Keyboard jam - but no keyboard!

IrkSplee · 03-26-2009, 01:00 PM

I'm hoping this is in the right section... while technically, it's keyboard related, there's also no keyboard involved. Which is kind of the problem. I am currently using a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop.

About a month ago, my laptop's keyboard went a bit... insane. A few letters would hit themselves at random times, the volume key kept spiking itself all the way up, and most annoyingly, the alt key ended up in a permanently on state, rendering the computer impossible to use. I chalked it up to all the trauma this laptop's been through - it's kind of old, and I'll admit to being a clumsy, stupid kid when I got it. The poor thing has visible cracks on it. Since I'm a bit hardware-phobic and intend to get a new laptop in April anyway, rather than risk opening the laptop and possibly destroying it, I pulled a USB keyboard out and uninstalled the keyboard driver. The driver kept putting itself back - sometimes after a few hours with the computer on, sometimes a few MINUTES - but then I'd just fight my way to the control panel, uninstall it again, reset, and go about my life. After a month of that (as in, today), I started getting irritated with the whole business - I blame the driver being unable to go an hour at a time before butting in since last night - so after printing off some instructions, I took a screwdriver to the laptop and took the keyboard out. It is now sitting on a table next to me. Problem solved, right?

You'd think... the strange part is, NOTHING'S CHANGED. Alt keeps kicking in, letters keep spamming themselves... taking the keyboard out didn't even fix the keyboard! I even tried taking out the USB keyboard to see if it was the problem, leaving my laptop utterly keyboardless, but nope, it was still going insane. What gives?! I run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware almost daily, so I doubt it's malware, but perhaps I'm wrong and another scanner would take care of a possible malware problem? Does anyone know what's going on? Since I'll have the money to replace the laptop fully by the end of next month, I don't want to drop much (or, well, any) money into the repairs of this one, but I do need it working until I get the new one. Has anyone seen a problem like this before? What could be causing it? It's barely about finding out what's wrong so I can fix it anymore - at this point, I want to know what's wrong because the only explanation I can think of is ghosts.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-26-2009, 01:22 PM

Have you tried NOD32 online AC scan?

http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

IrkSplee · 03-27-2009, 09:56 AM

I just ran that scanner, but unfortunately, it didn't find anything.

However, I just thought of something - my laptop also has media buttons on the front of it. One of the keys that gets stuck sometimes makes my volume spike up, so I'm wondering... could those keys be causing stray letters to appear or alt/ctrl (the ctrl thing's a new one) to jam? Is there any way to deactivate them and check?

**TriggerFinger** · 03-27-2009, 10:07 AM

I think to really isolate if it's caused by one of those keys, remove the connection of the keyboard and/or the special keys from the motherboard. Put back the connections one at a time. It could be one of them or may be both. You need to test/simulate each time after you put one back.

IrkSplee · 03-27-2009, 10:17 AM

The laptop's internal keyboard is completely gone. It's on a shelf across the room from me. If it's still causing problems, then that thing's REALLY broken! I've also tried unplugging the USB keyboard when a key jam happens, but it doesn't affect anything. How would I go about deactivating/unplugging the media buttons to see if those are the problem?

**TriggerFinger** · 03-27-2009, 10:28 AM

I guess you have to open the laptop up.

IrkSplee · 03-27-2009, 12:43 PM

There's no driver to delete for them? Oh, darn... do you know where I could find a guide for that? I didn't see any obvious cables when I opened it to take out the keyboard. I'm not very savvy when it comes to the insides of a computer - yesterday was the first time I ever even opened one - so a step-by-step "for dummies" style guide would be rather useful. Thanks!

**TriggerFinger** · 03-27-2009, 12:56 PM

Try this:

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n/sm/index.htm

IrkSplee · 03-27-2009, 01:55 PM

Gack! that seems a bit much... looks like I'd have to take out every single screw on the laptop. Considering the state it's in, I'm not sure it'd survive that. Ah well. I only have to deal with it until the end of April, at the most. I'll live. Thank you for the help, though!

03-26-2009, 01:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
IrkSplee Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3	Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! I'm hoping this is in the right section... while technically, it's keyboard related, there's also no keyboard involved. Which is kind of the problem. I am currently using a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop. About a month ago, my laptop's keyboard went a bit... insane. A few letters would hit themselves at random times, the volume key kept spiking itself all the way up, and most annoyingly, the alt key ended up in a permanently on state, rendering the computer impossible to use. I chalked it up to all the trauma this laptop's been through - it's kind of old, and I'll admit to being a clumsy, stupid kid when I got it. The poor thing has visible cracks on it. Since I'm a bit hardware-phobic and intend to get a new laptop in April anyway, rather than risk opening the laptop and possibly destroying it, I pulled a USB keyboard out and uninstalled the keyboard driver. The driver kept putting itself back - sometimes after a few hours with the computer on, sometimes a few MINUTES - but then I'd just fight my way to the control panel, uninstall it again, reset, and go about my life. After a month of that (as in, today), I started getting irritated with the whole business - I blame the driver being unable to go an hour at a time before butting in since last night - so after printing off some instructions, I took a screwdriver to the laptop and took the keyboard out. It is now sitting on a table next to me. Problem solved, right? You'd think... the strange part is, NOTHING'S CHANGED. Alt keeps kicking in, letters keep spamming themselves... taking the keyboard out didn't even fix the keyboard! I even tried taking out the USB keyboard to see if it was the problem, leaving my laptop utterly keyboardless, but nope, it was still going insane. What gives?! I run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware almost daily, so I doubt it's malware, but perhaps I'm wrong and another scanner would take care of a possible malware problem? Does anyone know what's going on? Since I'll have the money to replace the laptop fully by the end of next month, I don't want to drop much (or, well, any) money into the repairs of this one, but I do need it working until I get the new one. Has anyone seen a problem like this before? What could be causing it? It's barely about finding out what's wrong so I can fix it anymore - at this point, I want to know what's wrong because the only explanation I can think of is ghosts.

03-26-2009, 01:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! Have you tried NOD32 online AC scan? http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/ __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-27-2009, 09:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
IrkSplee Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3	Re: Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! I just ran that scanner, but unfortunately, it didn't find anything. However, I just thought of something - my laptop also has media buttons on the front of it. One of the keys that gets stuck sometimes makes my volume spike up, so I'm wondering... could those keys be causing stray letters to appear or alt/ctrl (the ctrl thing's a new one) to jam? Is there any way to deactivate them and check?

03-27-2009, 10:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! I think to really isolate if it's caused by one of those keys, remove the connection of the keyboard and/or the special keys from the motherboard. Put back the connections one at a time. It could be one of them or may be both. You need to test/simulate each time after you put one back. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-27-2009, 10:17 AM	#5 (permalink)
IrkSplee Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3	Re: Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! The laptop's internal keyboard is completely gone. It's on a shelf across the room from me. If it's still causing problems, then that thing's REALLY broken! I've also tried unplugging the USB keyboard when a key jam happens, but it doesn't affect anything. How would I go about deactivating/unplugging the media buttons to see if those are the problem?

03-27-2009, 10:28 AM	#6 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! I guess you have to open the laptop up. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-27-2009, 12:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
IrkSplee Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3	Re: Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! There's no driver to delete for them? Oh, darn... do you know where I could find a guide for that? I didn't see any obvious cables when I opened it to take out the keyboard. I'm not very savvy when it comes to the insides of a computer - yesterday was the first time I ever even opened one - so a step-by-step "for dummies" style guide would be rather useful. Thanks!

03-27-2009, 12:56 PM	#8 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! Try this: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n/sm/index.htm __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-27-2009, 01:55 PM	#9 (permalink)
IrkSplee Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3	Re: Keyboard jam - but no keyboard! Gack! that seems a bit much... looks like I'd have to take out every single screw on the laptop. Considering the state it's in, I'm not sure it'd survive that. Ah well. I only have to deal with it until the end of April, at the most. I'll live. Thank you for the help, though!