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Some keys on the keyboard do not work

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  Some keys on the keyboard do not work Eugen Dedu <eugen.dedu@univ-fcomte.fr> - 2020-08-10 14:20 +0200
    Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work rhkramer@gmail.com - 2020-08-10 15:00 +0200
      Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2020-08-11 01:10 +0200
        Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work rhkramer@gmail.com - 2020-08-11 01:50 +0200
          Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2020-08-11 04:40 +0200
            Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work rhkramer@gmail.com - 2020-08-11 15:20 +0200
              Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> - 2020-08-11 16:00 +0200
                Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Doug McGarrett <dmcgarrett@optonline.net> - 2020-08-11 22:00 +0200
                  Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> - 2020-08-11 23:30 +0200
                    Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work songbird <songbird@anthive.com> - 2020-08-12 11:50 +0200
                      Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Doug McGarrett <dmcgarrett@optonline.net> - 2020-08-12 20:00 +0200
              Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2020-08-11 16:30 +0200
                Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work rhkramer@gmail.com - 2020-08-11 17:50 +0200
                  Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work rhkramer@gmail.com - 2020-08-11 23:00 +0200
                    Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> - 2020-08-11 23:40 +0200
                    Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work songbird <songbird@anthive.com> - 2020-08-12 11:50 +0200
    Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Stefan Krusche <linux@stefan-krusche.de> - 2020-08-10 15:00 +0200
    Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Doug McGarrett <dmcgarrett@optonline.net> - 2020-08-10 20:00 +0200
    Re: Keyboards, was Is there a way to corrupt the BIOS …, Some keys …  do not work David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2020-08-11 06:30 +0200
    Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work Eugen Dedu <eugen.dedu@univ-fcomte.fr> - 2020-08-14 11:00 +0200
      Re: Some keys on the keyboard do not work deloptes <deloptes@gmail.com> - 2020-08-14 22:00 +0200

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#226059 — Some keys on the keyboard do not work

Hi,

I have a Dell Latitude 5580 laptop, and have been a happy debian 
unstable user for 20 years.  I have a very weird problem with its 
builtin keyboard which slows down my work significantly (ctrl-c, ctrl-x, 
ENTER etc. do not work):

Since several months ago some keys on my keyboard do not work, in all 
the applications (e.g. gnome-terminal, emacs, thundebird, firefox). 
When I press on them, very often nothing happens (usually, I press on 
them for 10 seconds to make appear the character), sometimes the key 
appears twice, and sometimes it works flawlessly.  When it works, it 
works for several minutes or several hours; similarly, when it does not 
work, it does not for several minutes or hours or days.  I use very 
often suspend/resume, I also use xmodmap and awesome window manager, but 
I suppose this is irrelevant.

The problematic keys are found on the last row: xcvm,. (but zbn work) 
and the bottom keys (ctrl, alt, window, however space works always 
correctly), plus ENTER key.

I have always thought that it is a X problem which will get fixed. 
Interesting, a few days ago I noticed that on grub I have the same 
problem: c and ENTER did not work.  So now I wonder if it is not a 
hardware problem, however sometimes it works for a long time!

I have looked at Xorg.0.log, without seeing anything wrong.

How can I track down where the problem is, and fix it?

Thanks,
Eugen

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#226061

On Monday, August 10, 2020 07:56:43 AM Eugen Dedu wrote:
> I have a Dell Latitude 5580 laptop, and have been a happy debian
> unstable user for 20 years.  I have a very weird problem with its
> builtin keyboard which slows down my work significantly (ctrl-c, ctrl-x,
> ENTER etc. do not work):
> 
> Since several months ago some keys on my keyboard do not work, in all
> the applications (e.g. gnome-terminal, emacs, thundebird, firefox).
> When I press on them, very often nothing happens (usually, I press on
> them for 10 seconds to make appear the character), sometimes the key
> appears twice, and sometimes it works flawlessly.  When it works, it
> works for several minutes or several hours; similarly, when it does not
> work, it does not for several minutes or hours or days.  I use very
> often suspend/resume, I also use xmodmap and awesome window manager, but
> I suppose this is irrelevant.
> 
> The problematic keys are found on the last row: xcvm,. (but zbn work)
> and the bottom keys (ctrl, alt, window, however space works always
> correctly), plus ENTER key.
> 
> I have always thought that it is a X problem which will get fixed.
> Interesting, a few days ago I noticed that on grub I have the same
> problem: c and ENTER did not work.  So now I wonder if it is not a
> hardware problem, however sometimes it works for a long time!
> 
> I have looked at Xorg.0.log, without seeing anything wrong.
> 
> How can I track down where the problem is, and fix it?

