Member Avatar for BibleGeek

A friend has a Compaq notebook with Vista Home Premium. Each time she boots up the On-screen Keyboard opens. It is not in the start-up menu nor is the program checked to begin at start-up. I have run malwarebytes, spybot, pccillin and adaware and none show it to be a virus. Any ideas?

  • 3 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 148 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by BibleGeek

Dani AI

Generated

As and noted, an Ease of Access setting is the most common reason the On‑Screen Keyboard keeps appearing. On Vista machines there are a few other places that can force osk.exe at boot, so check a few additional targets before assuming malware.

Quick checklist to expand on the Control Panel suggestion:

  • Search for osk.exe in both startup folders (C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup), the msconfig Startup tab, and Task Scheduler tasks.
  • Inspect registry Run keys at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run for any entries that launch osk.exe (export/backup the key before deleting anything).

Services, drivers and OEM utilities that can trigger OSK:

  • If present, the Tablet PC Input Service (TabletInputService) or Touch/Tablet components may be starting accessibility tools; set to Manual/Disabled only if tablet/pen input is not needed.
  • In Device Manager enable "Show hidden devices" and review Keyboards and HID entries. Remove duplicate/ghost keyboard devices—Windows may show the OSK when it thinks no hardware keyboard is attached.
  • Check HP/Compaq quick‑launch or accessibility utilities (hotkey drivers) which sometimes invoke the on‑screen keyboard at login.

If the problem persists, test with a new user account to see if the setting is per‑profile, and run sfc /scannow to repair system files. Always create a system restore point and back up the registry before changing services or deleting keys. This supplements the Control Panel fix suggested by and the persistence observation from .

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for jbennet

Go into Control Panel -> Ease of access

Click "Use computer without mouse or keyboard" / Set up alternate input devices

Make sure the checkbox to use OSK is unchecked.

Member Avatar for kaninelupus

To confer with "jbennet", it its one of those features that if activated - even by accident - will keep loading up from boot till you turn it off via the control panel.

Member Avatar for BibleGeek

Thank-you both, I will try that next time I see her.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.