Laptop misreading keystrokes

[tim510]

Hi everyone,

My laptop keyboard is misreading keystrokes. For example, pressing "i" will give "5" or it will randomly interpret the "ctrl" as being held down. In the past to remedy this I would simply unplug the keyboard ribbon and then install it back. It would work for quite some time but that doesn't work anymore. Now I can not type on the keyboard or keep it plugged in because it randomly opens/closes windows and many other things. I used an external keyboard and it works perfectly. I purchased a new keyboard but it still has the same problem.
Any idea of what else could be wrong? I don't want to lug an external keyboard anymore.

Thanks

HP Pavilion dv4 laptop

 

[hpfreak]

Hey Tim,
You seem to know your way around a computer. But let's try something basic and see what we get.

Try pressing the Fn key, and NumLck. If that doesn't work.. try Alt + NumLck.


If that doesn't work, do have multiple languages configured on the keyboard?
If you do, then I'd suggest you delete them except for English (US).

To check what languages your keyboard works with:
In Windows 7:

Click Start > Control Panel > (in Category view) Clock, Language, and Region > Regions and Language > Click on Keyboards and Languages tab > Keyboards...

Then remove any other input languages besides EN English (United States).
Assuming you want an American layout.

 

[tim510]

I tried the Fn and numlock and it seems to have solved the problem. I'm not sure if this will be just a temporary fix like I was previously doing. Another symptom I didn't mention was that the laptop was very sensitive to movement and pressure. Any vibration and the laptop would jump to different windows that are open like if I was holding down alt and tab. If my palms were on the rest it would do the same thing. All this stoped as soon as I removed the keyboard ribbon and started using an external keyboard.

Any more input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[hpfreak]

Hey Tim,
The Numlock fix is permanent as long as you don't toggle back by pressing it again

As for your sensitivity problem. Maybe it is the touchpad? If it is in deed the keyboard, then I'd like to know if the problem only happens with certain keys (like Alt and Tab as you said above) or it can happen to any key.
If it is Alt + Tab, It may be that the keys themselves need to be repositioned, or there might be something stuck under the key triggering it to engage when it actually isn't pressed.

 

[tim510]

Thank you for the help.

I will keep this post updated if any problems occur.

 

[tim510]

The original keyboard still has the same problems so I replaced it with the new one. It's been about a week without problems.

 

[hpfreak]

Great, hopefully it was a problem with the original keyboard and not a system issue.