Laptop Keyboard Issue

[GamerMax5]

Kind of a werid one here.

I'm working on a laptop where the keyboard ribbon mounting bracket is missing from the mainboard. Don't ask me how this happened because I have yet to figure this out.

My question here is since the mounting bracket is missing, sounds silly to me I know, but is this a mainboard replacement or is there something else I can do?

Thanks in advance.

[Lord Orwell]

so the entire socket is gone? Exactly how sure are you that it had one to start with? Maybe it was glued on or something. You never know with laptops.

Having asked that, if i was having this issue, i would trash the original keyboard completely and shoehorn a usb wired aluminum mac keyboard in there. It's basically a laptop keyboard but runs off usb, and at about $30 is quite a bit cheaper than a new motherboard. It even has an fn key on it for media control (requires a driver for this)

[GamerMax5]

so the entire socket is gone? Exactly how sure are you that it had one to start with? Maybe it was glued on or something. You never know with laptops.

Not exactly. I apologize as I should've been a bit more clear with my description of the laptop. This is an old Dell Latitude with the odd blue trim on the bezel. The socket that holds the keyboard ribbon is comprised of two main components: the actual pin holder and the white locking piece that holds the ribbon in place. The white locking piece of this entire socket is missing. The owner of the laptop had the ever-so brilliant idea of duct-taping the ribbon down to the socket and covering some other things like caps and such. I guess what I was wondering is if the actual white lock can be replaced or is it just not a fixable part?

[Lord Orwell]

im sure it could be found somewhere, but good luck finding it. maybe ebay?