I hesitate to suggest what I'm going to suggest -- so I'd suggest you wait 
until you hear any responses from people that can suggest either a software fix 
or a software test.  (Oh, see last line, maybe try plugging in an external 
keyboard (if that is possible) and see if you have the same problem.)

I suspect it is a hardware problem, and what I would do is get the manual for 
the laptop and look into how hard it might be to clean the keyboard.

You might try blowing out (or vacuuming) the keyboard (with canned air or a 
vacuum cleaner / blower with tools with small orifices).

But if that doesn't work, and no one has a better suggestion, I'd look into 
trying to disassemble the keyboard to some extent and examining it and trying 
to clean it.

I used to do this often with desktop keyboards, I guess I've been better 
lately at keeping them clean.  Laptop keyboards can be much more difficult to 
dis- and re-assemble and keep them working.

Hmm, one test I can think of -- try plugging in an external keyboard and see 
if you have the same problems (if there is a USB port (or other port for an 
external keyboard).

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#226085

> I suspect it is a hardware problem, and what I would do is get the manual for 
> the laptop and look into how hard it might be to clean the keyboard.

Definitely a good idea, since it's easy to do and can solve the problem
(depending on the problem's origin, obviously).

> You might try blowing out (or vacuuming) the keyboard (with canned air or a 
> vacuum cleaner / blower with tools with small orifices).

Another thing you can do is to *wash* it.  E.g. in a dishwasher.
It may sound odd/scary but it works really well.
Just make sure the keyboard is *really* dry before plugging it back in
(and try to avoid the dry-cycle since it can be too hot (especially if
you use the lower-rack)).  Your favorite search engine may give you
other tips about this practice.


        Stefan "who's done it a few times with his beloved Thinkpad
                keyboards"

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#226087

IIRC, this is about a keyboard on a laptop -- I would not put any part of that 
in a dishwasher.

On Monday, August 10, 2020 07:04:39 PM Stefan Monnier wrote:
> > I suspect it is a hardware problem, and what I would do is get the manual
> > for the laptop and look into how hard it might be to clean the keyboard.
> 
> Definitely a good idea, since it's easy to do and can solve the problem
> (depending on the problem's origin, obviously).
> 
> > You might try blowing out (or vacuuming) the keyboard (with canned air or
> > a vacuum cleaner / blower with tools with small orifices).
> 
> Another thing you can do is to *wash* it.  E.g. in a dishwasher.
> It may sound odd/scary but it works really well.
> Just make sure the keyboard is *really* dry before plugging it back in
> (and try to avoid the dry-cycle since it can be too hot (especially if
> you use the lower-rack)).  Your favorite search engine may give you
> other tips about this practice.
> 
> 
>         Stefan "who's done it a few times with his beloved Thinkpad
>                 keyboards"

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#226090

> IIRC, this is about a keyboard on a laptop -- I would not put any part of that 
> in a dishwasher.

You sure can, tho you'll want to put only the keyboard (many other parts
of a laptop can go safely into the dishwasher, actually, but indeed you
probably don't want to put the whole laptop in).


        Stefan

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#226111

On Monday, August 10, 2020 10:34:56 PM Stefan Monnier wrote:
> > IIRC, this is about a keyboard on a laptop -- I would not put any part of
> > that in a dishwasher.
> 
> You sure can, tho you'll want to put only the keyboard (many other parts
> of a laptop can go safely into the dishwasher, actually, but indeed you
> probably don't want to put the whole laptop in).

Ok (but not for me).

The way I clean (a non-laptop) keyboard is by disassembling it and putting all 
the parts in a fresh (i.e., clean) washtub of warm water with dishsoap, let it 
soak for a few minutes, then rinse with clean water and let dry, often 
overnight (I almost always have a spare keyboard, but right not my spares need 
cleaning "-(

Not sure I'm brave enough to try a dishwasher -- do you leave it assembled?  

(I'd worry about small pieces, the keys and small spacers under the keys 
getting sucked into and/or stuck in the drain / garbage disposal at the bottom 
of at least some dishwashers.)

You probably mentioned it, but I'd probably also turn off any sources of extra 
heat (hot water or drying with hot air).

