# Spacebar on Keyboard. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2020, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169 "2020-01-09T12:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/1 "2020-01-09T12:27:00Z")
Today, my keyboard randomly wouldn’t work for a couple of seconds. This also happened the other day. My keyboard is a Microsoft Wired 600. Help. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/2 "2020-01-09T12:33:45Z")
Sounds like the driver resetting after shortly losing contact with the device due to a faulty cable (these do wear out under strain). Personally I wouldn’t bother and just get a new keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/3 "2020-01-09T12:35:03Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > Sounds like the driver resetting after shortly losing contact with the device due to a faulty cable (these do wear out under strain). > > Personally I wouldn’t bother and just get a new keyboard. This keyboard is only like a month old. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/4 "2020-01-09T12:39:32Z")
Also, by “randomly wouldn’t work”, I mean, “At one point, it wouldn’t work for a couple of seconds”, not, “it sporadically wouldn’t work.” ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/5 "2020-01-09T12:44:11Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > This keyboard is only like a month old. We’re in the “made in China” era. It’s very common for “new” devices to fail or even not work right out of the box. You can test by trying a different known-to-be-good keyboard to see if the problem occurs again. If it does, it’s the computer and not the keyboard. Maybe a bad USB port or something along those lines. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/6 "2020-01-09T12:49:52Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > We’re in the “made in China” era. It’s very common for “new” devices to fail or even not work right out of the box. > > You can test by trying a different known-to-be-good keyboard to see if the problem occurs again. If it does, it’s the computer and not the keyboard. Maybe a bad USB port or something along those lines. What keyboards would you recommend? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/7 "2020-01-09T14:48:55Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > This keyboard is only like a month old. Is there a warranty? Mine (a Logitech) has a 30 day period to take it back to the store, and for a year after the date of purchase I can return it to them under warranty. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/8 "2020-01-09T15:23:45Z")
Turn it over and shake it out. You got a PopTart crumb stuck under the key and it started working again once it got more finely crushed. There’s probably more where that came from. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/9 "2020-01-09T15:28:06Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Turn it over and shake it out. You got a PopTart crumb stuck under the key and it started working again once it got more finely crushed. There’s probably more where that came from. I eat all my meals around the computer. Think that’s it? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/10 "2020-01-09T15:41:00Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > What keyboards would you recommend? I’ve always gotten excellent service out of Logitech equipment, both keyboards and mice/track balls. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/11 "2020-01-09T15:42:37Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > I eat all my meals around the computer. Think that’s it? Yep! LOL ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/12 "2020-01-09T17:17:35Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > We’re in the “made in China” era. It’s very common for “new” devices to fail or even not work right out of the box. Nothing special about China. The [bathtub curve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve) for failure rate applies to everything. ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/13 "2020-01-10T14:16:23Z")
no idea what is your environment … since you state only the ms-600 and that it’s a month old. could be issue with the os or one of the peripherals. have you tried another keyboard in your residence? if the keyboard utilizes usb-port … try a different port … or try a different device using that port. other things to check for … could be your a/v is temporarily hogging computer resources. a/v reference files need to be updated daily … have you updated your a/v reference files? most of 'em should be able to remove keyloggers. win-10 might be doing one of their updates. have you checked the device-manager for incongruities? it’s already a new keyboard … you don’t need to replace it … unless, there’s some proprietary crap going on … check the box it came in or online manual … make sure it’s compatible with your setup … contact microsoft herself. > **[Mouse and Keyboard Center download - Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/mouse-and-keyboard-center-download-f5b10905-7887-eedb-2f1c-d0737a36a3b2)** > > Information on how to download the Microsoft Mouse & Keyboard Center. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/14 "2020-01-10T14:30:40Z")
Are you a smoker? Ash particles, some microscopic, can be a hazard. I once worked in a lab where intermittent failures were diagnosed as due to this, and it was banned. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/15 "2020-01-10T14:37:50Z")
My spacebar sticks sometimes too. In my case it’s probably because I tend to eat at the computer. It’s a combination of cracker crumbs and spilled beer. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/16 "2020-01-10T15:12:44Z")
OP has the wost luck with keyboards: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=886251](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=886251) [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=886788](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=886788) ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/17 "2020-01-14T13:45:51Z")
my old keyboard had a sticky backspace…I suppose me bashing on it contributed to its stickiness. But it was after the fact. Sometimes it would work and not. The bashing begun out of frustration. New keyboard about a month ago…that damn n and m sticks in where it isnt suppose to be…my space bar should ignore those two keys, butt ins. They are behaving themselves more and more each day! ---
**Author:** ![atimnie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atimnie/32/11_2.png) [@atimnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atimnie)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacebar-on-keyboard/846169/18 "2020-01-14T14:37:29Z")
Eating around your computer, I can understand, but why would you eat directly over the keyboard? Sit back away from the keyboard when you eat, and make sure your hands are free of crumbs when you type.