topic Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take. in Electronics

Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

sfnative — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 18:53:34 GMT

I exclusively use an ACER laptop computer purchased at Fry's in 2009. This has functioned as my personal, not work computer, though I have used it on weekends for some large reports and spreadsheets. Being now retired, its use is primarily for what I'd call recreation.

There has never been an issue with this laptop. It's been great. I'll admit that I have no idea what the life expectacy of a laptop is.

However, I'm now experiencing a huge issue regarding letters and words that I type: many are missing - just don't make it onto the page - so double proof-reading has become a necessity every time I type.

Question: is my keyboard wearing out (the conacts under the keys)? I do find that if I type really, really slow and press really hard, I don't have a problem.

~OR~

Coincidentally, at the same time this started occurring, I signed up for a shopping coupon service. Have never done this before, but we are now both retired and on a fixed income, hence my "bright" idea to sign up for the service. A for instance: Every time I arrive at the QVC website, this coupon service has a banner which appears at the top of the page, which I "X" out. Thus far, the directions I've been given by the coupon source in order to back out of this thing, have proven to be false - I cannot quit it. That said, I wonder if this coupon site is actually phishing, thereby causing my computer/keyboard to be slower (lose words/letters).

Anyone have any ideas or advice? Many thanks in advance.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

chickenbutt — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 19:20:55 GMT

Hey SF! I wish I had a definitive answer. I do not.

BUT, I do know that it is possible (and very easy) to replace just the keyboard on a laptop. I've done it with one of my older ones and it went really well. IIRC I did have somebody else do the actual install but I ordered the keyboard online based on the make and model of the laptop.

As for laptops lasting - I have to say that I do way better with laptops than desktops so all of my computers now are laptops. I guess it depends on the machine, and probably a lot of extraneous stuff, but I'm going to stick with laptops.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 19:40:33 GMT

Hi @sfnative. The first thing I do when that happens is flip my computer upside down and gently shake it a little to see if anything falls out. Crumbs and dust get stuck inside and jam the keys. (This is really bad when it's a key like Enter, or Delete and you need to Ctrl+Alt+Delete just to log in.)

After that, I'd get an air duster / canned air and blast that around the keyboard to see what else might get dislodged. (Hello, cookie crumb from 6 months back!) Follow the instructions on the can and blast away along the perimeter of the keyboard and then between the keys. I usually blast, turn it upside down and gently shake again to help any dislodged items to fall out, then blast with air again.

Most of the time, that will clear up any stuck keys and things will function normally. It's a cheap fix, so hope it works. If that doesn't work, you may need to pop individual keys off and reset or replace them. I've had a key pop off a Dell keypad and I had to replace it. Be careful if you pop any off, because each key has multiple parts and it's easy for them to get lost. You can pop a key off, blast the empty socket with some air, and pop the key back in place. Here's a video of a guy popping an Acer Aspire key off the board and then replacing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T0T7vUeTOE This will probably work even if you don't have an Aspire, because the old Dell key I mentioned before worked exactly the same way.

If none of those things work, contact Acer and see if it's possible to replace the keyboard. You may be able to find a local computer repair place to do this for you. I don't know how much that would cost, so call and ask.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

PINKdogWOOD — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:02:49 GMT

My first and only Acer laptop bit the dust not long ago. Mine did the same thing your's is doing right now. Not at all sure why it ever started omitting letters while typing, drove me insane. You really had to proof everything you wrote.

I also have no answer for you. Because mine was yrs old and EXTREMELY slow I opted to put what I wanted to save on a flash drive and performed a factory reset. That went fine but when I got back on it wouldn't respond. I could log on and pull up a few sites but I couldn't log onto any of them. After working on the phone with my provider for well over an hour (she was great too, really stuck with me) she/she both determined it was not them but my computer. Luckily I have a great tablet which also happends to be an Acer which I also love.

The next day I decided to treat myself to yes, another new Acer Aspire V 15 Touch. I LOVE this computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Brand new, all the bells and whistles, Windows 8.1, backlit touch screen, slick as ice!!! all for a mere $509.00 from amazon.com. What a buy, and with a reservation for Windows 10 which I was notified of yesterday but I've not downloaded it yet as there are problems - of course.

Anyway, I've had excellent reponse and working relationship with the folks at Acer due to problems with my tablet but they fixed it and it's perfect now (and at their expense b/c I had it only for about 2 months or so). Anyway, give them a call, email them or better yet like I did at first a live chat to see if they can help you help. Acer tekkies are great. Good luck!

Or better yet, buy yourself a new Acer!

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

sfnative — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 02:52:54 GMT

@chickenbutt wrote:
Hey SF! I wish I had a definitive answer. I do not.

BUT, I do know that it is possible (and very easy) to replace just the keyboard on a laptop. I've done it with one of my older ones and it went really well. IIRC I did have somebody else do the actual install but I ordered the keyboard online based on the make and model of the laptop.

As for laptops lasting - I have to say that I do way better with laptops than desktops so all of my computers now are laptops. I guess it depends on the machine, and probably a lot of extraneous stuff, but I'm going to stick with laptops.

chickenbutt,

Thanks very much for your input. I had no idea you could replace the keyboard on a laptop. Believe I'll look into contacting the ACER folks somehow. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Thanks, again.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

sfnative — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 02:56:02 GMT

@ChynnaBlue wrote:
Hi @sfnative. The first thing I do when that happens is flip my computer upside down and gently shake it a little to see if anything falls out. Crumbs and dust get stuck inside and jam the keys. (This is really bad when it's a key like Enter, or Delete and you need to Ctrl+Alt+Delete just to log in.)

