to replace one key, which is designed to be user replaceable to begin with.

Any other ideas?

I get the feeling, from reading their About section, that they make keys similar to OEM, but are not actual OEM distributors. So specialty keys are something they won't have.

I did. They don't carry anything above the Helios 500. The Helios 700 (PH717) isn't anywhere on their site.

For some reason, I had 7 of them, all with the same name under "keyboards". Just uninstalled all of them, rebooted, and we seem to be up and running. Not sure what caused that. But thanks for the pointer!

Ehhh, I get the whole "ehr mah gehrd, upderts brrk mah PC" mentality. All too often I hear people say that updates are somehow the devil, and should basically be avoided at all costs. I disagree. An update can introduce new features or improvements to old ones that make it BETTER, but don't necessarily "fix an issue". It…

Wow, thats a big post! :+1: I ask about the RAM because this site has some 3200 listed as compatible. I guess it would just run at the 2666 instead, and never actually reach the full 3200? https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/acer/predator-ph717-71-75rx

It's a problem with 417.22. Just download the previous version, 417.01, and install only the components you actually need. I leave out 3D Vision driver and GeForce Experience, as I don't need either one. MAKE SURE YOU DO A CLEAN INSTALL. That little check box on the bottom left. It will eliminate any "cross contamination"…

So to be clear, this is what you have? Sure sounds right. Just checking before I buy my new pads.

I gotcha. Sorry if it sounds like I snipped a little. Rough day at home today. But yes, I'm looking to get the absolute MOST out of this laptop. The new thermal paste dropped by average temps down about 9 degrees, which is pretty decent. But I'd like to cut that down by way of better thermal pads. Only thing is that I need…

Big difference between "working fine" and "working better". I do a lot of system-intensive work, and see my CPU throttling more often than I'd like. Plus, better cooling doesn't really have a downside, so if I can improve it, I really don't see why not.

I do a lot of GIT work, and personal file sharing on my website (not tor ents) I DO have a backup of most everything important, but the reason I still get touchy about is how long it woudl take to set everything back up the way it is. So much is customized it's actually a big pain.