Sticky keys annoyance

User avatar
ChrisGreaves
PlutoniumLounger
Posts: 15498
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 23:23
Location: brings.slot.perky

Sticky keys annoyance

Post by ChrisGreaves »

See also a follow-on topic Mapping the <FN> key to the <Shift> key
See also a follow-on topic Replacing a Laptop Keyboard.
Win10 20H2 Build 19042.
Over the past month, at most, my left-hand Shift key has been giving me problems; Contortions allow me to use the right Shift key, but I am accustomed to using my left hand with the Ctrl key, and often enough the Shift key, to perform many tasks (Ctrl+Shift+X in MSPaint, Ctrl+Shift+arrow in spreadsheets and documents) that aberrant behaviour of the Shift key is aggravating to this keyboard junkie.

If a toast crumb has slid under the Shift key, well, I may as well buy a new laptop, right? (I know, I know; Get an SSD this time ...)

But on the off chance that I can fix this with software ...
(1) I do not use Sticky Keys; never have; never will.
StikyKeys01.png
(2) This greets me for roughly 50% of my use of the left-hand shift key, and is not triggered by repeated keypresses; just a glancing use of the Shift key can set it off. Another reason for me to suspect the toast-crumb effect.
StikyKeys02.png
(3) In Settings i found this. I tried toggling that "allow" checkbox, but with the checkbox OFF my various shortcut key combinations that employ "Shift" seemed to be disabled; perhaps it was just another instance of the left-hand Shift key playing up.
StikyKeys03.png
(4) As far as i can see, my system has NOT been upgraded over the past eleven months, so I think that the behaviour is unlikely to be a Windows Update (I know, I know; and maybe I will if it keeps you all happy)
(5) I ought to feel comfortable detaching the keyboard, but the days of screwdrivers with an old XT-chassis are, I suspect, long gone for me.

Thanks for any suggestions (apart from the two I noted above in parentheses)
Chris
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by ChrisGreaves on 19 May 2022, 11:12, edited 2 times in total.
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78236
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Sticky keys annoyance

Post by HansV »

That definitely looks like a keyboard problem, not a software problem.

Can you (very carefully of course - don't damage the stabilizer bar) lift the Shift key, clean underneath, then pop it back?
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
BobArch2
BronzeLounger
Posts: 1239
Joined: 25 Jan 2010, 22:25
Location: Pickering, Ontario, Canada

Re: Sticky keys annoyance

Post by BobArch2 »

Perhaps a blast or two of compressed air might do the trick.
Regards,
Bob

User avatar
BobH
UraniumLounger
Posts: 9218
Joined: 13 Feb 2010, 01:27
Location: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Re: Sticky keys annoyance

Post by BobH »

I have found that keyboards can be taken apart and cleaned fairly easily but care must be taken not to let the key caps become dislodged.
Bob's yer Uncle
(1/2)(1+√5)
Intel Core i5, 3570K, 3.40 GHz, 16 GB RAM, ECS Z77 H2-A3 Mobo, Windows 10 >HPE 64-bit, MS Office 2016

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78236
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Sticky keys annoyance

Post by HansV »

Laptop keyboards often work differently than desktop keyboards...
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
ChrisGreaves
PlutoniumLounger
Posts: 15498
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 23:23
Location: brings.slot.perky

Re: Sticky keys annoyance

Post by ChrisGreaves »

Hans>>> That definitely looks like a keyboard problem, not a software problem.

I agree. The right-hand end of that left-hand Shift key seems to be effective, as does the right-hand Shift key. I do not want to retrain my brain to use the right-hand key; so much of my work is "Select" and various elaborate Ctrl+Shift shortcut key combinations. When the left-hand Ctrl key broke on the Toshiba, I bought this Acer Presario.

Hans>>> Can you (very carefully of course - don't damage the stabilizer bar) lift the Shift key, clean underneath, then pop it back?
2022_20220501_105726_HDR.jpg
I gave it a shot. On each of the four sides I lifted the edge, and lightly wiggled a portion of a new, unused paintbrush under the edge, thinking that that might dislodge a toast-crumb enough to make the Shift key behave (and knowing my luck, foul up the adjacent 'A", "Z" and "Ctrl" keys). The brush was taken directly from its plastic packet. Really, no paint particles at all on it.
The Shift key still misbehaves on the left-hand-edge.

BobArch2>>> Perhaps a blast or two of compressed air might do the trick.

This would work IF I had a can of compressed air; not for sale in local hardware stores and probably prohibited for delivery by mail from St John's.
And anyway, I suspect that a blast of air would merely move the toast crumb elsewhere in the machine. I am operating on a sealed laptop here. Compressed air worked fine when we could remove that three-sided skin of an XT-chassis and blow gunk out onto the compost heap.
I am not averse to removing the back case of the laptop to see if that brings me close to the backside of the keyboard.

BobH>>> I have found that keyboards can be taken apart and cleaned fairly easily but care must be taken not to let the key caps become dislodged.

I have taken apart many keyboards since around 1989, but my two experiments with laptop keyboards are the reason for me owning three laptops today (sad grin)

HansV>>> Laptop keyboards often work differently than desktop keyboards...

Agreed. (BTW an ellipsis at the end of a sentence should still be followed by the period that delimits the sentence, so we need four periods there. Unless your keyboard is causing problems. :evilgrin: Period Pause "..." (Ellipsis) "Note that there will also be an ending punctuation mark at the end of a sentence, so in the case of a period there will be 4 dots total")
Untitled.png
For the time being I have inhibited that road-runner beep-beep pop up from asking me if I want to turn on Sticky keys

Cheers, Chris
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace