MS-163A (GX600) notebook: some keys not working

Question

Hello,
my girlfriend has been having a notebook with the MSI logo on it for about two years, and has been experiencing an annoying problem with its keyboard since about a year, with no particular event remarked that may have caused it: Certain keys on the right side of the keyboard produce no response when pressed, and there is no special feeling like if the keys were broken mechanically. The issue is not OS dependent, since the problem occurs in all Windows, Ubuntu, and even BIOS setup itself. The keys form a mirrored "L" shape on the keyboard: It's the /, 8, 5, 2 and 0 keys of the numeric keypad (all of these form a vertical line), plus the right arrow key of the basic arrow key set (on the left of the 0 numeric key). Still, the Del key, which is situated above the non-functioning "/" key, works well (but it also has another shape - it's in the top line of the keyboard and thus smaller than the other keys). Very rarely, some of these "dead" keys react and produce the appropriate sign, and you do not need to be pressing them with any force to achieve that - yet, the exact context of when this happens is undeterminable and by just pressing the key over and over again you do not get it working.
Neither loading BIOS defaults nor performing the EC reset procedure has helped. I have thought of updating her BIOS, but have problems finding an update. The MSI update utility for Windows does not find any update, and I am not sure if there is one suitable I could pick manually from the MSI website. According to the BIOS setup information, her computer is a:
Market Name: GX600
Model Name: MS-163A
BIOS Version: E163AIMS.301
Build Date: 07/16/2008 18:37:19
EC Version: 163AEG6 Ver1.08
Build Date: 06/30/2008
Any ideas on where could I find a newer BIOS to flash, or what else may be causing this peculiar behavior of the keyboard? Thank you!

Answer 1

Thank you for trying to help, Stu. For Svet: It's not a NumLock problem, the keys did not generate any response at all - neither an up arrow, nor an eight, for example.
Nothing was spilt on the keyboard either, but your hints have made me further research the problem: Once I figured out that the key always becomes active while having been pressed for some time, I concluded it's a problem of the contact between the keycap and the keyboard's circuit board. And indeed, if I removed the key and would press that little white cap while pressing its surroundings against the bottom of the keyboard, it would react perfectly and produce one keypress every time I pressed the cap, even if only gently as usual. This observance has led me to take the keyboard out of the computer (using this guy's great video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5294724954182930778&ei=dzGvSYTlCpaEqQOm9JjXDw ) and stick some scotch tape in the places which are situated below those keys when the keyboard is in. And, indeed, doing this and putting everything back again has solved the problem!
In fact, I am not sure if it was really that thin layer of scotch I have put below that was the cause - it is also possible that it was the wide cable which connects it to the motherboard and which was bent quite unpleasantly for several times. I could not really find a better solution to hide it below the keyboard without having it bent like that, still it is possible that just moving it a little during the work with the tape has made it work well again (for how long, though, I don't dare guessing). Perhaps it was just the side-most wire in that cable, which was bent the worst, which is responsible for that column of keys which was malfunctioning? If I could get somewhere a diagram of how the keys are connected to those wires, maybe that would give a hint.
Anyway, as for now at least, the problem has been resolved. Thank you for your hints and attention!