Laptop Keyboard Problem - XP

[kensobel]

All of a sudden my laptop keyboard stopped working properly. You have to hold the key down for 2 seconds before it will work. At first I thought that it was a bad driver, but the file has not been modified since I got the computer, according to the date shown in Explorer. I don’t think it is the keyboard hardware, since pressing the key down does make the electrical contact – holding it down longer shouldn’t have any effect. It is driving me crazy (Count the chars, including spaces, and multiply by 3, and you can see how long it took to type this. 676 chars X 3 = 2028/60 = 33.8 mins.) and I don’t know what to do to fix it – HELP!!!
Thank you,
Ken
P.S. Just tried new keyboard USB connect and same problem.

[HoustonIT]

Definitely sounds like software. Did you get a virus or some other malware recently? What brand and model laptop do you have?

[kensobel]

Definitely sounds like software. Did you get a virus or some other malware recently? What brand and model laptop do you have?

Thanks for your reply.

I was leaning toward that, but I was having a lot of touble getting a new driver to download and install properly. Since the MS Update site did not have the driver I needed in their list, I tried a couple, but they didn't work. Finally, I downloaded the one for the "Ergonomic 4000" and it DID fix the problem.

As to the virus, I still think that I DO have one, because other strange things have been happening. Sometimes IE will start 5 or more times. Tonight the Set Date/Time dialog box was started 24 times. If it is a virus, it is a strange one. I have been running by Norton security every night, and it doesn't come up with anything. I think I will try the Macafee version..

[HoustonIT]

Good to hear about the keyboard issue. From the behaviour you mention, it sounds like the PC is thinking you're clicking on different items multiple times. Maybe try a different mouse if you have one. Norton is usually pretty good about catching viruses, so if your subscription is up to date and your definitions are current, you should see a virus in your quarintine if you have one.

[kensobel]

Thanks to everyone who responded. It turns out it WAS the driver. I couldn't find the STD. 101/102-key Keyboard driver on MSFT, so I searched the web and found some places I could download one. I did that, but it did not fix the problem. I also bought a new keyboard (even though I was convinced it was software) and tried it, but same results. However, when I uninstalled the one I downloaded, it wiped out some of my files (various locations) -- so I warn you to be very careful. I then went to the MSFT site and downloaded another keyboard driver, which I thought was very close to what I needed, and it worked perfectly.