Left-hand shift key behaves erratically SOLVED!

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ChrisGreaves
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Left-hand shift key behaves erratically SOLVED!

Post by ChrisGreaves »

From time to time my left-hand shift key behaves erratically and I wonder why.

In MSOffice or Notepad alike (so i think it's a Windows7/Hardware thing rather than an application aberration)

1. Left-shift Succesfully capitalizes a letter, so I know that the shift key "has electrical power"
2. Left-shift Refuses to apply selection when I use Ctrl-Shift-arrow (using the left-hand side Ctrl & Shift keys) in an attempt to select a word of text
3. Right-shift Applies selection when I use Ctrl-Shift-arrow (using the LEFT-hand side Ctrl & the RIGHT-hand side Shift key) so I think the left-hand side Ctrl key is alright.
4. Ctrl-arrow (using the left-hand side Ctrl key) moves the cursor one word to the right.

It is as if the left-hand shift key has decided to go on strike only against being used as a Selection mechanism.

I have tried powering off the Notebook for 60 seconds and rebooting, so I suspect this is not related to an accidental key combination I have hit.
Last edited by ChrisGreaves on 17 Mar 2011, 01:36, edited 1 time in total.
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viking33
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by viking33 »

You have one of those conservative Canadian keyboards, where it refuses to shift to the left. :laugh:

Seriously, you might try one of the keyboard testers, free download at:
http://www.filecluster.com/System-Utili ... dTest.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Googling keyboard testers gets a lot of hits. Trial and error might get you one that tests the Shift, Ctrl and Alt functions also.
It sounds like the one I listed above will test them? Worth a shot.
BOB
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by ChrisGreaves »

viking33 wrote:Seriously, you might try one of the keyboard testers, free download at:
Thanks Bob.
I grabbed KeyboardTest and gave it a quick spin, testing the left-hand combinations (Shft, Ctrl, Shift&Ctrl) then the right-hand combinations.
The left-hand combinations seem sticky in that they produce a stream of codes whereas the right-hand keys produce a single stroke.
It might be time to unscrew the back of the keyboard and see how much food has fallen in there ...
1.png
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viking33
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by viking33 »

ChrisGreaves wrote:
viking33 wrote:Seriously, you might try one of the keyboard testers, free download at:
Thanks Bob.
I grabbed KeyboardTest and gave it a quick spin, testing the left-hand combinations (Shft, Ctrl, Shift&Ctrl) then the right-hand combinations.
The left-hand combinations seem sticky in that they produce a stream of codes whereas the right-hand keys produce a single stroke.
It might be time to unscrew the back of the keyboard and see how much food has fallen in there ...
1.png
Most keyboards allow you to GENTLY pry up the keytop(s) to clear out any debris without opening up the whole keyboard assembly. You can also test the key without the keytop in place to see if it is the top itself that may be binding.
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by ChrisGreaves »

viking33 wrote:Most keyboards allow you to GENTLY pry up the keytop(s)
Ah! But this keyboard is a LogiTech with a top (mechanical key) plate that pops off, and then a thin rubber membrane in the lower part.

The first time I met this I was impressed.

I pop the top cover and run it under a strong water jet to flush out the debris.
The electronics don't leave the desk, the grunge is in the bathtub!
HPIM3650 [640x480].JPG
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Last edited by ChrisGreaves on 17 Mar 2011, 01:37, edited 1 time in total.
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viking33
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by viking33 »

So did giving your keyboard a shower work?
Under those rubber "bubbles" are thin conductive plates which make a contact when the bubble is depressed ( not sad ) and a common problem is that the plates develop a low spot over time where the keytop extension hits them. This results in NO contact or a repetitive output from the button contact, which seems to be what is happening in your case.
If the shower didn't work or the problem comes back, keyboards are very inexpensive these days.
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by ChrisGreaves »

viking33 wrote:So did giving your keyboard a shower work?
Sort of. Gallons of Gunk came out - always a Good Thing, and yet the Ctrl-Shift-Right problem persisted (I'd dried the boards overnight by the window).
I dismantled and wiped around a bit, peeked under the rubber mat but didn't touch, re-assembled and all seems well.
... develop a low spot over time where the keytop extension hits them. This results in NO contact or a repetitive output from the button contact, which seems to be what is happening in your case.
Yes, but .... each key had previously demonstrated its ability to function, long before the KeyTest utility confirmed that. It was in combination that they balked.
For that reason I'd figured that the hardware was OK as far as each individual key went.
If the shower didn't work or the problem comes back, keyboards are very inexpensive these days.
Unfortunately, so am I.
Cheap, that is!
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agibsonsw
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by agibsonsw »

My search for the perfect keyboard continues. I want it to feel solid (so I can be firm with it!) but responsive so that I can type quickly/ accurately.

I don't want it to be too heavy and I don't think I should pay more than £15/20. The nearest I've come across was an HP one at work, although I didn't research it's cost.
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Don Wells
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by Don Wells »

agibsonsw wrote:My search for the perfect keyboard continues. I want it to feel solid (so I can be firm with it!) but responsive so that I can type quickly/ accurately.

I don't want it to be too heavy and I don't think I should pay more than £15/20. The nearest I've come across was an HP one at work, although I didn't research it's cost.
I have been hunting for years, looking for a keyboard that has the tactile feel of one which I encountered on an IBM PC back in the mid 80s, There was a definite trigger point in the travel of each key that let you know that the contact had been made. A true joy to use.
Regards
Don

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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by PJ_in_FL »

Don Wells wrote:I have been hunting for years, looking for a keyboard that has the tactile feel of one which I encountered on an IBM PC back in the mid 80s, There was a definite trigger point in the travel of each key that let you know that the contact had been made. A true joy to use.
The tactile feel in the IBM PC keyboard was from the use of collapsing springs under the keys. The collapsing spring technology was developed for the gold-standard of all keyboards, the IBM Selectric Typewriter.

Unfortunately, the precision required to create a spring that gives "just the right feel" is expensive, so most new keyboards use normal springs under the keys, which vary in stiffness so some keyboards provide some feedback in the resistance to being pressed, and others are "mushboards".

The layout of the original IBM PC keyboard, with 10 F-keys on the left side, was IMHO far superior to the design used on the IBM AT, when F-keys were moved to the top of the keyboard and relegated to second-class status. The F-keys see very little use in modern software, whereas in some of the "home-grown" programs developed when the PC was young integrated them into very efficient work-flows.

As an aside, anyone who knows what a 3277 terminal is knows why F1 = HELP.
PJ in (usually sunny) FL

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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically

Post by Bigaldoc »

PJ_in_FL wrote:The tactile feel in the IBM PC keyboard ...
Ahhh, the nostalgia of it all !!! My last IBM manufactured keyboard even had some colored keytops, courtesy of my engineering friends. Memories of the automated keyboard assembly line at our Lexington plant will fill my "dreams" tonite when I retire.     :innocent:

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Charlotte
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Re: Left-hand shift key behaves erratically SOLVED!

Post by Charlotte »

I use a Micosoft Arc wireless keyboard and am quite happy with it since it means I can prop my laptop up on a stand to get the monitor in a good position without straining my wrists and arms. The biggest drawback to the Arc is that is isn't a full size keyboard, so you have to hold down the Fn key to get alternate functions for the function keys and a couple of others. It also doesn't have a built in numeric pad, but I have a wireless one of those as well for when I need it.
Charlotte