Keyboard woes

At the risk of turning this into JF’s tech issues blog I’m utterly stuck on this one and, in desperation, hand myself over to you – dear reader – for assistance for I is seriously stuck with the oddest keyboard issue you ever did come across.

Basically *something* has gotten into my keyboard operation that is playing havoc with my typing by not allowing me, in the middle of certain words, to enter double letters if I type them quickly. Or, more generally, just removing letters that have been typed in particularly quick succession, in certain contexts.

For example, green, comes out ‘gren’.

The reason, I have deduced, is that my tapping speed for the ‘e’ (and also for the ‘p’ in tapping) is much quicker than for othe letters (same happens for ‘letters’, becoming ‘leters’) – but here’s the odd thing, it’s only inside a word – I can just hit, for example, e at speed ‘eeeeeeeeeeee’ and then type ‘green’ and it works just fine… for a few times but then goes back to the same old behavior… for example: ‘green green gren  etc.’

It just ‘happened’ this week… very bizzare.

And it feels like something trying to make my life easier, perhaps by removing ‘bounce’ but OMG… I can tell you it isn’t.

Windows Vista Home Premium, A new Vaio CR laptop and this happens across all applications from firefox to editplus to safari.

Have used avast and Spybot-SD to clean absolutely everything (so it’s nothing malicious) have also checked keyboard accessibility settings in Vista and all keyboard settings in the Vaio control center.

Have googled my arse off on keyboard sensitivity, debouncing, double letters, typing speed and more and followed the weakest possibilities with no joy :(

I tried a system restore back to when this wasn’t a problem I’ve been so desperate, but that did no good at all.

And I can’t determine anything that might have caused it – and boy, have I had a lot of practice at testing to see what causes bugs.

So, after literally 4 days of trying to fix this on my own… I’m stuck as a stuck thing, and throw myself unto your helpful hands… pretty (or should I say prety) please!!!

Update 1: As far as I know it’s nothing to do with Texter – as it continues when it’s disabled… but it certainly feels like something that might be related to that.

Update 2: Thanks to Dave and Oscar but I’m afraid it doesn’t seem to be to do with “Filter Keys’ or any other Accessibility (or ‘ease’ for vista) feature :(

Update 3: Unbelievable – I just got home (have been away) and I do believe that it’s the Telstra 3G (Next G) wireless internet client that has been doing it!!!

I can’t find anything on the whirlpool forums but switching it of and going back to the home wireless connection has fixed everything… how annoying! Have to figure out a fix before my next trip anywhere!

8 replies on “Keyboard woes”

  1. James, sounds like you may have an option under the Accessibility control panel turned on.

    Specifically check what’s called “Filter keys” (on XP anyway…I don’t have Vista)

    Control Panel->Accessibility Options->Filter keys (under Keyboard tab)

    These accessibility options have shortcut keys used to turn them on/off – on XP it’s hold down right SHIFT key for eight seconds. My guess is the option to use the shortcut key is checked (which I think it could be from default install) and you’ve inadvertently activated the option.

    See if that’s your issue, if not, oh well, if it is – viola!

    Cheers,

    Dave

  2. Sorry guys, that’s not it :(

    To check I turned it on (right shift as you say) and then off and then restarted and no luck I’m afraid.

    Here’s an even odder thing though, the word ‘meet’ is fine… I can type it as much as I want, as quickly as I want, but the word ‘green’ or should I say ‘gren’ still shows exactly the same issue.

    Am still uterly perplexed, thanks for trying (which came out ‘tryin’ first time round) though!

    The only fix I have at the moment is to type more slowly!!!

  3. James, can you try another keyboard plugged into the laptop? Or is there updated BIOS firmware for your Vaio? (clutching at straws).

    D

  4. Unbelievable – I just got home (have been away) and I do believe that it’s the telstra 3G (Next G) wireless internet client that has been doing it!!!

    I can;t find anything on the whirlpool forums: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=14&g=106

    But switching it of and going back to the home wireless connection has fixed everything… how annoying!

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