Keyboard not responsive

eclas · Aug 8, 2023

There another Lenovo keyboard problem on here but it was different.
This problem is exclusive to windows. About 3 times in the last month or so all of a sudden the keyboard does not respond. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason so far. The virtual keyboard works but until I reboot I can't type anything. Restarting explorer doesn't fix it either. Only a reboot.
I've got a Lenovo legion 5 pro
Any ideas? Thanks

glasskuter · Aug 8, 2023

If you can use an external keyboard without issue, it points to the laptop keyboard itself having a problem and not a Windows problem.

bobkn · Aug 8, 2023

The only drivers I see for the laptop are for hotkey functions.

You could try them, but I'm not optimistic that would help.

eclas · Aug 8, 2023

glasskuter said:
If you can use an external keyboard without issue, it points to the laptop keyboard itself having a problem and not a Windows problem.

Pretty sure it's not the laptop. I'd bet my life it's windows. When the virtual keyboard works and just a reboot fixes it I doubt it's the keyboard itself.

glasskuter · Aug 8, 2023

Make sure you have no corrupt system files that is causing this problem. Open a command prompt as administrator and type sfc /scannow
Pay attention to the scan results to see if SFC found anything it could not repair. If it found corruption it could not fix followup with this command (note the spaces)
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
Restart computer

Scannerman · Aug 8, 2023

eclas said:
Pretty sure it's not the laptop. I'd bet my life it's windows. When the virtual keyboard works and just a reboot fixes it I doubt it's the keyboard itself.

Good advice from glasskuter. I've run into this issue from time to time when building a new PC. Sometimes there is a setting in BIOS for peripherals like keyboards. You may wish to check that. Also testing with an external keyboard can help with trouble shooting. Even on a laptop you should be able to run an external keyboard. Personally, I'd think of getting rid of that Lenovo just on principle. That company has already been convicted in court twice for running embedded fishing ware. Superfish - Wikipedia

eclas · Aug 8, 2023

I also doubt there's anything in the bios. This is an intermittent issue. I already did the sfc and dism. I guess I'll live with it. It doesn't happen that often

Scannerman · Aug 8, 2023

eclas said:
I also doubt there's anything in the bios. This is an intermittent issue. I already did the sfc and dism. I guess I'll live with it. It doesn't happen that often

To be fair, this doesn't only happen with Lenovo computers and I'm inclined to think that it might well be a windows thing - especially if you have to use generic drivers. Aside from opting for an external keyboard I can't think of anything else offhand that would provide an immediate solution or work around. Perhaps cleaning the registry might help if you haven't done so already?

eclas · Aug 8, 2023

Scannerman said:
To be fair, this doesn't only happen with Lenovo computers and I'm inclined to think that it might well be a windows thing - especially if you have to use generic drivers. Aside from opting for an external keyboard I can't think of anything else offhand that would provide an immediate solution or work around. Perhaps cleaning the registry might help if you haven't done so already?

I forgot to mention I use a wireless keyboard occasionally and haven't had any problem but then that's mostly using the mouse portion tho.
I am leaning heavily on it being windows because a reboot always fixes it for one thing. It doesn't happen often enough to worry about at this point. Hopefully it won't get worse.
I was curious if anyone else might have a similar keyboard problem.
Thanks for the suggestions tho!

eclas · Aug 8, 2023

bobkn said:
The only drivers I see for the laptop are for hotkey functions.

You could try them, but I'm not optimistic that would help.

I did try the update but it said it wasn't needed on install.

Scannerman · Aug 8, 2023

eclas said:
I forgot to mention I use a wireless keyboard occasionally and haven't had any problem but then that's mostly using the mouse portion tho.
I am leaning heavily on it being windows because a reboot always fixes it for one thing. It doesn't happen often enough to worry about at this point. Hopefully it won't get worse.
I was curious if anyone else might have a similar keyboard problem.
Thanks for the suggestions tho!

Yup. Seen it many times. Generic drivers is likely the culprit here. I guess we'll consider this one mystery solved. (On the other hand, check that link I sent you because there is some info in there that is keyboard related.)

Keyboard not responsive

Well-known member

My Computer

aka Mama Glass

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer

aka Mama Glass

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Similar threads