Space, F, N, keys not responding

3gsd's · Oct 2, 2023

On my Dell 5593 laptop, the Space, F, and N keys do not respond to the keyboard. This doesn't happen all the time. A search comes up with very little except posts from 2017 and 2020- both win10 threads. The virtual keyboard is ok. ant thought? laptop is at home so I do not know which version it is on, but has been updated as of yesterday. I don't see any exclamation points in device manager.Thanks

glasskuter · Oct 2, 2023

Try an external keyboard. If it works as expected I would say your laptop KB is going bad.

Ghot · Oct 2, 2023

3gsd's said:
the Space, F, and N keys do not respond

Keyboard going bad, or seriously dirty keyboard.

glasskuter · Oct 2, 2023

Assuming it's an Inspiron 5593, palmrest and KB are together. Requires $40 and complete disassembly of entire laptop to replace.

Helmut · Oct 2, 2023

Heat damage, you will need to have a new Keyboard fitted.

You will find that the area concerned is the warmest part of the keyboard just above the CPU.

Easily tested by pluggng in a USB keyboard.

Whilst you can flip off key caps and clean under, the actual key contacts are printed on plastic membranes below, it is these that get damaged by heat even if it is just slightly elevated temperatures.

I'm on my way to a 3rd keyboard on a 9 year old laptop.

3gsd's · Oct 4, 2023

thanks everyone. I got another keyboard, got it all back together and black screened. This is probably the wrong way to approach the problem, but.....bought a used 5593 and swapped my hard drive into it. It worked fine then it too does the same thing. Way too difficult for me to try another keyboard.

csun · Oct 4, 2023

Dell Community | DELL Technologies

Try the Dell Community.

After the black screen are there error codes on the screen or in Windows Reliability Monitor or Event Viewer ?

Senecio · Oct 4, 2023

@3gsd's

I have a different Dell laptop to you, but I have also had keyboard problems: sometimes keys would just not work (but only when not shifted - shift and the key would still work), sometimes keys would repeat multiple times, when the key was only touched once.
I found that uninstalling Support Assist solved the problem. NB just uninstalling didn't work. I had to remove all traces before the keyboard problems went away. I'm typing this on my Dell Laptop, and as you can see the keyboard is working fine.

I hope this helps.

3gsd's · Oct 6, 2023

I uninstalled support assist using revo and rebooted. So far, in 2 days it's been working. Thanks.

3gsd's · Oct 7, 2023

Today, the keys do not work. I need to push the keys multiple times before they start to work. In Word, if I want to use the 'N", I need to push it until it appears and will continue to repeat as long as I hold the key down. Once I release it, it is back to not working. Same for F and space.

glasskuter · Oct 7, 2023

It was suggested to try an external keyboard. Have you even tried an external keyboard?

Senecio · Oct 7, 2023

3gsd's said:
Today, the keys do not work. I need to push the keys multiple times before they start to work. In Word, if I want to use the 'N", I need to push it until it appears and will continue to repeat as long as I hold the key down. Once I release it, it is back to not working. Same for F and space.

That's disappointing. Did you clean the registry of Support Assist entries? I used CCleaner. If I recall correctly it took a couple of runs to get rid of it all. I did confirm that Support Assist caused the problem, by reinstalling it and the problem returned.
However, it is also possible the keyboard is faulty and in that case you would have to use an external keyboard as @glasskuter says.

Wynona · Oct 7, 2023

Ghot said:
Keyboard going bad, or seriously dirty keyboard.

Yep! I don't know how many times I've had to clean keyboards. No food allowed in my home office!

glasskuter · Oct 7, 2023

Wynona said:
No food allowed in my home office

I tried to follow that rule, but old habits are hard to break. It took me ruining my first $100 keyboard to learn my lesson. After that, did I stop eating and drinking while on my computer...Nope. I bought a tacky keyboard cover instead. Still eating and drinking and making a mess.

Wynona · Oct 7, 2023

glasskuter said:
I tried to follow that rule, but old habits are hard to break. It took me ruining my first $100 keyboard to learn my lesson. After that, did I stop eating and drinking while on my computer...Nope. I bought a tacky keyboard cover instead. Still eating and drinking and making a mess.

I use the Logitech Wave keyboard/mouse combo, so it's an easy thing to pop the key caps off and clean underneath . . . all except for the space bar (that's a be-atch). I won't change, since it's good for my poor hands.. So, I guess I'll have to uphold the food ban. Sigh . . .