I bought the 320 gb 7200 drive, since the 500 gb drive was not in stock. Everything works just fine, but during the process I forgot about the ribbon cable boot that is connected to the logic board right in the center of the computer. When I pulled the keyboard up, it popped off enough to damage the connection so that it fell off when I tried to plug it back in.

I AM NOW IN NEED OF THE ORANGE RIBBON CABLE GOING FROM THE LOGIC BOARD TO THE KEYBOARD UNDERSIDE.

Apple does not sell just the ribbon cable, so I'm hoping that if I'm patient enough perhaps I can find someone that has a damaged top panel and will sell me the ribbon cable.

Please, if you know where of any such person of whom I can obtain this ribbon cable, will you please contact me? I found out how to get the computer started without the top case on, so with an external keyboard and a mouse I can still use my 17" Macbook Pro. It just isn't mobile at this point, although I am packing it up and taking it back and forth to work still. I just put the lid back on and put it in the bag.

One other issue I'd like to point out: After installing the 7200 rpm drive, the fans seem to have decided to run much faster most of the time. Occassionally, now that the cover is not on, they will slow down. I've always had a desktop fan blowing on it anyway, and that isn't going to stop any time soon. I don't know if it affects it much, but I just like the idea of blowing air on the Mac as much as possible while I'm using it.

It was interesting to be able to see how much dust had accumulated on the light sensors and elsewhere inside the computer, after opening it up.

You might write these guys and see if they have a spare one. Otherwise you may have to buy a new keyboard.

http://tinyurl.com/c4vwu4

I should restate what I wrote just for clarification. The orange ribbon cable actually snakes around and connects more than just the keyboard. It is the cable that connects directly to the logic board from the power button as well as the trackpad and keyboard that basically consists of 2 long slender forks, the skinnier one going over to the power button.

Is that the cable you had in mind? I think it incredible that I cannot purchase just the cable, here. But I guess the "Apple" industry hasn't matured like the automobile industry has, with just about any part imaginable being replaceable. After all, who is ever going to damage the inside ribbon cable on their laptop?

Yes. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't sell individual parts or schematics. It's almost impossible to repair a logic board, for example. They want you to just replace it. But they will rebuild them and charge you for what a new one costs. RCA done this way back in the 70s with their modules in their XL-100 TVs. When I would order a module, sometimes the module looked new and some they looked rebuilt. The price was always the same though.