Enter key behaving strangely in all browsers (MSI GT73-VR)

In Word and Notepad, pressing Enter drops a single line as it should, but in any browser it drops 4 lines and I can find no setting that can correct this. It does the same when logged into another profile. Any ideas, please?

QuicktellPro said:

in any browser it drops 4 lines and I can find no setting that can correct this. It does the same when logged into another profile

Click to expand...

Suggestions to try, in no particular order, testing after each one.

1. activate the on-screen keyboard and see if the issue still happens. Settings>accessibility>keyboard>and toggle on the On-Screen Keyboard option. Alternatively, press Windows Key + Ctrl + O to quickly enable it. If OSK Enter key behaves normally, your physical keyboard is the culprit. You may have a stuck modifier key (ctrl, alt, fn)
Browsers intepret the enter key differently if modifiers are pressed.

2. If you are using a mouse, disconnect mouse temporarily and test. If problem disappears, a mouse macro or driver is the problem.

3. try anothr keyboard, preferably a wired usb one. If it works normally, your laptop KB matrix or controller is the problem.

4. disable browser extensions. If problem goes away enable one at a time until you find the culprit

5. Try clean boot. If it doesn't happen in a clean boot, you have some software conflicting with Windows. You have to use process of elimination to find which one. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial[/HEADING]

6. Try safe mode with networking if your wireless adapter works in safe mode, (Some do not) If everything works as expected, you have a misbehaving
driver

7. Make sure you have no corrupt system files that is causing this problem. Open a command prompt as administrator and type dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
When complete restart. Then open command prompt as admin again and run sfc /scannow
Pay attention to the scan results to see if SFC found anything it could not repair

After opening the on-screen keyboard, the problem instantly stopped.
As soon as I closed it again, the problem resumed. It also does it with the mouse disconnected. I will try your other suggestions now and then update this thread.

No errors found, even after a health restore and clean boot.
Which driver do I need to replace? I don't think that any of these apply to my Steel Series keyboard.

QuicktellPro said:

After opening the on-screen keyboard, the problem instantly stopped.

Click to expand...

If everything works properly with OSK, This points the problem to be directly at your keyboard matrix rather than browser extensions or installed software. I'll bet a dollar to a donut, you won't have a problem with another external KB either.

Concentrate on a stuck or locked Ctrl, FN, or Alt modifier key.
Check your device manual to see if one of the F keys is used as a special function key for locking one of the 3 modifier keys. If it does, maybe you have accidentially selected it.
Maybe there is a piece of debris causing one of these modifier keys to be stuck. Use canned air to blow it out.

Something else to try - In some MSI laptops you can power off and hold down power button for 15 seconds which resets the embedded controller (EC) which controls hardware functions independent of windows. Some of those functions affect KB behavior. I'd normally say Check for an update to MSI EC firmware + keyboard drivers, but the latest EC firmware for that laptop was in 2016.

If still no joy, I'd say you're looking at replacing your KB

I don't have an external keyboard because I only run a couple of laptops.
I have discovered however, that if I use the enter key on the RHS of the numerical tablet, it behaves normally, so I guess the keyboard must be defective and I will need to use the other enter key.

Thanks for all your suggestions.