keyboard typing by itself

[Amostar]

Hi. I am using on-screen keyboard right now because my keyboard infinitely types M's if I touch it. Also, it continues typing M's on its own. I have tried taking the keys off and cleaning underneath, but that doesn't work and the key doesn't appear to be stuck down. It didn't type random M's when I restarted it the first time, but now even at login on start up it types M's. Does anyone have any idea what I should do? Thank goodness for on-screen keyboard though, eh?

[ireland-1]

it sounds like the spring is gone on the keyboard.

[Amostar]

But why is only M affected? And, how can I fix that? The computer is a laptop...

[ireland-1]

yes, each key on your keyboard is based on a spring, like if you press any button it pops back up, correct? It doesn't stay down, now when it stays down, that means it is being stayed pressed, now this is the most probable cause i.e. that the spring on the M key is broken, you probably just need a new spring.

[Amostar]

But, under the key is a squishy rubber piece, not a spring. And it doesn't look pressed down... nor is it typing M's now.

[ireland-1]

well yes, OK same principle, it may not look pushed, but that is the only thing I can think of, you can however scan for viruses, to be on the safe side (don't know much about viruses)

[Amostar]

I'll try that, but I just did the other day. As well, I'm using my keyboard right now, and it isn't doing it. It took it a while after I restarted last time for it to freak out and only type M's. Even now, I hit the M key and now extra M's. I don't know why it randomly freaks out, but today has been a rather bad day, and my boyfriend is at work from now until 4am, so he can't help me, nor can he tomorrow... He's a certified computer technician, so he should be able to fix this. I told him about it earlier, and he said just restart, and it was fine then, but eventually it started doing it later on.

[Broni]

keyboard typing by itself

I want one

Sorry, couldn't resist

[Amostar]

Haha I know, it wouldn't be too bad if it typed what I wanted it too! Unless I have a really tasty meal though, I don't want it typing "mmmmmmmmmm" forever. XD

[Broni]

"mmmmmmmmmmmmm" is actually pretty neat sound

Seriously, just get a new keyboard..

[Amostar]

"Seriously, just get a new keyboard..

That would be easier if my keyboard wasn't attached to my laptop... -_-;

[Quantos]

That would be easier if my keyboard wasn't attached to my laptop... -_-;

If you don't move your laptop around much you can get some pretty decent USB keyboards.
Otherwise you may need to replace the laptops keyboard.  It's more work - and a bit more money, but might be your only alternative.

Let me know what your husband says.

[Broni]

...and if it's some newer laptop, its keyboard is usually easily removed.

[patio]

I want one

Sorry, couldn't resist

You'ld have 80,000 posts by now...

[Amostar]

The keyboard isn't very new. It's probably two or two and a half years old, but it seems to be working fine now. Heck knows what I did! I did get frustrated earlier and I took off the keys again and poked the squisky rubber "spring" thing for a while, and it hasn't done it since then. Though, I'll still ask my boyfriend sometime in the next few days. Quantos, boyfriend, not husband! XD

...though, someday he'll be my husband!

[Broni]

Husband, boyfirend, same difference
The most important thing is, your keyboard self-fixed itself, just by visiting ComputerHope.
In this case, I have to congratulate myself

[Quantos]

...though, someday he'll be my husband!

hehe - Make sure that you give him my condolences   

[Broni]

Do you sense some bad girl here??

[Quantos]

I sure do man

[Amostar]

Bad girl? Do you mean me? I hope not! XD

Yes, it seems to have fixed itself, but thanks everyone for your advice. I'll try to come here from now on before I bother my boyfriend about my computer troubles! I mean, sure it's what he's trained to do, what he's good at and what he plans to do for a career, but I don't want to burden him with my troubles all the time. He's already recently fixed my electric bass guitar, my keyboard/piano, and my watch after all...

[Quantos]

What kind of bass?
What kind of keyboard?

[Amostar]

I believe the keyboard is a Yamaha, but I'm not sure. I've never actually played it, and I've only seen it once. It was my cousin's keyboard. It's really old, she's probably had it since I was 10 or 11 (I'm 20 now), and it's been broken since I was 12. The power input jack has been loose since then, and apparently it just needed to be soldered. He said it was an easy fix, aside from taking out and putting back the 40 screws that held it together that is!

The bass is a Spector Performer 4 Classic Black Cherry. This is it: http://gearhounds.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=505 It's actually my third bass. My first was a starter, and that piece of crap cheap bass still works as good as it did when I bought it, too bad it wasn't good quality to begin with. My second bass died less than two months after I bought it, and my boyfriend couldn't figure out what was wrong, so we traded it in for my current bass! Ahh I love that bass... it's been broken for months now though. The neck bowed back, pulling the strings tight onto the frets. I could get no sound from it. It was easy to fix, it just took a long time to slowly tighten/loosen the trust rod to fix it (I'm not sure which worked).

   

[Quantos]

Tightening the truss rod would invert the bow, yeah that does take a while.  A friend of mine is a bass player he had to do the same with his Lado.

