Question from a computer dummy

[Grader4me]

At times my laptop will go a little nuts on me. My question marks, quotations etc. will go crazy. I'm thinking that I must be hitting a key by mistake to make this happen. The only way I can rectify this is by rebooting. For example my question mark ( ? ) becomes a E with a slash at the top left. What in heck am I doing wrong here?

 

[bill onthehill]

Sounds more like a keyboard problem. Have you held it upside down and tapped on it to remove the dirt that accumulates around the keys? Have you spilled anything on it lately? some laptops use a membrane type of keyboard that is very problematic. have you checked the manufacturers website for updated drivers? A quick check is to plug a usb keyboard in and see if the problem goes away.

 

[shanedan]

Hi Grader4me,

I would bet that some thing is changing your keyboard layout on you.
What opeating system do you use?
Here is a quick walkthrough of how to check in XP
Start-> Control Panel
Then choose regional and language settings
Click on the languages Tab and then details
Under installed services remove anything that is not the layout you use.
I would guess in your part of the world you use US English
Remove everything else and then reboot

Should sort that out for you

 

[Squizzy246B]

I was going to reply to this but I re-read the title and its "question from a computer dummy"....not "question for a computer dummy" :bashointhead

 

[Grader4me]

Thanks for the replies guys! I'll try these things when I get home tonight. Welcome to HEF shanedan!
I'm running Windows Vista shanedan..

I knew I could count on some very good advice here..

I was going to reply to this but I re-read the title and its "question from a computer dummy"....not "question for a computer dummy"

Well......two out of three ain't bad...lol..good to see ya back posting Squizzy!

 

[shanedan]

No worries, the adice should be pretty much the same for Vista and XP
Ta for the welcome

 

[OneWelder]

Might be overheating

 

[RonG]

You wouldn't think that a computer new enough to run Vista would be overheating in New Brunswick in the wintertime,would you?.LOL.
I would suspect liquid/debris under the keys.As said before if the keyboard gets anything on the membrane and shorts the conductors it will do what yours is doing.It cannot be repaired either,just replaced with a good one.Ron G

 

[Grader4me]

Ha Ha..you're right on there Ron..I've never spilled anything on the keyboard and I keep it meticulously clean. It doesn't seem to be overheating either. It just does this once in awhile, I really notice it when I'm on the chat for quite awhile. When it does this I can't log into any of my accounts either. Weird.

 

[Grader4me]

Well, I went to the control panel under language and keyboard settings. It shows three different programs for my keyboard. Actually shows the keyboard functions (picture) of these programs. One program was called mutiunilangage or something like that. It showed the keyboard with all the functions that was happening to me. I diabled it so maybe this is the cure.
I suspect that there must be a key along with the shift key, that I was accidently hitting while typing that activated it.
Anyone thats been on the chat knows that you have to type fast to get a word in..lol..my two typing fingers gets mixed up once and awhile..

 

[willie59]

I really notice it when I'm on the chat for quite awhile. When it does this I can't log into any of my accounts either. Weird.

LoL...being at chat for long periods will discombulate your mind as well as keyboard. Drink lots of beer and you won't notice your question mark (?) becomes an E with a slash at the top left.

 

[grandpa]

prolly got a wad of chew lodged up in it

 

[Grader4me]

LoL...being at chat for long periods will discombulate your mind as well as keyboard. Drink lots of beer and you won't notice your question mark (?) becomes an E with a slash at the top left.

Lol..my mind has been discombobulated for years. More I drink the more discombobulated it becomes.. What the hell is discombobulated anyway? Did I spell it wrong or did you?

prolly got a wad of chew lodged up in it

Ssshhhh....you promised not to tell!

 

[willie59]

Lol..my mind has been discombobulated for years. More I drink the more discombobulated it becomes.. What the hell is discombobulated anyway? Did I spell it wrong or did you?

LoL...no, i spelled it wrong!

See, now you've got me discombobulated...and hadn't even had a beer! :Banghead :lmao

 

[Squizzy246B]

What the hell is discombobulated anyway?

..Sigh!....try and keep up please...its a Dcombobulator

http://www.grc.com/freeware/dcom.htm

Thats from one of the many geek websites I frequent........:cool2:bash...not

 

[RonG]

That Steve Gibson is a sharp guy,huh?I bought SpinRite years ago and have saved countless drives with it.Some of the best money I ever spent.Ron G

 

[Telkwa]

I know this is an old post, but I have a suggestion. I've often tapped a key while my palm was brushing the touchpad, causing something to go haywire. One time I somehow locked the keyboard up so that it was using the Fn keys backwards or something like that and I had a heck of a time getting it back to normal.

I pack a standard USB keyboard with me, and use it instead of the laptop's keyboard. Weird keyboard problems disappeared.

I really like the Logitech Nano V450 USB mouse. The one with the little tiny USB receiver that doesn't stick way out there and get hung up on things.

With the Nano mouse and a standard keyboard, the interface with the laptop is just like a desktop.

 

[Grader4me]

Thanks for the info Telkwa...I haven't had anymore problems with this. Works like a charm now..