Why is it that v__yti_ I hit th_ l_tt__s that co__ n_xt in th_ s_qu_nc_, y onito op__at_s in a st_ang way? ost o’th vow_ls ca__y out di_____nt inst_uctions than what I want, and a coupl o’consanants, too. It’s lik_ th_ ALT button is stuck. But I can’t _ind anything actually causing this.
It’s possible that your keyboard is either 1. stuck, 2. old, or 3. dirty.
Keyboards are cheap. Go get a new one.
Turn off the PC and unplug the keyboard. Turn it upside down and brand the crap out of it on the corners and edges while slapping it firmly on the bottom. Lots of Superdude skin flakes, food detritus, lint and other crap will fall out of it. If that doesn’t work get a new one.
Yes, keyboards are cheap. If it’s busted, it’s much cheaper replacing it than fix it… I got a cool transparent blue one from Poundland (similar to the Dollar Store) - for £1…
If it’s dirty, it’s fairly easy to clean. Turn the computer off, unfold a paperclip and slide it gently around the letters, thus removing unnisghtly gunk you never thought of. Give it a good shake as well. You can also get compressed air (looks like a WD40 can) which is good, but expensive.
You guys aren’t looking for the pattern here. What do E, F, M, and R have in common? They’re used in conjunction with the Windows start button on your keyboard. If you press Start+E for instance, you’ll get an Explorer window. Start+F is Find, Start+M is Minimize All, and Start+R is Run. I seem to remember there being one more, but maybe not. Anyway, I think your problem is that your Start button is stuck. Try pressing it and maybe it’ll unstick it. If that doesn’t work, I’ll bet it’s a software problem, and a quick reset will fix it.
The number lock button on my laptop makes my keyboard go all stupid. Are you on a laptop?
Me have the same problem w th my eyboard. To actually use the eye and the cay - have to copy from an ex st ng document and paste. AAARRRGGHHH!!!
Once I spilled just the tiniest bit of coffee into a keyboard, and it was ruined.
Like the others say, they’re cheap, buy a new one. My latest one cost about 15 bucks American, and it claims to be spill-resistant.
Thank you SO much. This is kinda of what I was looking for. I’m on my laptop now, and having MUCH better success. When I get home later, I plan on trying this. Question, though…how does a Start button get stuck? It’s not a physical key, like on a keyboard. Glad you picked up on the pattern of the pop-up windows when I hit those letters. It was horribly aggravating.
On my keyboard it is a physical key. Two of them, in fact. They have little Windows logos on them, and they’re sandwiched between Ctrl and Alt. If your keyboard doesn’t have them, then I imagine it must be a software problem…
If you find you have to type without those keys, like in your OP, try this. When you get to one, hit Shift+whatever. I think that’ll override the Start button and give you a capital letter. If you’re fastidious about capitalization, though, you’ll have to hit Caps Lock twice every time you do this.
The strange thing is is my problems come and go. As you can see my I and K and , keys now work. Tomorrow they wont. I have had my keyboard and hard drive replaced and yet it continues. It is really driving me nuts.
Ah…is THAT what those are called? Sounds like I have some work to do when I get home.
Call me crazy, but when a keyboard cruds up on me, I pop it in the dishwasher, key side down. After the wash and dry cycle, I let it sit for a few days. Volia! Good as new!
Fortunately, I have backup keyboards I use when I’m cleaning one of the others. IBM Type M, baby – all-American clicky classic keyboards that’ll never let you down.
I happen to be a computer weenie, and I always seem to need keyboards (except since the last ham fest I went to, where I got about 20 for 5 bucks). Obviously, when you get keyboards out of the trash or wherever they aren’t in the best of shape. As elmwood suggested, the dishwasher does wonders. Three important things not previously mentioned: 1) don’t use soap and 2) wrap the cord up around something so it can’t get caught in the moving parts of the dishwasher and 3) if your dishwasher has a heating option to dry your dishes at the end, turn it off (it may be labled “power saver dry” in which case you turn it on to save power, i.e. leave the heater off).
We had a programmer at work who dumped his coffee into a 2 month old keyboard. Work tossed it in the trash. I rescued it, ran it through the dishwasher, and voila, good as new.
My keyboards last forever. What are you people doing to your computers?
And the worst that’s ever happened to one of mine is that unsightly black gunk on the surface of the keys.