Absolutely Bizarre Keyboard Issu

[harnesslover]

Ok, get this..

About 2 weeks ago, the 'b', 'n' '?' and arrow keys just stopped working on my keyboard. I figured our little one spilled something on it, no biggie.

Then about 2 days later, mysteriously those keys worked fine. Since then, some days they work, some they don't.

There has to be some rhyme or reason to it, but it's baffling me. I have another keyboard, it just seems like this one isn't broke.

[turfnsport]

Ok, get this..

About 2 weeks ago, the 'b', 'n' '?' and arrow keys just stopped working on my keyboard. I figured our little one spilled something on it, no biggie.

Then about 2 days later, mysteriously those keys worked fine. Since then, some days they work, some they don't.

There has to be some rhyme or reason to it, but it's baffling me. I have another keyboard, it just seems like this one isn't broke.

Hey uddy,

elieve it or ot I have the same pro lem! May e there is a virus goi g arou d (questio mark)

MikeD

[njcurveball]

Then about 2 days later, mysteriously those keys worked fine. Since then, some days they work, some they don't.



Is it a USB keyboard or PS2?

I only say this for clarity, as I am sure you have done this. Take the keyboard and turn it upside down and spank it! If you are like most, things will come out of it you never even dreamed of seeing.

My two biggest suspects would be dust or a short. Intermittent problems are common with electronic items as wires and boards overheat at times and are fine at other times.

[turfnsport]

Is it a USB keyboard or PS2?

I only say this for clarity, as I am sure you have done this. Take the keyboard and turn it upside down and spank it! If you are like most, things will come out of it you never even dreamed of seeing.

My two biggest suspects would be dust or a short. Intermittent problems are common with electronic items as wires and boards overheat at times and are fine at other times.

Dorito crumbs are often a culprit in mine.

MikeD

[JustRalph]

at 10 bucks for a keyboard...........who gives a shit...........

[turfnsport]

at 10 bucks for a keyboard...........who gives a shit...........

Hey Ralph,

It looks like you have some Dorito crumbs under your period key.

MikeD

[JustRalph]

Hey Ralph,

It looks like you have some Dorito crumbs under your period key.

MikeD

consistently................... :lol:

[KYJACK]

There has to be some rhyme or reason to it, but it's baffling me. I have another keyboard, it just seems like this one isn't broke.harnesslover!

Everything said above pretty much covers it!

Here's a bit of keyboard background info that helps explains why certain keys may act up!

Back in the 90's, I worked a few years at IBM/Lexmark programming keyboards and 'learnt' keyboard innards! In the early days of computers, you had actual switches and wires/PC boards connected to a microprocessor. The modern keyboards now usually consist of two sheets of thin mylar plastic with conductive paint traces separated by a 3rd thin sheet of plastic with "swiss-cheese holes corresponding to the keys above on the keyboard layout. When you press a key, a rubber dome presses the top membrane trace down through the middle insulator sheet to make contact with the bottom sheet. This completes an electrical circuit seen by the keyboard microprocessor and a keypress code is then sent to the PC Computer. Next time a keyboard fails, rip that sucker open and do a little exploring!

Internally the keys are laid out in a X-Y Matrix (Think of a chess or checker board). A key switch is placed at the junction of a Row and a Column. The keyboard microprocessor 'Scans' the matrix to determine which keys are pressed. That is, one at a time, it 'Shorts' to ground each 'column' line ('Y') of the matrix. Every time it shorts a 'Column' to ground, it looks at each of the Row ('X') lines of the matrix. If it detects a short on one of the rows, then it knows that a key has been pressed - connecting the corresponding X-Y lines together! It then looks in a table to determine what key has been pressed and then sends the correct code to the PC.

So to answer your question: For a given keyboard, keys are assigned to certain rows of the chess-board that the microprocessor is looking at. If one of the Row or Column lines used by the microprocessor is 'broken' - ie. open or shorted - then the corresponding keys on that row or column will stop working! A bad 'micro' of course can cause problems, as well.

Spilling a liquid into the keyboard can short a line in the membrane sandwich causing a matrix or microprocessor failure. It can be temporary, intermittent, or permanent. Another intermittent problem can occur if the microprocessor is on a printed circuit board and it makes bad contact with the matrix membrane. Also, 'Stuck' keys caused by foreign matter like Doritos, bits of paper and dust can sometimes be fixed by a good wacking, shaking or blowing out!

Here's a tip about liquid spills. You can try and save the keyboard, by sliding paper towels between the rows of the keyboard. The liquid will wick up and be absorbed by the paper towel. Keep repeating with new towels or napkins until they are dry. DON'T SHAKE OR TILT THE KEYBOARD! Some keyboards have a splash guard to drain the liquids out of the keyboard and tilting can defeat it! If the liquid gets into the membrane sandwich, then the keyboard is usually history!

Unless you got a really special keyboard, it's like Ralph previously indicated, it's not worth the effort. At 10 dollars a pop, go the Walmart and buy two or three jelly-bean keyboards for emergency spares! You don't want to have to try and open up a keyboard and attempt to dry out the membrane sandwich at 3:00 in the morning! :bang: Heck for $12, you can get a keyboard and a mouse. One of the reasons that American companies like IBM/Lexmark got out of the keyboard business is that you can't compete when keyboards sell for less than what it costs you to make them! It's like trying to make money by only betting chalk favorites!

Jack

[harnesslover]

Hey uddy,

elieve it or ot I have the same pro lem! May e there is a virus goi g arou d (questio mark)

MikeD

Its sad that you took the time out of your life to write this post.

[turfnsport]

Its sad that you took the time out of your life to write this post.

Yeah...sigh..you are right..that's eleven seconds I'll never get back.

good luck,
MikeD

[Hosshead]

Yeah...sigh..you are right..that's eleven seconds I'll never get back. good luck, MikeD
Don't worry, you'll get those 11 seconds back.
That's how much slower they're running on Polytrack. (at 5f ) ;)

[PaceAdvantage]

Its sad that you took the time out of your life to write this post.Ditto.

[njcurveball]

Thanks for the info Jack! That was a masters class in keyboards! :ThmbUp:

[kenwoodallpromos]

Since I have had stuff stuck under some keys, I agree that crumbs or paper or internet trolls may be stuck under your keys playing tricks on you!

[KYJACK]

Thanks for the info Jack! That was a masters class in keyboards! :ThmbUp:Glad to help out! :cool:

It's a small payment on all the valuable knowledge I've gleaned from the PaceAdvantage website, from my lurking in the background the past few years! :)

Jack