My computer keyboard starting doing its own thing
I have a Satellite M35X. I use this laptop for work and personal use. It was purchased January 2005, so it’s 18 months old. Recently, I purchased Scan Disk to back up my documents file on a chip that you can carry around your neck, — I don’t know the technical name for what they call this. The day I plugged this in to a USB port, 20 minutes later when I was working in Microsoft Word, my computer keyboard starting doing its own thing. If I hit the shift key, it would take off typing “n” across the page or the backslash symbol. It would reboot but I could not get past the password screen. When I started to enter my password – the touch pad still works well in moving the cursor to an area. It would permit me to enter 3 characters, then it would return wiping the display out and back to reentering again. I purchased a new keyboard and replaced the old. The same thing occurred. I purchased an external keyboard, and unplugged the laptop’s keyboard. For the first 4 hours everything went well, then it did the same thing. When I went into Word it would start typing capital “b” across line upon line. Hitting Escape did not stop it. Holding down the backspace key just caused it to delete the last typed letter, but as soon as it was released, it would continue across the page. Sometimes it would type three characters on a line then return and start with a backslash symbol and type a couple more alphabets on that line, then return and start with a backslash again and a few more characters, return again, and do the same over and over. The alphabet typed on the lines were not always the same – it liked a capital “A” and “n” quite often. When you then go into Microsoft Explorer it will not let you type in the search bar or the address bar but inserts backslashes, continual, never ending Since the laptop keyboard has been replaced, and an external purchased and plugged in, it is not the keyboard, but must be something in the computer. HELP! Any suggestions????
According to the description you’ve provided, I would assume that the keyboard is bad, but you already replaced it. That is a very strange problem. I assume that it might be a software problem.
You can try to reinstall the keyboard drive. Open the device manager and find the keyboard line. Click on the plus sign to expand it. Right click on the “Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard” line and click on uninstall the driver. After you reboot the laptop, Windows will reinstall the driver automatically. Try it first – it might help.
Also you can try this. Revert the operating system back in time when the keyboard was working properly. You’ll have to use the system restore utility. Go to Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – System Restore. Choose date and time when the keyboard worked fine and run the restore. This process will revert only system files and you shouldn’t loose any personal data.
If it still doesn’t help, you can reload the operating system from a recovery DVD. It will take the laptop software back to original factory defaults. When you re-image the drive all data on your hard drive would be erased. BACKUP all important files before you run the recovery DVD. This process should eliminate any software related problems.
One more thing. Try to re-flash or update the laptop BIOS. May be the BIOS is corrupted and it causing the keyboard problem.
If it still doesn’t help, then I would assume that the keyboard controller on the system board can be bad and the system board has to be replaced.
November 20th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
hey i have just bought a laptop and just from now after having it for 3months i have to hold the fn key down to type normally if i don’t hold the fn key the symbols at the top of the keys which would normally appear when holding down the fn key appear witho4t the fn key being pressed. please help me
November 18th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Livia,
I think the keyboard has been damaged and you’ll have to replace the keyboard.
November 18th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
darren kitson,
What login you are talking about? The BIOS login or the Windows login? Test the laptop with an external USB keyboard.
November 16th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
I spilled a VERY small amount of liquid on my husband’s Dell laptop and now certain keys stopped working (Z X C V M , . / Shift Enter). I’m freaking out that I’ve broken his computer…how can this be fixed. We contacted Dell and we’re past the warranty by one week (figures)…any suggestions to make the situation better? What do we do???
November 16th, 2007 at 10:17 am
hi!
I have an Acer Laptop and i cant seem to get past the login screen because when i press the buttons, nothing happens!
Can you help please?
darren
November 14th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Stephanie,
This sounds like a bad keyboard. You’ll have to replace it.
November 14th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
hi… i have a toshiba m35x and the keyboard went crazy a couple of months ago. The l just types by itself. I have to hold the delete key while typing but it doesn’t work. I tried to uninstall the drive for the keyboard, i tried an external keyboard, i left the computer alone for a couple of months. I have also tried taking the l key out but nothing works please help
November 13th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Mike,
If you purchased this laptop second hand, the first thing to do is reinstalling the operating system from scratch. I wouldn’t use this laptop without reinstalling the OS because it might be full of spyware or viruses.
You’ll have to find a Windows XP reinstallation CD for Dell PC. This CD will install the operating system. After that you’ll have to download and install all missing drivers from the Dell website.
You can try searching for the reinsallation CD by the following part number: 0WD766. This is Windows XP SP2 reinstallation CD and it should work for Dell notebooks. I just search for the part number on Google and found that one guy is selling these CDs on craigslist.org
Buy the CD while he has it.
November 13th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Davis,
Maybe you have to remove a few screws from the bottom? Take a look at this keyboard removal guide, it might give you the idea.
November 13th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Just bought a used Dell Pentium III Inspiron 8100 with An XP Pro installed. Just connected it to internet and have running convoluted sentences constantly running in the ’search’ and ‘password’ spaces. Something about dictating and listening appears. I phoned the person who sold it to me who obviously wasn’t the original owner and he didn’t know how to stop the printing. Since I don’t have a manual or disc to instruct me, I don’t know what downloads are in the computer or how to manage them.
Hope you can advise and will appreciate any assisstance you can give.
November 12th, 2007 at 7:51 am
HELP! I purchased a new keyboard for my Gateway MX8711 laptop and I can’t figure out how to get into the computer to remove the old board. It seems like I should just be able to pop off the plastic cover near the top to access the mounting screws but it feels like it’s going to break when I try to lift it. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
November 8th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Tracey,
I’ve posted your question and some suggestions here:
Laptop boots up as normal and then freezes
November 8th, 2007 at 11:20 am
I have a hp laptop and whenever I turn it on, it seems to boot up fine. All the icons appear on the screen. Then I try to click on any icon and nothing happens. I cannot access the start menu either. Its like everything is frozen.
