"Help" keeps opening when the computer is turned on

[WarStrike]

Hi Guys. I've scanned my computer for viruses and worms and even did a complete install from Vista x86 to Windows 7 64bit and i'm still getting this problem. It might be a problem with the keyboard itself because I'm using a laptop and I'm noticing a lot of dust build up below but I want to open up my laptop only as a last resort.

Every time the computer boots up. "Help" comes up. Tried closing Help only for it to open up a few seconds after. Now when I press "ESC" the problem stops temporarily. But it becomes a pain when you are trying to open up a browser with tabs because a gazillion of tabs will open up. Such as the "Help" page for firefox with the URL "http://support.mozilla.com/1/firefox/3.6.13/WINNT/en-US/firefox-help"

It also happens to other program such a the "Help" page of a USB Modem and so on.

Any other ideas before I completely open up the laptop to clean the insides?

[PhilliePhan]

Any other ideas before I completely open up the laptop to clean the insides?

Sounds to me as though your F1 key is stuck/sticky.

You could mash it a bunch of times to see if that "un-sticks" it - or shows some improvement in the frequency of the help pages opening up - but I suspect you'll probably have to pull the keyboard and clean it thoroughly.

Best Luck :)
PP

[WarStrike]

did that as well. it's not stuck though. but like i said, i noticed some dust build up.

i could get some compressed air to blow the dust out but i'll do that as a last resort.

think that's a good idea?

[PhilliePhan]

think that's a good idea?

Without looking at it, I really can't say.
I'm fairly certain the key is at fault here - I'd probably pop out the key pad and poke around ('course I'd probably do more harm than good ;) ).

You might want to try to disable the F1 hotkey first to confirm the diagnosis. I cannot remember how to do it off the top of my head, but I imagine a quick Google search could find the procedure.

PP:)