On 13/03/2019 15:42, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Mayayana
writes:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote

|
| Has anyone else experienced this weird one? (Does anyone know what its
| cause is?)
|

Â*What happened with checking for faulty hooks? You
ruled that out? If it really works as you say then it
would seem that would have to be a Windows problem.

I'm afraid I must admit I felt that was beyond me.

Â* But you also didn't mention what software you've
tested. If it's not the keyboard then it could be the
program. Any program you type into has access to the
Windows keyboard messages and its own GUI. So, for
instance, a program can do things like auto-capitalize
as you type. It would do that by checking the keycode
and shift status. It sounds like you haven't considered
the software used.

The loss of the ability to type a ")" * applies in all software I'm
using: my email/news client, Notepad+, or my browsers.

*: it just came back there! I went to type that ")", using shift-zero as
my muscle memory does, then I realised it had worked!

Â* If it's not those things then there aren't many options
left. Maybe, possibly, a corrupted codepage? I don't know
if that is actually possible or how to check for it.

I can't see how that would come and go, though.

Â*I'm still not convinced it's not some kind of hook,
possibly malware. That seems to be the only possibility
that fits with the fact that a reboot fixes the problem.
And didn't you say before that you were using at least
two specialty programs that hook the keyboard? I don't
remember you ever reporting any systematic test of
all those factors -- the specialty programs and the window
you're typing into -- to see whether the problem is
independent of all software.

Yes, malware had occurred to me as well.

AllChars seems the most obvious candidate, but when my keyboard funnies
- either the inability to type ")", or the more serious apparent stuck
shift key - I have tried stopping AllChars (it's tray icon has Exit in
its menu), and the fault doesn't go away. Equally, I have AllChars set
to run from start (at boot), but the funnies do not appear from boot
(though AllChars is working). The only other intercepting s/w I can
think of is Leeos's noisy keyboard - same lack of correlation with the
errors.

So what happens if you try disabling* both of those and then rebooting?

* Presumably each is launched in one of several possible ways:
Startup folder, either your own or 'All users'
Temporarily move it elsewhere.
HKCU/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Run
HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Run
Export the registry key into a file
Delete the registry entry
Reboot
Later you can import the registy file to reinstate it.
A service
Disable it, either in the services mmc console, or
in the boot options configuration dialog.