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#226114

rhkramer@gmail.com wrote: 
> The way I clean (a non-laptop) keyboard is by disassembling it and putting all 
> the parts in a fresh (i.e., clean) washtub of warm water with dishsoap, let it 
> soak for a few minutes, then rinse with clean water and let dry, often 
> overnight (I almost always have a spare keyboard, but right not my spares need 
> cleaning "-(

This is a perfectly good method, and one which I used two days
ago.

-dsr-

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#226118

On 8/11/20 9:53 AM, Dan Ritter wrote:
> rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:
>> The way I clean (a non-laptop) keyboard is by disassembling it and putting all
>> the parts in a fresh (i.e., clean) washtub of warm water with dishsoap, let it
>> soak for a few minutes, then rinse with clean water and let dry, often
>> overnight (I almost always have a spare keyboard, but right not my spares need
>> cleaning "-(
> This is a perfectly good method, and one which I used two days
> ago.
>
> -dsr-
>
Someone along this thread mentioned key-pullers. I have a couple of IBM 
model M
keyboards that haven't been cleaned in years. They work well anyway, but 
I'd like to clean
the keys. Where could I get one of those key-puller tools?
(If you ever get a chance to get one, TAKE IT! There's no better 
keyboard anywhere than
this, altho it's too loud for a crowded office. And ALT-ESC will do the 
left Windows-key
trick for Windows users.)
--doug

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#226120

Doug McGarrett wrote: 
> 
> Someone along this thread mentioned key-pullers. I have a couple of IBM
> model M
> keyboards that haven't been cleaned in years. They work well anyway, but I'd
> like to clean
> the keys. Where could I get one of those key-puller tools?
> (If you ever get a chance to get one, TAKE IT! There's no better keyboard
> anywhere than
> this, altho it's too loud for a crowded office. And ALT-ESC will do the left
> Windows-key


$10 at NewEgg. $5-15 at Amazon.

but the keycaps on the Model M are among the easiest to pull by
hand; I like to have a small flat-bladed screwdriver nearby, to
pop one edge of oddly-placed keycaps.

You may want some isopropyl alcohol to wipe away finger-grease
from the remaining surfaces of the keyboard.

-dsr-

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#226131

Dan Ritter wrote:
> Doug McGarrett wrote: 
>> 
>> Someone along this thread mentioned key-pullers. I have a couple of IBM
>> model M
>> keyboards that haven't been cleaned in years. They work well anyway, but I'd
>> like to clean
>> the keys. Where could I get one of those key-puller tools?
>> (If you ever get a chance to get one, TAKE IT! There's no better keyboard
>> anywhere than
>> this, altho it's too loud for a crowded office. And ALT-ESC will do the left
>> Windows-key
>
>
> $10 at NewEgg. $5-15 at Amazon.
>
> but the keycaps on the Model M are among the easiest to pull by
> hand; I like to have a small flat-bladed screwdriver nearby, to
> pop one edge of oddly-placed keycaps.
>
> You may want some isopropyl alcohol to wipe away finger-grease
> from the remaining surfaces of the keyboard.

  a butter knife will work ok too.

  i agree though about the Model M and similar keyboards and
really miss mine.  too bad that that unicomp keyboards won't
work for me (i've broke two of them the past x number of years
and can't figure out how to fix them and since they're not
sturdy enough it isn't worth sending them in for repairs).


  songbird

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#226149

On 8/12/20 5:24 AM, songbird wrote:
> Dan Ritter wrote:
>> Doug McGarrett wrote:
>>> Someone along this thread mentioned key-pullers. I have a couple of IBM
>>> model M
>>> keyboards that haven't been cleaned in years. They work well anyway, but I'd
>>> like to clean
>>> the keys. Where could I get one of those key-puller tools?
>>> (If you ever get a chance to get one, TAKE IT! There's no better keyboard
>>> anywhere than
>>> this, altho it's too loud for a crowded office. And ALT-ESC will do the left
>>> Windows-key
>>
>> $10 at NewEgg. $5-15 at Amazon.
>>
>> but the keycaps on the Model M are among the easiest to pull by
>> hand; I like to have a small flat-bladed screwdriver nearby, to
>> pop one edge of oddly-placed keycaps.
>>
>> You may want some isopropyl alcohol to wipe away finger-grease
>> from the remaining surfaces of the keyboard.
>    a butter knife will work ok too.
>
>    i agree though about the Model M and similar keyboards and
> really miss mine.  too bad that that unicomp keyboards won't
> work for me (i've broke two of them the past x number of years
> and can't figure out how to fix them and since they're not
> sturdy enough it isn't worth sending them in for repairs).
>
>
>    songbird
>
There is an outfit that refurbishes Model M keyboards, and I think it 
used to
have a source for a similar k/b. You can find them at:
                        https://clickykeyboards.com/
These k/b's are expensive, but the Model M will probably never wear out!
--doug

