it's just the key combinations that are missing that i find fishy - the refresh key is needed to get to recovery, removing the backspace key makes it easier for a key logger to work, removing the ctrl & alt keys on the most used side makes almost everything frustrating and the t key was cut out - so i can't launch the crosh shell without finding the url online.

maybe it's all a coincidence, but they're all over the keyboard, too. tracing that to a localized spill doesn't seem quite right. and, if it's due to logic on the keyboard, then why did only one of the ctrl keys go out, but the backspace and refresh key go out?

i may get deeper access to the machine with an ubuntu install, if it works, and that might make it easier to get into the bios. if the ubuntu flush doesn't resolve the issue, that's the next thing to check.

if the ubuntu image loads, i may also find myself more interested in a machine i don't have to disassemble and reassemble on each use. it may also provide me with a model to use to install a hard drive, which i think is possible.

if this machine is dying, i've decided not to purchase another chromebook. i think it's still useful enough as an emergency out-of-the-house device, which is what i bought it for, if i can get the battery to read again, which is the other thing i want to test the ubuntu install with.

i want to see what happens, but, in the end, the utility of this is hopefully to allow for an actual fresh chrome os install. let's hope it works.