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Old March 14th 19, 01:52 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
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Posts: 2,679
Default keyboard funny - loss of ")" character

In message , VanguardLH
writes:
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

VanguardLH WROTE:

Same happen when you move the keyboard to a different computer?


Laptop.


Laptops don't have room for a number pad, so they overlay the numpad
keys atop the alphanumeric keys at the right end. Look at:

https://www.replacementlaptopkeys.co...s/sony_vpcx_la
ptop_keyboard_key.jpg
(click to enlarge)

Notice the 0 (zero) key at the top row has 3 characters possible: 0
(zero), right parens, and / (divide). I don't remember how it is done
but there is some way to turn on the numpad characters for those keys.


I _think_ it varies between laptops. On this one, it's Fn+F11, called
"Numeric Overlay". I _have_ very occasionally fallen foul of it (i. e.
turned it on by mistake), but (once I'd learned about it!), its symptoms
are quite obvious - more the letter keys UIOJKLM don't produce their
normal letters, than just the 0/) key. Good thinking, though!

However, if that were the case, I would think you would get / (slash)
for each press on Shift+0 that doesn't appear to do anything. I would
find out what toggles the numpad and toggle it a couple times and then
once more, if needed, to turn off the numpad to make sure the toggle
state didn't get confused for those keys.


I'm afraid that's not it.

Have you yet cold booted the laptop? I don't mean shutdown into
low-power or hibernate mode but completely powered off. For a cold
boot, the CPU sends a reset signal to all hardware to make sure it
starts in a known state. I've had hardware that got confused to what
state it should be, and a cold boot gave it the reset to start at a
known initial state.


Yes - since this started, some months ago, I've had several of all sorts
of powerdown - low-power, controlled shutdown, and uncontrolled shutdown
(running on battery and not realising). [I don't _think_ I've had a
_crash_ as such - I'm pretty sure I've never had a BSOD - though if the
fault is in one of its more aggressive modes, actually triggering a
shutdown can be hard work. But I can usually get there with the mouse
(trackpad).]

Do you have Sticky Keys enabled in Windows? You may not have
deliberately enable it but did so accidentally. Pressing Shift 5 times
in rapid succession will turn on Stick Keys. I've done that a couple
time when ****ed at something and ended up hitting the Shift more than 5
times and wondering what that beep was for.


No. Sometimes I do the same, but I have it set to pop up an ask. (I do
have the thing that beeps when I change the lock [mainly so I know if I
hit caps lock by mistake], but that doesn't change anything, it's only a
beep. [May be called "toggle keys" - it was under XP - which is a
misleading name for it.])

You press Shift+0 but don't get a right parenthesis character. The
question is if there is a hardware fault where the keypress is not
registered; i.e., no scan code for the keypress is sent. The other
possibility is that some software has usurped that key combo. Keyboards
generate 2 scan codes per keypress: keydown and keyup. That way,
software can see if you pressed a key or released it. It has too long
since I used a key scan code tool to remember what I've used. I
remember running it and then I'd press and hold down a key to see what
the tool said was that scan code. Then I'd release the key to see what
different scan code got generated for that action. I wasn't using it to
find missing scan codes but to define some key remapping. Keyboard
keyboard remapping software is also a possibility for the missing scan
code for downpress+0 issuing the scan code for that key combo.


I've just got one - when I saw there was a NirSoft one, I got that
(https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/keyboard_state_view.html) as I find his
utils excellent. (I was a little surprised to find I didn't already have
it as part of his suite; maybe it is too new.) I have looked at what it
shows when I type shift and 0 now, and will try again next time I get
_that_ fault. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'd first boot Windows into its safe mode to see the problem still
exists. If so, I'd try a keyboard scan code reporting tool that showed
me both downpress and release of keys for their scan codes.


Trouble is, I'd have to run in safe mode for a long time to see if the
problem exists, as it often doesn't show up for ages.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Never raise your hand to your children. It leaves your mid-section unprotected
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