# Windows XP Keyboard/Mouse Hiccup?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-keyboard-mouse-hiccup/367361>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 4, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-keyboard-mouse-hiccup/367361 "2006-08-04T18:06:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-keyboard-mouse-hiccup/367361/1 "2006-08-04T18:06:06Z")

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So this is odd and it’s happened to me before. I was tabbing back and forth and going to copy/paste something from one system into another. Somehow (and I’m honestly not sure what, if anything, I did), the keyboard got all wonky. Alt+Tab was going backwards (from right to left as opposed to left to right), CTRL+V would open up a prompt to “move to folder”, my CAPS LOCK went into bizarro world where it was exactly the opposite, etc. I rebooted and still had the problem. Then, as mysteriously as it started, it stopped. What happened?

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**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-keyboard-mouse-hiccup/367361/2 "2006-08-04T19:35:58Z")

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[QUOTE=stpauler]  
So this is odd and it’s happened to me before. I was tabbing back and forth and going to copy/paste something from one system into another. Somehow (and I’m honestly not sure what, if anything, I did), the keyboard got all wonky. Alt+Tab was going backwards (from right to left as opposed to left to right), CTRL+V would open up a prompt to “move to folder”, my CAPS LOCK went into bizarro world where it was exactly the opposite, etc. I rebooted and still had the problem. Then, as mysteriously as it started, it stopped. What happened?  
[/QUOTE]  
It was due to the unfathomable perversity of inannimate objects. 😉

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-keyboard-mouse-hiccup/367361/3 "2006-08-04T19:47:29Z")

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The alt-tab and caps lock behavior seems like one of your shift keys was stuck. Dunno about the ctl-v.

Next time try repeatedly tapping your shift keys to make them release.

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**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-keyboard-mouse-hiccup/367361/4 "2006-08-04T20:02:54Z")

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[QUOTE=stpauler]  
So this is odd and it’s happened to me before. I was tabbing back and forth and going to copy/paste something from one system into another. Somehow (and I’m honestly not sure what, if anything, I did), the keyboard got all wonky. Alt+Tab was going backwards (from right to left as opposed to left to right), CTRL+V would open up a prompt to “move to folder”, my CAPS LOCK went into bizarro world where it was exactly the opposite, etc. I rebooted and still had the problem. Then, as mysteriously as it started, it stopped. What happened?  
[/QUOTE]

Such random operational vagaries are due to the inate perversity of inanimate objects.  
A bad case of tangle fingers may contribute to erratic PC behavior.

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**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-keyboard-mouse-hiccup/367361/5 "2006-08-04T20:04:30Z")

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Blame the DP on a bad storm interruption. :smack:

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-keyboard-mouse-hiccup/367361/6 "2006-08-04T20:35:37Z")

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The stuck key will cause this and leave you baffled.