The Page-Up and Page-Down keys on my Inspiron 8100 stopped working.

 

I ran a diagnostic using the Dell Diagnostics program. The program boots up the computer from floppy disks and runs the diagnostics, thus eliminating any possible effects of other programs or computer settings. It detected that the two keys - Page-Up and Page-Down are not responding.

 

I also reset the BIOS to default settings, but the Page-Up and Page-Down keys still don't work. It looks like those keys have died. When I spoke to a Dell spare parts person, she said that refurbished keyboards are available for purchase. The fact that they are refurbished tells me that this keyboard in Inspiron 8100 is prone to failure. This failure is in addition to the other components that failed on my computer over the last five years - hard drive, CD drive, modem, battery are some that I can recall.  That experience tells me that I may do better by staying away from another Dell for my next laptop purchase, which will be soon. Add the deplorable customer service to the mix and I don't think that I will be wrong in my decision. What a sad downtrend for Dell from two years ago when Dell's customer service was one of the best.
 
This is unfortunate because I still see some of Dell's laptops appearing in the best product recommendations of PC Magazine and other reviewers. While features and performance are important to me, I cannot sacrifice quality and reliability just for superior performance. I would be interested in the opinions of the forum members.