Gswitz Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 This is a strange problem. Today, I can't use 5 and 6 are the only numbers working on my computer keyboard, including all of the special characters related to the numbers that I can't use. I have no idea what's going on. Everything was working yesterday. I could do a system restore, but I just can't figure out what's up. Had the hardest time logging in because I use those characters in my password. I ended up using the on-screen keyboard. Any ideas? Thanks ... no exclamation marks b/c it doesn't work. I can't do smiley's either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Are you sure you haven't poured any coffee over your keyboard? Just kidding. When a group of keys stop working, it's probably an electronic or electromechanical problem internal to the keyboard itself, as opposed to a cable or software issue. See if you can verify that by borrowing another keyboard to substitute. Your daughter's got one, right? Sneak it out of her room while she's at school. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitman Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 If it's wireless, change the batteries. Secondly, try another, they're I dime a dozen at your office superstores. It's most assuredly not your pc that's at fault. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gswitz Posted May 12, 2019 Author Share Posted May 12, 2019 It's wired. My wife's keyboard works. Never had this happen before. Guess it's time for a trip to the store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Rather than approaching this as a repair exercise, think of it as an opportunity to upgrade your system. A quality keyboard is a surprisingly satisfying investment. Good ones are quite a bit more expensive than your Office Depot special, but still not a huge outlay, maybe $150-200. And it'll last a whole lot longer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gswitz Posted May 12, 2019 Author Share Posted May 12, 2019 Really? I was thinking of finding an old cast off for free. High dollar keyboard hadn't even crossed my mind. What makes it worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slartabartfast Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 3 hours ago, bitflipper said: Rather than approaching this as a repair exercise, think of it as an opportunity to upgrade your system. A quality keyboard is a surprisingly satisfying investment. Good ones are quite a bit more expensive than your Office Depot special, but still not a huge outlay, maybe $150-200. And it'll last a whole lot longer. Wow! I never knew you could get a computer keyboard that was that expensive. Granted the keyboard is the most likely thing to fail (close second is the mouse), but I have only had to replace a half dozen over the last forty years or so due to failure at a total cost of less than $100. Typically I pick one up when NewEgg has it on sale for under $20 and just keep it until needed. My experience with sort of expensive "gamer" keyboards that cost more unless they are on sale has been the worst. I paid $24.99- $15 rebate = $9.99 for a Coolermaster Devastator II that was almost unusable due to too weak a backlight rendering it an exercise in touch typing training. Luckily a key went dead while it was still on warranty, and they sent me a new Devastator III (much better keyboard) for the cost of one way shipping. The trick with this kind of component is to not wait until it fails before you decide to buy a spare. The downside is that an expensive component may go off warranty while sitting on the shelf, so this is not recommended for anything worth much more than the cost of shipping. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmcleod Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 I think I spent maybe £7 ($9 US) on my studio PC keyboard. I wanted one that was narrow, but had all the keys, and I wanted more traditional (electric typewriter) shaped keys rather than the button style keys many laptops have nowadays. It just happened to be £7. I got two of them: one for my bedroom PC, and one for the studio. Don't get me wrong, I like/use a decent quality keyboard when I'm coding - but for the studio, the one I have is more than adequate. If you're using your PC for stuff other than just music, then I fully understand getting something more high-end. But if it's just for Cakewalk, and hitting the odd keys (which for 90% of the time for me are limited to R, W, Spacebar, CTRL +Z and CTRL+S), then I don't think it justifies paying more than $25 for one. FWIW I've never had a keyboard go wrong on me due to normal wear & tear (with the exception of the membrane keyboard on my old Sinclair ZX81). Coffee & Coca Cola have been the death of a couple though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitman Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Bought a logitec wireless kbd and mouse for 19.00 at officemax last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gswitz Posted May 13, 2019 Author Share Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) It was weird. All number keys except for 5 and 6 stopped working. Those were the only keys that didn't work. I'd love to know what went wrong. Edited May 13, 2019 by Gswitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 I know some of you guys are old enough to remember when the IBM keyboard was the standard. Tough as a brick, those things were. And you could tell when you'd activated a keyswitch by the feel of it in your fingers. That meant fewer typos and faster speed. Nowadays the main market for high-end keyboards is gamers. As a gamer, it does make a difference. As a touch typist, it makes a difference. As a speed typist, it makes a difference. Of course, if all you do is alternate between the spacebar and CTL-Z, then that Office Depot doorbuster special with the ten dollar rebate is all you need. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmcleod Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 3 hours ago, bitflipper said: I know some of you guys are old enough to remember when the IBM keyboard was the standard. Tough as a brick, those things were. And you could tell when you'd activated a keyswitch by the feel of it in your fingers. That meant fewer typos and faster speed. Nowadays the main market for high-end keyboards is gamers. As a gamer, it does make a difference. As a touch typist, it makes a difference. As a speed typist, it makes a difference. Of course, if all you do is alternate between the spacebar and CTL-Z, then that Office Depot doorbuster special with the ten dollar rebate is all you need. Yeah, the gamer keyboards with real key switches are awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 This is best if you're running something like Vista on an old computer... ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse g Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Unplug the keyboard and restart the computer. Next plug back in the keyboard and see what happens. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tezza Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 If this happens on a laptop, you can reseat the keyboard. If it happens on a stand alone keyboard on PC, verify it is indeed the keyboard and then toss it. I use the Microsoft keyboards and mouse combo's (wired 600, 30-40aus), they have never failed me and I like the feel of them. I have written some incredibly long documents on them. You cant go wrong with Microsoft or even logitec, although I don't like the logitec feel. I would never buy the really cheap ones, tried that once (or twice), never again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gswitz Posted May 17, 2019 Author Share Posted May 17, 2019 (edited) My new keyboard is Azio brand. Never heard of it before but it bodes well. Spent 20 usd for one with back light. When i first plugged it in, i struggled to remember where i knew that word azio from. Edited May 17, 2019 by Gswitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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