Keyboard not registering some letters

This happened suddenly today. I had been using the laptop for some time, typing in both English and Greek with no problem.

Then I went to log onto a website and my b key didn`t register. Other keys also fail to register or show as something different such as an accented i or a. The space bar doesn`t register. If I hit one key several times I may suddenly get a b or a random forward slash that is very faint compared to the letters. At other times, once the first key fails to register the keyboard becomes generally unresponsive.

I had a similar problem a few weeks ago and did a System Restore that seemed to solve it. Tried that this time with no success.

Tried 2 different malware scans which were both clear. I tried to use my Dell SupportAssist to do a hardware scan but this will not open.

I tried to use the onscreen keyboard but although this will open it is useless as the cursor just becomes a spinning circle when over the keyboard.

I managed to get into safe mode and the problem is still there.

Not sure what to do now. Would a new install solve the problem?

Have you tried a different keyboard? Could be the keyboard is actually the problem.

Try a System Restore to the time before this happened.
As stated, try a USB keyboard. You can also try Enabling the Hidden Administrator account. Log out as you, and login as the Admin and see if the same thing is happening. Try the On Screen Keyboard in the previously Hidden Administrator account, if it doesn't happen with the OSK in the Admin account, then it is the keyboard that needs to be replaced.

Honestly the first thing that needs to be done is check that the keyboard itself isn't bad. Sticky or unresponsive keys is nothing new to keyboards.

If the OP has another keyboard around simply swap them. If it's wired try another USB port.

I'm of the simple first, everything else later.

Unfortunately I don't have another keyboard to try and not easy to get one, but thinking about it the non-working keys are possibly clustered together (b, n, space bar) so this is a likely cause and I will check it out further.

I did do a System Restore but this didn't help.

I had thought about trying a different admin account on the laptop, though not the built in admin one. I guess if it doesn't work on other accounts this is also proof the keyboard itself is the culprit.

Probably coincidentally, I have the laptop set up to give the option of booting into Safe Mode or W10, and this has disappeared recently too, which can happen after an MS update or upgrade. As I said, probably a coincidence.

Okay, this is weird.

I logged into a different Admin account on the laptop and tried the keyboard. It was fine, all keys registering as they should.

So I restarted and logged into my usual Admin account - and that was fine too! I am using that now, and the b, the n and the space bar are all functionning as normal.

So not a keyboard problem at all, but how can I find out what might have been the problem? Are there any diagnostics I can do to see what might have been happening with the laptop over the last 24 hours?

When I looked yesterday there hadn't been any Windows Updates that might have triggered something. Would like to know so I can be prepared if it happens again.

Just an observation, I notice 2 locales listed in the OP's Profile, could there be some conflict between different languages? I noticed such a possibility in having to rebuild a Notebook with a new HDD and was given a choice of English (US) or English (Canada) [yeah, it was from Alberta] along with several other versions of English.

Berton said:

Just an observation, I notice 2 locales listed in the OP's Profile, could there be some conflict between different languages? I noticed such a possibility in having to rebuild a Notebook with a new HDD and was given a choice of English (US) or English (Canada) [yeah, it was from Alberta] along with several other versions of English.

I use English (UK) and Greek on the laptop, and have done for years, mostly without a problem. I use the spacebar and Windows key to toggle between these languages. I had been using Greek shortly before the problem occurred, but had then toggled back to English (UK) and written some emails without a problem.

All is still okay today, so maybe I have to put this down to a glitch, but I would still like to know if there are any ways I can check out what might have been happening on the laptop when the problem occurred.

Hello @SaggyMaggyPoo,

SaggyMaggyPoo said:

All is still okay today, so maybe I have to put this down to a glitch, but I would still like to know if there are any ways I can check out what might have been happening on the laptop when the problem occurred.

If the problem returns, you could try the following . . .

 SFC and RestoreHealth

[1] Press the Win + X keys together > Command Prompt (Admin).
[2] Highlight ALL the commands below.

IMPORTANT:

• It is recommended when running SFC that Fast Startup is turned OFF [ Turn it back ON when finished ] => How to Turn On or Off Fast Startup in Windows 10
  
  
• If SFC finds any ERRORS that it can NOT repair, run SFC again upto 3 more times, Restarting after each to allow any pending actions to be implemented.
  
  
• DISM will initially try and Repair ANY Corrupted or Missing files using the Component Store.
  If this is NOT possible, DISM will use Windows Update. Therefore, Internet access is required.
  If you are NOT connected to the Internet, you will receive a Error: 0x800f081f.

[3] Press the Ctrl + C keys together.
[4] Right-click inside the Administrator: Command Prompt Window > Paste.
[5] Press Enter.

Code:

sfc /scannow
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

• When the above has finished processing . . .

[6] Right-click on the title bar of the Administrator: Command Prompt Window > Edit > Select All.
[7] Right-click on the title bar of the Administrator: Command Prompt Window again > Edit > Copy.

• Paste the results into your post using the [CODE] tags . . .

[8] In your post, click the Hashtag icon #.
[9] Click INSIDE the [CODE]Here[CODE] tags and press the Ctrl + V keys together.

• In your post it will look like this . . .

Code:

<<< Results here >>>

 SFC Error Report

However, if there are STILL SFC ERRORS . . .

[1] Press the Win + X keys together > Command Prompt (Admin).
[2] Highlight the command below.

NOTE:

If you have a Relocated Desktop, then change the %UserProfile% part of the Command below to the actual path of the Relocated Desktop folder.

[3] Press the Ctrl + C keys together.
[4] Right-click inside the Administrator: Command Prompt Window > Paste.
[5] Press Enter.

Code:

findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log > "%UserProfile%\Desktop\SFC_Details.log"

• This will create a SFC_Details.log file on the Desktop.

EITHER:

Copy & Paste the results into your post using the [CODE] tags . . .

[1] Open the SFC_Details.log file in Notepad.
[2] Press the Ctrl + A keys together.
[3] Press the Ctrl + C keys together.
[4] In your post, click the Hashtag icon #.
[5] Click INSIDE the [CODE]Here[CODE] tags and press the Ctrl + V keys together.

• In your post it will look like this . . .

Code:

<<< Results Here >>>

OR:

UPLOAD the file => How to Upload and Post Screenshots and Files at Ten Forums.

---

I hope this helps.