The keyboard on my laptop is acting strange - a few of the keys don't work at random moments, then work fine for a while. The keys press down and up normally, just sometimes nothing appears. It's only a few keys, 'a' is one of them, which makes writing difficult. Any suggestions?

Don't use the keys that are acting strange.

Have you ever cleaned it out, like with compressed air or a soft new paint brush?

Have you ever put it in a bath?
No kidding, one of my friends did to clear out theirs. And yes, they are still alive.

Could be the keyboard going bad, particularly since the "A" key is one of those going bad.

Time to check your warranty status...

Hmm, I think I'll skip the 'dunk in the bath' suggestion.

As for cleaning it with a paintbrush, is there a safe way to remove the keys? I've never cleaned under them, just brushed off the tops.

I think I'm still under warranty, I'll have to look around for my paperwork.

It's possible to take off the keys, THen put them back on and they work fine. Friends and I took off osme of the keys at our school to confuse the new kids. I think you can just pull them up with a ruler.
But then this is from dunk-in-bath-girl. What works for me might not for you.
Aaaang I'm not going ot try on my keyboard to see. I like ti too much. Heh.

Laptop keyboards are slightly different from external keyboards, but the principal is the same. Keys are held on by some kind of minor clip mechanism and should be able to come right off.

The trick is getting them to come up, and not sideways. With sideways, you can lose a key (by breaking some of the tiny plastic tab). You should be able to get a key puller for just a couple of bucks at a local computer store... cheap insurance.

However, if the contacts have gone bad, the keyboard itself will need to be replaced. And that's when your warranty is your friend... ;)

Well, look at that. After a little experimentation they DO pop straight up. Unfortunately cleaning them doesn't seem to have fixed the problem. So far, its the keys wasz that stop working, and always at the same time. If it were wasd I would understand... but why z? Strange.

I'll have to look around for that warranty tonight I guess. Thanks for advice everybody. Except for zebodog. Your advice wasn't very helpful at all.