X6050 shift+numpad buttons give weird characters!?

Please help! I bought the X6050 specifically for the numeric keypad. It's driving me insane. I need to know if it's just my specific computer or X6000s in general. Please try this and tell me what happens on *your* X6050/X6000.

1. Open up notepad (or something similar) in windows.
2. Turn *off* numlock. (The little '1' next to the Presario logo should be OFF)
3. Hold down the left shift key.
4. Press (on the numpad) 4 and 1 simultaneously.

I get a 'smiley face'. Try also 4 and 7, or 6 and 3 or pretty much any combination.

Also try 'left-shift + 4,1,4' very rapidly, in sequence. That's a combination of keys I press all the time, several times per day.

BTW I've talked to HP customer service and they weren't much help. They just told me to update the BIOS which I did and which made no difference.

 

I went back to the store to see if the display model had the same problem. It did. And so did the nearly-identical HP ZD8000, also on display. Great. So there's nothing physically broken in my keyboard. It's probably a bug in the BIOS. F*CK. I wish I knew someone at Quanta or HP who could help. This problem is driving me nuts.

 

OK, here, try it yourself.

Forget about numlock. It doesn't matter. On or off.

Hold down the left shift button, then hold down the '1/end' key on the numpad. If you press the '4/<-' key now, it acts just like the left 'alt' key. Bizarre but true. I modified sysinternals ctrl2cap filter driver to filter out this ridiculous bug. Send me a private message if you want it.