[Pairadocs]

Hope this is a simple one compared to some of the questions I see on this forum ! I have a Lenovo laptop that is about half way (?) through its' useful life. Really don't want to have to buy yet, but a couple keys are no longer working; a really frustrating problem. Little can be typed without letter "c", and letters "z" and "x" also don't work. Is the cost of taking this to a place like best buy to get these 3 letters working higher than buying a new laptop ? I am not a gamer, and no longer use business applications, so can get by with a $400 or so laptop for social media, email, and looking up things on the web. What to do ? Presently, using a wireless key board with the laptop, but that's a real pain when I want to pack up the lap top and take with ! Also another question, since I only write an occasional traditional letter or document, is there a less expensive alternative than purchasing word yearly, or, do alternatives make it impossible to read and print the documents I already have saved on the laptop that are written in Word ? Thanks all......

[FenneyGuy]

Lenovo Laptop Key Replacement | Keyboard Keys | Keypad Keys

https://www.amazon.com/Laptop-replac.../dp/B00H4RU8OU

[JohnN]

I think some foiks have success in trying to clean out dust and stuff from their keyboard to get keys working but I can't say I've had much luck with that. And taking it into a computer repair place on an older pc is probably not cost effective.

My situation seems a lot like yours. while I ended up with an inexpensive on-sale 14" HP laptop (about $300), I seriously looked at Chromebooks which don't have much of a hard drive and so a bit less expensive. There are also used/remanufactured computers as an option.

Instead of Word and Excel, consider using Google's Docs and Sheets, and you store your file in a Google G-drive instead of a hard drive. They're free and almost identical in functionality.

You may get some better advice from tech-types, I'm just a run-of-the-mill user, but that's how I worked it out. Good luck, it's all a pain.

[retiredguy123]

There are several free software programs that will produce MS Word compatible documents. I would suggest downloading WPS Office. It's free.

[J1ceasar]

Open office is a free software program that has a word application as well as database and a calc program it is very largely used and very well supported and as I said free

[J1ceasar]

And if your keys don't seem to be working depending on the type of physical construction if it's not a rubber membrane you can get a can of air cleaner and spray underneath it's possibly dust

[J1ceasar]

Lastly there were many laptops for between $100 and $200 today brand new you can check them out at Walmart office Depot Staples and Best buy. Or you can buy a one or two year old laptop at walmart.com or eBay. As long as you don't need them for games over the internet or you're doing video editing they should be fine. If I were you I'd look for one that still has Windows seven as many people don't like Windows 10

[Catalina36]

I purchased a new HP laptop 14" screen on Amazon approx $310.00. I purchased Microsoft Office for $99.00 a year. Not happy with the new Office. Excel has changed so much from my older version I don't find it user friendly anymore.

[PoolBrews]

You can get a replacement keyboard on eBay for very little $$ ($20-$40), and the process to replace is available on the internet for nearly every model of laptop. It's typically a fairly easy process. Just a thought.

[villagetinker]

Last year I purchased the home version of office for my wife, this is the stand alone version it was around $100 if I remember correctly. I do not know if MS still offers this version.

[retiredguy123]

You can buy the 2019 version of MS Office for one device on Amazon for $124.99, or you can pay $69.99 per year for the Microsoft 365 subscription. I use the subscription because you can install it on multiple devices, the software is always up-to-date, and you get 1TB of cloud storage on OneDrive.

[rjm1cc]

open office free

[sunny56]

I have used open office for a few years. No problem. I do save all documents, spreadsheets, etc. as word, excel. You have that option with this program when you save. Product works fine.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

For word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation software, I'd suggest OpenOffice or LibreOffice. OpenOffice is a product of Apache. LibreOffice is an offshoot of OpenOffice, produced by the Document Foundation.

Both are open source, free (though you can donate if you'd like, you don't get anything extra for the donation), and around 99.7% compatible in every way to Microsoft Office suite. I personally feel LibreOffice has more functionality than MS.

[wsachs]

You should also be able to download the Apple apps: Pages (Word), Numbers (Excel) and Keynote (PowerPoint) with an Apple ID for computer, iPad or iPhone. Free and work just as well as MS programs. Works on PC's cause it's web based. Free storage in iCloud too.