The laptop's keyboard performs additional functions when a key is pressed rather than just typing.
The laptop's keyboard performs additional functions when a key is pressed rather than just typing.
OS: Windows 10 Laptop model: Acer Aspire 5740 My sister’s keyboard feels like it executes shortcuts instead of typing when pressed. For instance, opening a browser triggers the “find” tool or other actions like inspecting the page, launching help, or inserting codes such as ‘’65rgfvt’’ for the letter “f”. I’m unsure which keys trigger these behaviors since my sister is overseas. She mentioned trying the built-in troubleshooter, reinstalling the driver, and even reinstalling Windows with all settings preserved, but it didn’t fix the problem. She also lacks an external keyboard to test. A virtual keyboard works perfectly. Thank you for your help!
It seems the CTRL and/or SHIFT keys are frequently activated. Inspecting the issue involves using CTRL+SHIFT+Q to view page source, CTRL + U for find, CTRL + F for check. Are Windows sticky keys still enabled? There might be dust or dirt trapped under the keyboard. She could consider borrowing or purchasing a basic keyboard to test, and it might be useful to keep one nearby at times.
Windows sticky keys aren’t the cause. I mentioned it could be dust, so she took off the keyboard and cleaned it up, but it didn’t fix the problem. I’m not sure if the control or shift key stayed stuck—sometimes pressing a letter opens the help center (F1 in Chrome and Edge). If a key doesn’t do anything, it often shows strange messages like “65rgfvt” after a restart. I considered another idea, but that control also stuck; for instance, the find function worked on the Q key, though I’m not certain which key was involved. I don’t have a clear mapping of keys to functions beyond the F key, since I wasn’t sure what exactly triggered the issue. She can’t get a cheap keyboard until Tuesday.