That's a pretty nice bass though, do you have the 4 string or the 5 string?

[Amostar]

I have the four string. They didn't have the five string when I traded, plus it would have been much more expensive. I only had that day to trade it in too, since I was at university at the time, and I was only home for Thanksgiving. I played a five string for the first time after not playing my broken bass for about two months, and that threw me off so much! I'm only a beginner, and I'm out of practice to boot. I can't read music either, but that's why I bought the keyboard. I'll learn how to read music, and play the piano.

My boyfriend has an electric guitar, so we compliment each other rather well. His is an Ibanez XPT700 Red Chameleon. http://www.ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-XPT700 It changes from red to yellow to green. He's much more experienced than I am though, but he can teach me!

[patio]

I just bought a Yahama long neck limited edition from a down and out player...
Couldn't pass up the deal and i'm now over the guilt thing....

Have to say i'm pretty impressed with the feel of it.

I need a name for it though.

[Quantos]

I've never heard of a Yahama before Patio, is it like a Yamaha at all?

[Broni]

I give you my permission to call it Broni-da-man

[Quantos]

That's pretty cool Amostar.  One helluva paint job on that one, must look wicked under stage lighting.

Well, keep up the practicing though, you will get better, and nothing is better than having someone you can play with.
Umm, guitar I mean...
*struggles to get feet out of mouth*

[patio]

I've never heard of a Yahama before Patio, is it like a Yamaha at all?

Nor I...it's as quality as their electronic components....maybe better.
I played it for 10 minutes and sayed "how much" ? ?
The rest will hopefully be history...

[Quantos]

Now we just need to get you an amp that goes to 11   

[Amostar]

I have two amps, one 25 watt and one 100 watt. I can hook them together, so technically I could put them both on 10 at once. Does that count as going to 11? XD

...though, I'd never do that. I hardly ever put my 100 watt passed 3! That amp is LOUD!

[Quantos]

Not really, because it's still really only at 10, what are you going to do if you need to go louder?

Besides which, connecting the two amps will fry one, they only accept line level for inputs.

[Amostar]

What do you mean it will fry one? I have a cord that's meant for that, and I've done it many times...

[Quantos]

Unless you have a specific input for recieving an amplified signal you can fry the second amp in the chain.

I used to be a sound man for quite a few different bands, amplifiers do not like to process amplified signals.  One thing to note - if your amps are heads that jack into a cabinet there are some cabinets that will accept input from two different amps at one time.  They just combine the signals internally.

[Gizmologist]

What is to be gained by daisy chaining two amps? Nothing. If you have a powered amp then the signal from the keyboard is already pre-amped to the appropriate level for the internal power amp.

 If for some reason you need to connect the 1st amp to the second then you use a direct box (DI) with a line level or speaker level input. The DI will output an isolated signal of the correct level to the second amp. The inherent issue with this is that the signal to noise ratio will be greatly affected by the pre-existing noise floor of the first amp.

Under no circumstances do you ever connect the outputs of power amps together.

BTW on the thread start subject, the keyboard contacts are carbon pads separated by a very thin air gap between two layers of plastic. The carbon pad is very slightly convex so there is no contact between the layers unless a key is pressed and the top plastic layer is slightly deformed to collapse the upper layer onto the lower layer thereby completing the matrix circuit.

 Even if the key returns to normal position, the contact sheet can still have a deformation that maintains a matrix contact to cause any letter to continually type.

Another possibility is that there is some sort of conductive debris that has migrated between the sheets and is making contact.

[Quantos]

What is to be gained by daisy chaining two amps? Nothing. If you have a powered amp then the signal from the keyboard is already pre-amped to the appropriate level for the internal power amp.

I couldn't tell you why you would want to do it.  Some amps do have a line level out that you could send to another amp that may have more power.  You would only do that if the first amp had an effect that you wanted to use, or if you wanted the smaller one as a monitor.

[Amostar]

I only did it a while back to have one amp facing me, and one facing out, more as a monitor. A friend of mine who is an electrician bought me the larger amp and the hook ups between the two, and I've never had a problem. I don't do that anymore though, since one amp stays at university and one stays at home. I would have never thought of hooking them up together anyway, but since the guy that bought it for me said it'd work fine, I did.

And Gizmologist, I have no idea what that really means, but perhaps that's what is wrong. There could be debris in the key that's for certain. I'll have to get someone to look at it I suppose.

[Quantos]

Yes, chances are you are either using a line level out to go to the second amp or a DI box as Gizmologist suggested.

[MP1975]

Re: keyboard typing by itself

Who ya gonna call !

GHOST BUSTERS !!!!!!

[Quantos]

Who ya gonna call

nah, I'd make some money off it and call the Enquirer.

[Gizmologist]

Well disassembling a keyboard and getting all the little keys and rubber springs back in is a PITA. Just get a new keyboard.

[Quantos]

Just get a new keyboard.

It's on a laptop.  Personally I would just get a USB keyboard for it.