How hard is it to replace a key on an HP laptop?

[SacredCow]

My roommate's cat jumped onto my laptop this weekend and got a claw under the "H" key. In his dismount (which was mediocre at best- I give it a 3.4), he ripped it off and I can't get it back on correctly (it looks like some of the tabs and posts broke off). Some quick internet searching suggests that you can get these parts and it is possible to fix them. But has anybody here actually done it before? Should I bother with the DIY approach, or just take it to a shop?

Thanks!

:hi:

[NoPasaran]

1. With the caveat that I haven't replaced one of these specific keys

If it's just the key itself that's broken, you'll probably be okay with doing a new one yourself. But if there's also something broken on the actual switch that the key fits on, you're probably better off taking it to a shop unless you're comfortable tearing into electronic gear, replacing parts, and reassembling without having too many "extra" parts left over when you're done.

[SacredCow]

2. I don't think there's anything electronic broken...

The key snaps onto the 2 remaining posts, and it works (although it seems to require a bit more pressure, which makes typing a little awkward). If it were old, I'd forget about it- but I've only had it for about 7 months.

[NoPasaran]

3. Then I say go for it

[quakerboy]

4. In my experience

Not hard. I used to take mine apart on a fairly regular basis so I could clean. Mine was vintage 2000 though. From what I have seen, they have made the whole keyboard module much easier to take out, but I have no idea whether that means the individual keys are easier or harder to remove/replace.