Solved Shift + Q (Combo) not working after upgrade to W11


Kav

Member
Local time
1:54 PM
Posts
4
OS
W11 Pro
W11 21H2 (22000.739)

I recently upgraded to W11, and all in all i'm pretty happy with it. Except the problem i describe in the title. It's incredibly annoying, and it hinders me in a few games, and just being able to type a capital Q shouldn't be too much to ask either. This has to be one of the weirdest issues iv'e ever had with Windows, and thats saying a lot. I tried to look for other users with the same issue, but i haven't been able to do so.

Only the specific combination of Shift + Q is not working anymore. Shift works fine, Q works fine, but not together. At some point it worked again for only a minute or so, but soon after the problem appeared again. No clue what i did to make that happen, and i dont think its something i did in the first place. When it did work for said brief minute, it would work in normal text boxes, say Chrome, Discord, a .txt file, but it would NOT work in the Windows search bar, or explorer search bar. Makes sense, since i'm 99% sure the combination is being used/blocked by explorer.exe. Why? I dont know. How? No clue. As far as i know Shift + Q is not a default Windows shortcut, obviously, and i don't see it having any buisness as a shortcut outside of software/games anyways.

What (i think) i know for sure:
- The combo is being used/blocked by explorer.exe
- Shift + Q is not supposed to be used by explorer.exe in any case. I believe.
- I don't have any macro's/hotkeys set up that use either keys, or would interfere with said combo. I do use both keys a lot in my two most played games, but never had to rewrite or macro anything, just a normal Shift+Q. I triple checked 10 times to make sure no software of myself is using the keys, im 100% sure they are not.
- It's no hardware/filmware/(manu)software issue. I reinstalled everything, completely wiped it, forced filmware updates, rolled back drivers, anything you can think of.
^ Also tried a bunch of diffrent/diffrent types of USB ports, no changes at all.
- Im finding a lot of issues with Shift in W11, but none seem to me my exact issue. I dont have any issues with the shift key, aside from this one combination.
- The last forum post opted it could be sticky keys, it's not. Sticky's are completely disabled, i played around with it for a few minutes aswell.

I found some software that scans for combinations used, this is where i found out explorer.exe is using it. And so far, that's about all i know.

unknown.png
^ Hotkey Commander

I posted this on Tweakers (Biggest Dutch tech forum), got nearly 200 views but only one awnser, the one about sticky's. I'm really hoping someone has at least the slightest clue of what is going on, cause i'm starting to pull some hairs out :)
 
Windows Build/Version
W11 21H2 (22000.739)

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    -
    CPU
    i9-12900K
    Motherboard
    ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO
    Memory
    Ripjaws V 4x 8GB @ 4000MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    TUF RTX 3090 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    -
    Monitor(s) Displays
    -
    Screen Resolution
    2x 2560x1440 @ 144hz
    Hard Drives
    980 Pro 500gb
    980 Pro 1TB
    980 Pro 2TB
    MG08 SATA (512e) 16TB
    PSU
    Dark Power Pro 12 1500W
    Case
    5000D Airflow TG Black
    Cooling
    Dark Rock Pro 4
    Keyboard
    -
    Mouse
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    Kav#2714
Also, I just noticed something. I downloaded this piece of software when I was looking for anything that could help, it wasn't what i was looking for but i see something peculiar now. When I ask it to create a new shortcut to launch an application, I can choose between all numerals, NUM keys, normal letters, EXCEPT for the Q... Now i think this tells no story, neither does it give any more information, but it did strike me as very odd and no coincidence.

Screenshot 2022-06-20 110019.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    -
    CPU
    i9-12900K
    Motherboard
    ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO
    Memory
    Ripjaws V 4x 8GB @ 4000MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    TUF RTX 3090 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    -
    Monitor(s) Displays
    -
    Screen Resolution
    2x 2560x1440 @ 144hz
    Hard Drives
    980 Pro 500gb
    980 Pro 1TB
    980 Pro 2TB
    MG08 SATA (512e) 16TB
    PSU
    Dark Power Pro 12 1500W
    Case
    5000D Airflow TG Black
    Cooling
    Dark Rock Pro 4
    Keyboard
    -
    Mouse
    -
    Internet Speed
    -
    Browser
    -
    Antivirus
    -
    Other Info
    Kav#2714
Just a speculation, but possibly the Win+Q combination is being blocked by Windows because MS has reserved it for some function they intend to use it for in some future feature they have in development.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Like
Reactions: Kav

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Like
Reactions: Kav

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    -
    CPU
    i9-12900K
    Motherboard
    ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO
    Memory
    Ripjaws V 4x 8GB @ 4000MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    TUF RTX 3090 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    -
    Monitor(s) Displays
    -
    Screen Resolution
    2x 2560x1440 @ 144hz
    Hard Drives
    980 Pro 500gb
    980 Pro 1TB
    980 Pro 2TB
    MG08 SATA (512e) 16TB
    PSU
    Dark Power Pro 12 1500W
    Case
    5000D Airflow TG Black
    Cooling
    Dark Rock Pro 4
    Keyboard
    -
    Mouse
    -
    Internet Speed
    -
    Browser
    -
    Antivirus
    -
    Other Info
    Kav#2714
I ended up doing a full re-install of W11 with a fresh USB from Rufus. Fully formatted all my drives, partitions gone the whole shabang. Sadly, it fixed the issue. QqQ. :rolleyes:

So I sadly can't give any fix or advice for anyone else stumbling upon this post having the same issue, except for wipe and reinstall the whole thing. My guess is still that Windows screwed up somewhere in the installation process, maybe because I installed W11 over W10 forcefully (My PC was not eligible for the W11 update by default), still wouldn't make sense, but who knows.

I will close the thread now, thanks @glasskuter for responding. Have a good one everyone o/
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    -
    CPU
    i9-12900K
    Motherboard
    ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO
    Memory
    Ripjaws V 4x 8GB @ 4000MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    TUF RTX 3090 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    -
    Monitor(s) Displays
    -
    Screen Resolution
    2x 2560x1440 @ 144hz
    Hard Drives
    980 Pro 500gb
    980 Pro 1TB
    980 Pro 2TB
    MG08 SATA (512e) 16TB
    PSU
    Dark Power Pro 12 1500W
    Case
    5000D Airflow TG Black
    Cooling
    Dark Rock Pro 4
    Keyboard
    -
    Mouse
    -
    Internet Speed
    -
    Browser
    -
    Antivirus
    -
    Other Info
    Kav#2714
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