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#226115

> The way I clean (a non-laptop) keyboard is by disassembling it and putting all 
> the parts in a fresh (i.e., clean) washtub of warm water with dishsoap, let it 
> soak for a few minutes, then rinse with clean water and let dry, often 
> overnight (I almost always have a spare keyboard, but right not my spares need 
> cleaning "-(

That should work as well, but I was never able to disassemble any part
of a keyboard without having the impression that I was breaking it, so
I prefer to refrain from any such thing.

> Not sure I'm brave enough to try a dishwasher -- do you leave it assembled?  

Yup.

> You probably mentioned it, but I'd probably also turn off any sources of extra 
> heat (hot water or drying with hot air).

Hot water doesn't seem to be a problem.  The drying heat can reach
temperatures that can be harmful, so you need to be a bit more careful
with that (usually the recommendation is to use the top-rack and/or to
stop the wash cycle before it dries).


        Stefan

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#226117

On Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:28:37 AM Stefan Monnier wrote:
> That should work as well, but I was never able to disassemble any part
> of a keyboard without having the impression that I was breaking it, so
> I prefer to refrain from any such thing.

I started doing it a long time ago, so have probably gotten used to the 
various shortcuts in manufacturing that have been added over the years (which 
tend to make each newer keyboard a little bit more of a puzzle).

Generally, the keys can be lifted / snapped up by gently prying with something 
like a table knife (not sharp).  I do it in an uncluttered area so that if 
something does go flying, I can find it (but, I keep one hand cupped over the 
key I'm removing so I don't often lose anything).

There are usually screws on the bottom, often hidden under pads or labels that 
you can remove  to separate the bottom and top.  There are often several 
layers of clear plastic with various coatings which I am very careful with (to 
avoid scratching and to reassemble in the proper sequence).

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#226119

Oh, one other thing I should mention -- on most keyboards (at least the ones 
I've cleaned) there are some metal pieces (essentially springs) under many of 
the larger (wider) keys.  I am pretty sure they are intended to allow pressing 
either end (or the center) of those long keys (e.g., the space bar).

I am careful with those, also, to pay attention to how they are installed, and 
then to reinstall the same way, and also, during the reinstallation, I use a 
toothpick to put a little bit of vaseline on the pivot point (where they 
attach to the keyboard).


On Tuesday, August 11, 2020 11:45:14 AM rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:
> On Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:28:37 AM Stefan Monnier wrote:
> > That should work as well, but I was never able to disassemble any part
> > of a keyboard without having the impression that I was breaking it, so
> > I prefer to refrain from any such thing.
> 
> I started doing it a long time ago, so have probably gotten used to the
> various shortcuts in manufacturing that have been added over the years
> (which tend to make each newer keyboard a little bit more of a puzzle).
> 
> Generally, the keys can be lifted / snapped up by gently prying with
> something like a table knife (not sharp).  I do it in an uncluttered area
> so that if something does go flying, I can find it (but, I keep one hand
> cupped over the key I'm removing so I don't often lose anything).
> 
> There are usually screws on the bottom, often hidden under pads or labels
> that you can remove  to separate the bottom and top.  There are often
> several layers of clear plastic with various coatings which I am very
> careful with (to avoid scratching and to reassemble in the proper
> sequence).

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#226121

rhkramer@gmail.com wrote: 
> Oh, one other thing I should mention -- on most keyboards (at least the ones 
> I've cleaned) there are some metal pieces (essentially springs) under many of 
> the larger (wider) keys.  I am pretty sure they are intended to allow pressing 
> either end (or the center) of those long keys (e.g., the space bar).
> 

They're called stabilizers, and they usually click into the
keyswitch and slide into the keycap left-right. You may want a
thin poking device -- like an unwound paperclip -- to help
spread them as you replace the keycap.

