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    E6400 keyboard problem - only certain keys fail

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by mjmb05, Nov 23, 2009.

  1. mjmb05

    mjmb05 Newbie

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    E6400 on battery, failed hibernate with 10 minutes left on battery due to "fonts issue" (I have only MS fonts).

    XP Pro SP3 machine unresponsive so I forced power off & power on whereupon certain keys became unusable(8 i k , and right bracket and plus)

    I would suspect hardware failure except for the failed hibernate; bought refurbished E6400 in 03/09 with 90-day warranty; keyboard issue began 11/17.

    Had identical problem on Dell CPX-J a few years ago but plugged in a standard keyboard & no problem; no such connection on E6400.

    Any ideas how to fix this?
     
    mjmb05, Nov 23, 2009
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  2. s0ap

    s0ap Notebook Consultant

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    That is very odd. Especially since it is your native keyboard. I don't understand why your computer won't hibernate because of "fonts". Could you explain that a little more? I would like to tell you that I think it is a windows problem, but I'm pretty sure the keyboard is loaded in the bios (or at least certain keys like FN).

    Regardless, here is my recomendation:
    I would run scandisk on your computer. Start > Computer > Right click your Windows Partition (C drive) > Properties > Tools > Check Now (Error Checking) > Restart your computer. Make sure automatically fix errors is checked, leave the other one blank.

    If it is a windows problem, it should fix it most likely.

    p.s. Hibernate sux. I would just rather turn my computer off. Resuming from Hibernate takes just as long, at least for me. I either use sleep, or shutdown.
     
    s0ap, Nov 24, 2009
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  3. mjmb05

    mjmb05 Newbie

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    Replaced keyboard; problem solved.

    I mentioned "fonts" at hibernate time because some responder to a problem similar to mine indicated that "added fonts" were a known issue, and pointed to a MSKB item.

    When I operate on battery, my power management is set up to warn me of low batt at 10% remaining, and to hibernate at 3% remaining. Normally I do standby, but when on battery, I use this scheme to ensure no loss of data - as occurred during this failed event.

    I performed chkdsk /f but it found nothing (no files in root), but thanks for the tip.

    I saw that someone complained about all the steps for changing the keyboard, but it took me 15 minutes from power off to power on, after reading the instructions, and I didn't have any trouble following them.

    Thanks for your support and response, sOap.
     
    mjmb05, Dec 2, 2009
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