Laptop Keyboard

[huey3668]

I have a Compaq Presario 1600 XL-145 running WinXP Pro which I recently bought used. I am having a shutdown issue with the keyboard. It seems as though the T and the Y keys are set as shutdown and startup shortcuts. This is a fresh install of XP Pro (XP Pro was on it, although it originally came with Win98 on it). I have checked in BIOS and in Control Panel>Keyboard I can't find any settings in either place to change it. I checked Compaq's site for drivers and they only support up to Win2000 with this model and even there, there aren't any keyboard drivers or updates. Does anyone know if there is a way to change this, could it be a bad keyboard or might it have something to do with XP? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[yelo333]

I would try booting off a linux boot-cd, like knoppix, to see if it's the keyboard.

http://www.knoppix.org

 

[huey3668]

I have just tried hooking up an external keyboard and it didn't happen, the letters worked normally. Is it safe to assume that it is the keyboard? Has anyone ever taken one of these keyboards apart? There is a metal backing plate on it with tabs that are crimped around the plastic, I am not sure if something will break upon separating them.

I do have a copy of Knoppix here, I will give that a try also. At least that would eliminate the OS.

 

[huey3668]

Well, I gave Knoppix a try and it did act differently. The T key didn't shut the laptop off and the Y key put it into sleep mode.

Anyone have a clue as to what could be happening here? Could this be a typical symptom of a laptop keyboard going bad or might there be something else going on? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[huey3668]

bump

 

[huey3668]

Any takers? Opinions? Guesses?

 

[LiLithTecH]

What MODEL (specifically - i.e. 1600-XL(xx), 22, 87, etc..)?

If you can find the DIAGNOSTIC Disks for DOS or Win2k you could
use those to test the keyboard controller.

Taking the Keyboard apart will be of no good (just would require
purchasing another)

 

[Zepper]

I have unplugged notebook keyboards before (the little flat ribbon cables plug into sockets, some of which have a little locking mechanism that slides out). Mark them so you will know how to put them back in unless it is very obvious! I clean off the exposed ends of the cables with contact cleaner (Caig Labs Pro Gold) then reassemble. It has done wonders in the past.
.bh.

 

[huey3668]

It is an XL-145. What DOS or Win2k Diagnostic disks are you talking about? If you mean the Compaq disks that would have originally came with the laptop, I don't have them. I bought it used and it had WinXP Pro on it (it originally would have come with Win98 on it), I didn't receive anything but XP Pro disks.

 

[huey3668]

I will give it a try, thanks.

 

[huey3668]

Well, I gave it (cleaning the connectors) a try and there wasn't any difference. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I am assuming that it is the keyboard that is bad (since an external keyboard works properly), the only problem is that the cheapest keyboard replacement that I have found is about $50.00 on e-bay or around $69.00 otherwise. I would hate to spend that much for a keyboard to find out that it wasn't the problem.

TIA

 

[Zepper]

Unfortunately, that's probably what you'll have to try. If it doesn't help, just turn around and try to sell it on ebay.
. Also check your BIOS to see if someone set some special hotkey combinations in there.
.bh.

 

[huey3668]

Zepper: That is what I am afraid of, but the route I will probably have to go. I have checked in the BIOS and haven't found anywhere to be able to set it. I may just try resetting the BIOS by pulling the battery and clearing the CMOS. Thanks anyhow.

 

[huey3668]

Ok, clearing the CMOS didn't do anything except clear the date and time. Well time to try a keyboard.

Thanks for all of your help. Eventually I will post back with an update.

 

[Zepper]

There is software on the web for clearing the CMOS. I use it on notebooks because it is often a PITA to figure out how to clear for each different machine. I've used CMOSTool, but there are probably newer ones out there.
.bh.

 

[interkool]

Hey Huey,

well i just had that problem happen to me today. I had a user laptop keyboard put the laptop in sleep mode when you tried using the alt+tab keys. I put on an external keyboard alt+tab worked just fine. Luckily, I had an extra HP Nc6000 so I swapped out the keyboard and problem was fixed. Hope that helps!

 

[LiLithTecH]

Originally posted by: huey3668
It is an XL-145. What DOS or Win2k Diagnostic disks are you talking about? If you mean the Compaq disks that would have originally came with the laptop, I don't have them. I bought it used and it had WinXP Pro on it (it originally would have come with Win98 on it), I didn't receive anything but XP Pro disks.

Compaq Personal Computer Diagnostics

 

[huey3668]

Originally posted by: interkool
Hey Huey,

well i just had that problem happen to me today. I had a user laptop keyboard put the laptop in sleep mode when you tried using the alt+tab keys. I put on an external keyboard alt+tab worked just fine. Luckily, I had an extra HP Nc6000 so I swapped out the keyboard and problem was fixed. Hope that helps!

Sure does, it sort of feels better when someone else had a similar problem.

 

[huey3668]

Compaq Personal Computer Diagnostics[/quote]

Gave that a try, it kept coming up as non system disk error when I tried running it on the laptop. I did download Compaq Diagnostics for this model and Win2k and installed it on the laptop, but when I run it, it shows that everything is OK. Just going to try a replacement keyboard. Thanks.