-dsr-

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#226130

rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:
> Oh, one other thing I should mention -- on most keyboards (at least the ones 
> I've cleaned) there are some metal pieces (essentially springs) under many of 
> the larger (wider) keys.  I am pretty sure they are intended to allow pressing 
> either end (or the center) of those long keys (e.g., the space bar).
>
> I am careful with those, also, to pay attention to how they are installed, and 
> then to reinstall the same way, and also, during the reinstallation, I use a 
> toothpick to put a little bit of vaseline on the pivot point (where they 
> attach to the keyboard).

  yeah, there can be a bit of a challenge to figure out
some things.

  right now i have two keyboards i took apart to see if 
i could fix them or combine them to get one working keyboard
but as it turns out there is some kind of pressure/ribbon
connection inside that i've screwed up and now both are shot 
for sure.  too bad as i really liked them, but they could 
not hold up to how i used them and broke (all plastic case
is too flexible and eventually the connections inside fail
if you use it unsupported propped across your lap).


  songbird

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#226062

Dear Eugen,

Am Montag 10 August 2020 schrieb Eugen Dedu:
> Hi,
>
> I have a Dell Latitude 5580 laptop, and have been a happy debian
> unstable user for 20 years.  I have a very weird problem with its
> builtin keyboard which slows down my work significantly (ctrl-c,
> ctrl-x, ENTER etc. do not work):
>
> Since several months ago some keys on my keyboard do not work, in all
> the applications (e.g. gnome-terminal, emacs, thundebird, firefox).
> When I press on them, very often nothing happens (usually, I press on
> them for 10 seconds to make appear the character), sometimes the key
> appears twice, and sometimes it works flawlessly.  When it works, it
> works for several minutes or several hours; similarly, when it does
> not work, it does not for several minutes or hours or days.  I use
> very often suspend/resume, I also use xmodmap and awesome window
> manager, but I suppose this is irrelevant.
>
> The problematic keys are found on the last row: xcvm,. (but zbn work)
> and the bottom keys (ctrl, alt, window, however space works always
> correctly), plus ENTER key.
>
> I have always thought that it is a X problem which will get fixed.
> Interesting, a few days ago I noticed that on grub I have the same
> problem: c and ENTER did not work.  So now I wonder if it is not a
> hardware problem, however sometimes it works for a long time!

Just recently I discovered that a keyboard doesn't do anything when I
hit one of these keys (german qwertz layout): qwer uiop 789+

They are all on the same row and I believe something broke inside the
keyboard (I remember vaguely it having let fall down off the desk).

Haven't investigated yet.

>
> I have looked at Xorg.0.log, without seeing anything wrong.
>
> How can I track down where the problem is, and fix it?

Maybe test with another external keyboard?!

HTH

Kind regards,
Stefan

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#226076

On 8/10/20 7:56 AM, Eugen Dedu wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a Dell Latitude 5580 laptop, and have been a happy debian 
> unstable user for 20 years.  I have a very weird problem with its 
> builtin keyboard which slows down my work significantly (ctrl-c, 
> ctrl-x, ENTER etc. do not work):
>
> Since several months ago some keys on my keyboard do not work, in all 
> the applications (e.g. gnome-terminal, emacs, thundebird, firefox). 
> When I press on them, very often nothing happens (usually, I press on 
> them for 10 seconds to make appear the character), sometimes the key 
> appears twice, and sometimes it works flawlessly.  When it works, it 
> works for several minutes or several hours; similarly, when it does 
> not work, it does not for several minutes or hours or days.  I use 
> very often suspend/resume, I also use xmodmap and awesome window 
> manager, but I suppose this is irrelevant.
>
> The problematic keys are found on the last row: xcvm,. (but zbn work) 
> and the bottom keys (ctrl, alt, window, however space works always 
> correctly), plus ENTER key.
>
> I have always thought that it is a X problem which will get fixed. 
> Interesting, a few days ago I noticed that on grub I have the same 
> problem: c and ENTER did not work.  So now I wonder if it is not a 
> hardware problem, however sometimes it works for a long time!
>
> I have looked at Xorg.0.log, without seeing anything wrong.
>
> How can I track down where the problem is, and fix it?
>
> Thanks,
> Eugen
>
For a quick answer, why not borrow a keyboard from some friend, or even 
a friendly dealer, and see if the problem goes away?
--doug, WA2SAY

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#226094 — Re: Keyboards, was Is there a way to corrupt the BIOS …, Some keys … do not work

These problems sound somewhat similar.