I usually have to turn off and on the laptop about 6-8 times before it actually boots up and can work normal.
I have never had a problem like this and I am scared that my laptop is dying.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
November 3rd, 2007 at 7:02 am
Here’s a helpful hint
After trying to replace keyboards after a spill, replacing a motherboard, trying NUMLOCK button, try this. Under accessories, look for the “Sticky keys” and “Filter Keys” check box. If checked, uncheck these options. I discovered after trying to clean my keyboard after a spill, they was enough residue left to cause the shift and Alt key to stick for a few seconds which activates these options, which will lock the qwerty keys. Worked for me and saved money.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:27 am
This is a PS to my previous post. I have run Knoppix and the keyboard works when under that system. Can I just replace the keyboard driver without a fresh total install?
October 30th, 2007 at 4:26 am
Help. I have a toshiba a105 laptop. The qwerty and numeric keys do not work on either the internal, or an external usb keyboard but Fn combinations keys do. The situation is the same if I boot to safe mode in Windows Xp. I have tried to replace the motherboard with the same results.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
October 5th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
At Last! I’ve been searching the internet for a problem like mine! I can sit and watch my Toshiba Notebook add the letters m, p and commas to Word documents, Google, notepad – you name it! Before it had its *first* new keyboard, it favoured the letter v, accompanied by a loud noise. Symbolic? Over the past 6 months it’s had a second replacement keyboard, reinstallation of Windows (twice) plus new software, new system board, new touchpad. First repaired 10 months ago with a new powerboard, and I can’t help wondering if there’s a connection. Nobody can explain it. They just keep replacing parts and saying they’ve repaired it. Is there anything left to replace? My solution? Will never buy Toshiba again. I’m defeated, but glad to know I’m not the only one with a creative computer.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:13 pm
help! i just bought a second hand acer laptop. and veryday, i use it. and then one time i’ve almost been rushing my papers at school and use the laptop the whole night. and when i sleep, i thought my laptop was ok but it turns out that when i open it, some keys doesn’t respond. all the keys below on the keyboard. is there any solution with this? thanks.
September 23rd, 2007 at 3:24 pm
hi laptop freaky i have a problem on my laptop i have dell inspiron 1520. my problem is when i press the keys like for example 9 there’s a 0 coming out together with the 9. can u please help me out this… thanks
September 20th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Ed,
Test your laptop with an external USB keyboard. Does it do the same thing?
September 20th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Hey,
I have a Dell laptop not sure model number. The other day randomly my keyboard started to act funny. when i hit the letter “L” it changes my screen to full screen version and visa versa. When I type the letter “O” is changes my typing to insert mode. How do I get this to stop happening.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:31 am
MY LAPTOP A TOSHIBA BRAND MODEL SATTELITE A200 – 19L.
WHEN YOU ON YOU FIND NO SCREEN AT ALL….AND NO SOUND WHAT SO EVER….
BATTERY IS FULLY CHARGED ..AND THIS ONE IS JUST A MONTH OLD PIECE.
September 10th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
izual,
The screen is inverter all the time or only in Windows? The Toshiba logo on startup is inverter too?
Did you test your laptop with an external monitor? The external video is normal or inverted?
September 10th, 2007 at 4:56 am
Hello, there good day, i got a A100/A105 Series Toshiba Satellite. i accidentally pressed some buttons then the display inverted suddenly. how can i return it back to it’s normal display? thanks
June 18th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I have a Sony vaio computer. While doing the system recovery , I accidentaly turned the computer off, now is just showing that i have a file missing and it would not start. It just does like is going to start but then the screen flick and start again over and over.
What should I do?
I don’t want to do the recovery disks, because then it will erase all my files.
April 5th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
I have a Compaq EVO N160 laptop on which the hinge for the lid failed where it attaches to the lid. I stripped the laptop and repaired the attachment of the hinge to the lid. When reassembled the inbult keyboard enters the wrong characters onto the screen so “qwertyuiop” comes out as “qreuy io p” and this is the case for most of the keyboard. An external keyboard works fine,
I also noticed that the cooling fan does not run as often and the processor gets very hot before the fan starts and then shuts itself down again.
I have checked and rechecked all cable connectors but it has made no difference. Have I perhaps damaged the motherboard?
March 13th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Rob Delbello,
All keyboards are different. You can carefully remove the key cap from another key so you can see how it’s connected to the keyboard. It’s usually works for me.
March 10th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
One of the keys on my son’s HP Pavillion laptop flipped off and I can’t get it back on. Is there a site you can point me to that expalins how to reinstall the key. If not, any pointers you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
March 9th, 2007 at 7:36 am
Hi..
I have a Toshiba satellite A100-411, with windows vista.
The problem appear after I shut it down. the F10 led is on. now I cannot switch on my comp, I’ve try to push the start button and F10 but it doesnt work. seems like it stuck becos of this F10 is on. what should I do then? thanks
March 5th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Hi, i`ve wrote in battery issues topic but now have another.
I`ve gone to Toshiba service point (Teleplan Poland – don’t go there even if they`ll pay you) for simple repair (that white plastic on keyboard connector has broken) and when comeback home found that 4 keys aren’t working (enter, backspace and other two). What can be with it? Other keys are working, computer runs normally, but those 4 keys are not. It’s satellite m30x so i can’t try ps2 keyboard (no such port).
You think this is faulty keyboard or something with motherboard?