1 Possible to replace trackpad w/o replacing palmrest?
Is it possible to replace the trackpad in the Satellite C850 without swapping out the entire palmrest assembly with another that already has a trackpad preattached ? I have purchased a new palmrest online but upon inspecting it, have discovered that it has NO trackpad, just a flat rectangular depressed area of black plastic. I would have no problem with taking the trackpad off of my existing palmrest and putting it on the new palmrest but it appears to be glued or somehow fused to in place. Is there a reliable procedure for detaching/reattaching these trackpads or is it necessary to obtain the palmrest with trackpad already in place as a single assembly ? It looks to me as though I would destroy my existing trackpad if I attempted to pry it off my old palmrest !
Cette question est-elle utile ?
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3 commentaires
Oof... I just searched that part up, and it seems that if you remove the old mouse keys at the bottom (a few screws, and some cables), you could theoretically remove it after, as I don't see any areas where there would be any melted plastic tabs. Take that with a grain of salt, but it seems possible. If it's adhered, use some isopropyl alcohol and some plastic cards to jimmy it out.
par Suki-san
Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to respond. I actually figured this one out after some further research. It turns out that there are many palmrest/trackpad combos built like this one and the solution is always the same. Heat the trackpad from the upper, palmrest side, never the circuit board side with a simple hairdryer for about 3-5 minutes. Then gently pry the trackpad circuit board away from the underside of the palmrest. It iS DEFINITELY glued in place. Use a plastic scraping device, never metal. I used an old charge card with an edge that I sharpened using an exacto knife. The glue on the circuit will be soft and bubbly and doesn't even need to be cleaned off. In fact, it can immediately be used to stick the circuit board right onto a palmrest assembly. I have done this and the trackpad is working perfectly.
par Steve
However ...
The problem that I have now is non-functional trackpad buttons. This is due to a related but entirely different issue. It's because the satellite C850 palmrest that I bought has it's trackpad and buttons closer to the bottom edge of the case than the one that I removed. So, the trackpad button board which is different from the tracking board no longer sits directly below the buttons and so they make no contact when pressed. Leave it to Toashiba to make at least 2 entirely different palmrests and trackpad assemblies which are actually incompatible with each other for the exact same same model laptop.
So now I must either hunt for the other trackpad button circuit board or customise the one that I have which would mean drilling new anchor holes into it which may very well render it useless.
Thanks Toshiba !
par Steve