On Sat 08 Aug 2020 at 16:24:59 (+0200), Albretch Mueller wrote:
>  I found those links but not thorough Information:
>  https://linux.slashdot.org/story/02/06/15/1416224/a-web-browser-in-your-bios
>  https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7531000/javascript-access-to-hardware
> 
>  Here is my problem:
> 
>  I browse the Internet using a USB wifi dongle and Windows and then
> take out the drive and use Linux for my own business.
> 
>  I removed the network and bluetooth cards, as well as the wireless
> antenna of that laptop, but I still notice that when I writing both
> code and on to the shell characters are miswritten or not written at
> all or apparently charaters get written in "temperamental" ways that
> hit to some "memory"/"intelligence".
> 
>  I also know that keyboards have internal memory chips.
>  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_controller_(computing)
> https://reverseengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/6388/storing-files-on-keyboard-memory
>  How can you reset/wipe the keyboard controller?
> 
>  How could this be explained "technically"?
> 
>  What do you think might be "technically" going on?

On Mon 10 Aug 2020 at 13:56:43 (+0200), Eugen Dedu wrote:
> 
> I have a Dell Latitude 5580 laptop, and have been a happy debian
> unstable user for 20 years.  I have a very weird problem with its
> builtin keyboard which slows down my work significantly (ctrl-c,
> ctrl-x, ENTER etc. do not work):
> 
> Since several months ago some keys on my keyboard do not work, in all
> the applications (e.g. gnome-terminal, emacs, thundebird, firefox).
> When I press on them, very often nothing happens (usually, I press on
> them for 10 seconds to make appear the character), sometimes the key
> appears twice, and sometimes it works flawlessly.  When it works, it
> works for several minutes or several hours; similarly, when it does
> not work, it does not for several minutes or hours or days.  I use
> very often suspend/resume, I also use xmodmap and awesome window
> manager, but I suppose this is irrelevant.
> 
> The problematic keys are found on the last row: xcvm,. (but zbn work)
> and the bottom keys (ctrl, alt, window, however space works always
> correctly), plus ENTER key.
> 
> I have always thought that it is a X problem which will get fixed.
> Interesting, a few days ago I noticed that on grub I have the same
> problem: c and ENTER did not work.  So now I wonder if it is not a
> hardware problem, however sometimes it works for a long time!
> 
> I have looked at Xorg.0.log, without seeing anything wrong.
> 
> How can I track down where the problem is, and fix it?

Both these sound rather hardware-ish to me. I hope Albretch hasn't
zapped something with static when making the modifications.

Take a look at this reference. The user suspected the keyboard and
even replaced it twice without fixing the problem. It turned out
that the connection between the keyboard ribbon and the mobo was
bad. So Albretch might want to reseat some of the connectors.
I hope Eugen's Dell laptop is simpler to open up than the Lenovo
I'm typing on, if that's the course of action chosen.

https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/XPS-M1330-laptop-keyboard-bottom-row-enter-spacebar-not-working/td-p/5163670

Cheers,
David.

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#226188

> Hi,
> 
> I have a Dell Latitude 5580 laptop, and have been a happy debian unstable user for 20 years. I have a very weird problem with its builtin keyboard which slows down my work significantly (ctrl-c, ctrl-x, ENTER etc. do not work):
> 
> 
> Since several months ago some keys on my keyboard do not work, in all the applications (e.g. gnome-terminal, emacs, thundebird, firefox). When I press on them, very often nothing happens (usually, I press on them for 10 seconds to make appear the character), sometimes the key appears twice, and sometimes it works flawlessly. When it works, it works for several minutes or several hours; similarly, when it does not work, it does not for several minutes or hours or days. I use very often suspend/resume, I also use xmodmap and awesome window manager, but I suppose this is irrelevant.
> 
> 
> The problematic keys are found on the last row: xcvm,. (but zbn work) and the bottom keys (ctrl, alt, window, however space works always correctly), plus ENTER key.
> 
> 
> I have always thought that it is a X problem which will get fixed. Interesting, a few days ago I noticed that on grub I have the same problem: c and ENTER did not work. So now I wonder if it is not a hardware problem, however sometimes it works for a long time!
> 
> 
> I have looked at Xorg.0.log, without seeing anything wrong.
> 
> How can I track down where the problem is, and fix it?

Thank you to all for your comments.  After the post, it worked ok until 
yesterday.  Yesterday I shut down the laptop and noticed that the 
problem affected grub again, so X is not faulty.  I opened the laptop, 
but only the back cover; the keyboard is on the front cover, and 
difficult for me to open, so I have not opened it.  There was no dust, 
but I blew inside.  I restarted the laptop and the keys have been 
working correctly since then.  If the problem occurs again, I will try 
an external keyboard, and lifting up the keys.  I will come back to you 
when it is completely fixed.

Best regards,
Eugen

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