I solved the problem completely by hooking up a new USB keyboard to my laptop. It will take some adjustment but the problem is gone!
Thanks everyone.

I should never be trusted with this complex software (lol). I am afraid to try the refresh. I went to the menu you suggested and pressed my spacebar over "start narrator." Then I couldn't get it to...

I think it's a glitch when I installed the upgrade. Is there any way I can have to upgrade re-installed without losing all my software?

Bree: thanks. The narrator has been turned off all along. I don't think the slider works.

Every few words I type in any text editor, a series of popups appear--stalling my typing. They ask if I want to read aloud, copy, paste and select all. Then the read aloud voice starts reading my...