Topic: Caps lock probLEMS <- SEE WHat i MEAN?

[ColdBloodedJellyDoughnut]

I am nOT BullshittinG. i CANnOT GET MY CAPS LOCK TO STOP FLICKERINg on ANd off. it is the most anNoyinG thiNG ever. The worst thinG IS THAT i'M Not sure if it's a probLEM WITH A COMPUTER OR A VIRUS.

MY ANti-virus system says that nOTHINg is wronG, AS DOES MY FIREWALL. THIS HAS HAPPENed onCe bEFORE, But it just wenT AWAY.

WHAT SHOULD I DO? sHOULD i GO anD GET A PRO TO CHECK IT OUT, OR IS THERE SOMETHINg I could do TO SORT It out myself?

AnY HELP WOULD BE appreciated.

[Trieste]

Did you check to make sure nothing is stuck under the physical key that could be triggering it?

[ColdBloodedJellyDoughnut]

YES :(

[Trieste]

Are you on a PC? If so, and you have a spare keyboard, the next step would be to swap your keyboard for a replacement and see if it's a hardware issue.

If that doesn't work, you can always reboot it in safe mode and do a virus/spyware scan. You might also try some of the programs in this thread.

[Saffron]

I would also try checking/cleaning under your shift keys. Pull the keys off, rub the underside of the key and the open space on the keyboard with alcohol on a qtip, let dry, replace. Make sure your computer is off when you do this. I would recommend doing so to the Caps key as well.

[ColdBloodedJellyDoughnut]

IT'S NothinG TO DO WITH THE PHYSICAL KEY. ANd it's a laptop too. you pull off a key anD IT'S Not goinG Back on. I KNow it's nOT A PHYSICAL PROBlem, anD AS FAR AS MY MANy security scanS CAN see, it's nOT A VIRUS OR MALWARE OR ADWARE THINg either. anD IT DID FINd manY ADWARE ANd malware programs. bUT, AS YOU CAN see, it haSN't donE ANythinG.

[Trieste]

Scanning in Safe Mode is important. It can catch things that scanning in normal mode can miss.

Also, for some make/models of laptop, the keys do pop off. For instance, the covers pop off on my laptop, and the whole keyboard itself is not difficult to replace. Your laptop's user manual will tell you if they can safely be removed or not.

[Saffron]

Most laptop keys can be removed, and if you haven't actually removed it, that is probably the issue. Just a little dust bunny under those can cause the trouble that you're having.

This is how most of them work:
Laptop Computers : How to Replace Laptop Keys

You don't actually need a 'replacement' key, the old key will go back on just fine, in this case you probably don't have a damaged key.

[Trieste]

Erm, would like to reiterate that you should check your laptop's user manual first before trying to pry off your keys, because while they pop off for most modern laptops, they do not pop right off for some makes and models, so please be careful.

[Vekseid]

See if the problem still occurs in Safe Mode with Command Prompt first.

[crystaltears]

Do you hold shift down for long periods of time? Cause there's this evil hotkey for a thing called Sticky Keys in windows... Where if you hold shift down for five seconds it turns on Sticky Keys. Then your caps lock and shift buttons start working... oddly.

Try holding both of your shift keys down at the same time (might take a few seconds of holding them both) and see if that helps. If not, good luck resolving it.

[Oniya]

Erm, would like to reiterate that you should check your laptop's user manual first before trying to pry off your keys, because while they pop off for most modern laptops, they do not pop right off for some makes and models, so please be careful.

You might want to try getting one of those compressed air canisters with the long nozzles, and give the key a good hard blast underneath.  Do this with the computer off, so that you can get a better gap by holding down the Shift and A keys.  (It doesn't make any real difference if the machine's on or off, really, but this way you don't have to deal with the computer spamming AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA as you foof it.)

[ColdBloodedJellyDoughnut]

OnCE AGAIN, it's nOT A PHYSICAL ISSUE. THIS HAS Been THOROUGHLY EXPLORED ANd it is nOT THE PROBlem. i've tried startinG MY COMPUTER IN safe mode, bUT FOR SOME REASON it won'T... IT MAKES A CLICK WHEN i press F8 bUT THEN it just starts nORMALLY. I'M ON winDOWS 7, ANd i'm nOT SURE OF WHAT ELSE TO DO.

[Vekseid]

OnCE AGAIN, it's nOT A PHYSICAL ISSUE. THIS HAS Been THOROUGHLY EXPLORED ANd it is nOT THE PROBlem. i've tried startinG MY COMPUTER IN safe mode, bUT FOR SOME REASON it won'T... IT MAKES A CLICK WHEN i press F8 bUT THEN it just starts nORMALLY. I'M ON winDOWS 7, ANd i'm nOT SURE OF WHAT ELSE TO DO.

You need to press it after bios loads and before windows loads. I often press it repeatedly. If you hear a click, it's probably because you pressed it too soon.

[russ]

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/rescuedisk is a good tool to use to detect viruses/spyware and delete them. If you can boot off of that disk and run it, it should delete any pesky items you have on your machine. It's a good one to use as it doesn't run from within Windows - so if a virus is running at the instant the virusscan finds it it can delete it.