After that, I'd get an air duster / canned air and blast that around the keyboard to see what else might get dislodged. (Hello, cookie crumb from 6 months back!) Follow the instructions on the can and blast away along the perimeter of the keyboard and then between the keys. I usually blast, turn it upside down and gently shake again to help any dislodged items to fall out, then blast with air again.

Most of the time, that will clear up any stuck keys and things will function normally. It's a cheap fix, so hope it works. If that doesn't work, you may need to pop individual keys off and reset or replace them. I've had a key pop off a Dell keypad and I had to replace it. Be careful if you pop any off, because each key has multiple parts and it's easy for them to get lost. You can pop a key off, blast the empty socket with some air, and pop the key back in place. Here's a video of a guy popping an Acer Aspire key off the board and then replacing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T0T7vUeTOE This will probably work even if you don't have an Aspire, because the old Dell key I mentioned before worked exactly the same way.

If none of those things work, contact Acer and see if it's possible to replace the keyboard. You may be able to find a local computer repair place to do this for you. I don't know how much that would cost, so call and ask.

ChynnaBlue,

Thank you for the suggestions. I've already completed most of them, with the exception of popping off keys, as it appears to be keyboard-wide issue. Many, many thanks for the link! I will indeed attempt to contact ACER for their take.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

sfnative — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 03:01:53 GMT

@PINKdogWOOD wrote:
My first and only Acer laptop bit the dust not long ago. Mine did the same thing your's is doing right now. Not at all sure why it ever started omitting letters while typing, drove me insane. You really had to proof everything you wrote.

I also have no answer for you. Because mine was yrs old and EXTREMELY slow I opted to put what I wanted to save on a flash drive and performed a factory reset. That went fine but when I got back on it wouldn't respond. I could log on and pull up a few sites but I couldn't log onto any of them. After working on the phone with my provider for well over an hour (she was great too, really stuck with me) she/she both determined it was not them but my computer. Luckily I have a great tablet which also happends to be an Acer which I also love.

The next day I decided to treat myself to yes, another new Acer Aspire V 15 Touch. I LOVE this computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Brand new, all the bells and whistles, Windows 8.1, backlit touch screen, slick as ice!!! all for a mere $509.00 from amazon.com. What a buy, and with a reservation for Windows 10 which I was notified of yesterday but I've not downloaded it yet as there are problems - of course.

Anyway, I've had excellent reponse and working relationship with the folks at Acer due to problems with my tablet but they fixed it and it's perfect now (and at their expense b/c I had it only for about 2 months or so). Anyway, give them a call, email them or better yet like I did at first a live chat to see if they can help you help. Acer tekkies are great. Good luck!

Or better yet, buy yourself a new Acer!

PinkDogwood,

Boy, I was really sad to hear that my problem is what you experienced when your ACER was circling the drain. Bummer! I'm going to contact the ACER folks and see what their take is on this. We're closing on a condo next week, so I'd really not like to have to spend $$ on a new laptop right now. Know what I mean? However, I'm going to keep my eyes on the Fry's ads for sure (huge electronics stores on west coast) to see if I can scoop up another deal down the road.

Thank you for letting me know about your experience.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

VolvoGirl — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 03:15:58 GMT

Have you tried plugging in a separate USB keyboard? You can probably borrow one from one of your friends that has a desktop computer. See if you have the same problem on the external keyboard. Or you can probably buy a cheap usb keyboard at Fry's or somewhere. Always good to have a spare.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

chickenbutt — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 14:57:02 GMT

VolvoGirl wrote:
Have you tried plugging in a separate USB keyboard? You can probably borrow one from one of your friends that has a desktop computer. See if you have the same problem on the external keyboard. Or you can probably buy a cheap usb keyboard at Fry's or somewhere. Always good to have a spare.

That's sure a good idea! At least it would tell you if it were your keyboard or a deeper problem in the laptop. If you're like me, you probably have a keyboard or two laying around from the old desktop days.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

sfnative — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 20:18:14 GMT

@VolvoGirl wrote:
Have you tried plugging in a separate USB keyboard? You can probably borrow one from one of your friends that has a desktop computer. See if you have the same problem on the external keyboard. Or you can probably buy a cheap usb keyboard at Fry's or somewhere. Always good to have a spare.

VolvoGirl,

What a good idea! No, I haven't tried plugging in a separate USB keyboard, however do have that ability through my husband. Will definitly jump on this later today, after we give up packing. Thanks so much!

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

Mariefly — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 20:41:37 GMT

It could also possibly be a spyware making your computer run slower, thus registering the keys slower. Try downloading this free malware remover. It works great and is rated one of the best malware/spyremovers out.

https://www.malwarebytes.org/

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

sfnative — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 05:55:26 GMT

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to get back to you regarding the slowness of my laptop keyboard.

Bottom line is that I finally ended up installing "AVG," which cleaned up and removed some undesirable junk on my laptop. This took about 4 hours or so. The outcome was a 5 out of 5. Couldn't be happier and I chose to use the "Free" package: did not purchase the more comprehensive one. May do so in the future.

Many thanks for all of your suggestions.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

apple1964 — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 12:34:30 GMT

Can you get in touch with the company you brought the computer from? Perhaps, they can assist you or suggest something. You did get some good suggestions here. Good luck to you.

Re: Issue with laptop keyboard. Appreciate your take.

apple1964 — Sun, 13 Sep 2015 14:09:14 GMT

Glad you got a solution to your problem.