Tag: Dell

Keys q,w,e,r,u,i,o,p / 1,2,3,4,7,8,9,0 / a,s,d,f,j,k,l,; Not Working, Rest Other keys Are Working Fine  in Laptops And Desktops

Finally, found a solution to get the keyboard working!!

This seemed to be a very common problem with laptops and desktops. Compaq, HP, MAC, Sony, Dell, name a brand and they would have had this problem at some point or other!

Specific keys not working has nothing to do with virus or hardware failure and the fix is very simple.

While searching a solution for the Keyboard problem where the keys would all of a sudden stop working, I found out that the following / similar combination of keys stop working :

1234 7890
qwer uiop
asdf jkl;
zxcv m,./
ujm
rfv
edc
ik,

Many more such combination of keys stop working! What was strange was, I ran all possible anti-spyware, anti-malware, anti-virus software, but nothing seemed to work.

If you notice, all these set of keys have a pattern. They are placed in a line on the keyboard, either vertical or horizontal.

Searching further I found out, when the keys are pressed and depressed, there will be electrical contacts between some underlying sheets, which results in proper functioning of the keyboard.

And in our case, the circuit pattern has some sort of a problem, which is causing this type of an issue.

Solution for Desktop Computers Keyboard:

If your desktop is having this problem, then it must be quite easy to fix it.

I removed all individual keys of the affected row, got hold of a new painting brush / tooth brush and used it to remove off the dust / crumbs / dirt that had settled on my keyboard. Fixed the keys back in their respective places and this fixed the problem.

This video on How to Clean your desktop computer’s keyboard should help you, however it’s a bit more complex than what I did with my keyboard:) :

Solution for Laptop Keyboard:

You should attempt cleaning a laptop keyboard only if you have prior experience, else you risk spoiling your laptop which can cost you quite a bomb.

My serious suggestion is, take your laptop to the nearest laptop repair store and get the keyboard cleaned by an expert. It should not cost you more than $20 – $25 or something similar depending on which country you are from.

However, if you search you surely will find videos which will show how to clean your laptops keyboards. You should attempt it only if you are an expert.

Here’s one such video from YouTube:

Other temporary solutions are that you can use an USB keyboard (if you travel often, then this is not for you) or if you are on Windows, then you can use the On Screen Keyboard which can be found at: Start–> All Programs –> Accessories –> Accessibility –> On-Screen Keyboard (working on this keyboard will be extremely slow).