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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: jrockroll on Mon, 19 September 2011, 23:59:02

Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: jrockroll on Mon, 19 September 2011, 23:59:02
I have a realforce 103ub 55g as well as Filco brown. Whenever I plug in my filco to the external usb, it works fine. But with my realforce, it goes crazy many times. It automatically writes stuff on my screen and sometimes my external monitor flips by itself. Not to mention the capslock/num lock/scroll lock lights get switched by themselves. Any ideas why it's doing that?
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: Quarzac on Tue, 20 September 2011, 00:07:06
It's probably a ghost.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: dorkvader on Tue, 20 September 2011, 00:09:33
Make a linux USB or liveCD and see if the issue persists while using it.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: jrockroll on Tue, 20 September 2011, 00:46:40
i have no idea how to do that
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: dorkvader on Tue, 20 September 2011, 01:53:44
the CD method is pretty easy:
1. download an .iso file (I recommned ubuntu 9.10)
2. download a program to burn it properly to a CD. I have used imgburn in the past, though there are many.
3. reboot your computer, and boot off the CD (may have to edit the boot order in bios)

The reason for this is to see if your software or operating system has anything to do with it. If so, there's a good chance just reloading windows will fix it.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: Findecanor on Tue, 20 September 2011, 03:19:00
Quote from: Quarzac;418942
It's probably a ghost.

What could jrockroll have done to upset Patrick Swayze ? ...

Check if someone has not installed one of these (http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/ae83/)... ;)
Otherwise, it sounds like a software problem to me. I would run antivirus.

Connect the Realforce to another computer to see if the problem occurs there.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: fossala on Tue, 20 September 2011, 03:51:01
Quote from: dorkvader;418980
the CD method is pretty easy:
1. download an .iso file (I recommned ubuntu 9.10)
2. download a program to burn it properly to a CD. I have used imgburn in the past, though there are many.
3. reboot your computer, and boot off the CD (may have to edit the boot order in bios)

The reason for this is to see if your software or operating system has anything to do with it. If so, there's a good chance just reloading windows will fix it.

 
Sorry but I really wouldn't recomend 9.10 It doesn't get security updates anymore and it 2 years old. If you want to use stable software always go for the latest LTS (long term support) release that would be 10.04 and in 7 months 12.04.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: elef on Tue, 20 September 2011, 07:00:26
Quote from: jrockroll;418936
Whenever I plug in my filco to the external usb, it works fine. But with my realforce, it goes crazy many times.

Is the external usb a usb hub? If so, try plugging the keyboard directly into a USB port on the computer itself and see if it fixes the problem. If it does, just get a different usb hub.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: alaricljs on Tue, 20 September 2011, 07:37:47
I had a USB hub that sent would cause my Filco to send spurious key presses.  Not as much as yours, and only when I was typing.  When I realized it was the hub and not the KB was when I grabbed the hub and noticed how frickin hot it was.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: dorkvader on Tue, 20 September 2011, 08:25:28
Quote from: fossala;419006
Sorry but I really wouldn't recomend 9.10 It doesn't get security updates anymore and it 2 years old. If you want to use stable software always go for the latest LTS (long term support) release that would be 10.04 and in 7 months 12.04.
Sorry, I meant 10.04LTS, because untiy is awful if you're just testing. I hate that it's the default.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: jrockroll on Tue, 20 September 2011, 08:26:01
yea i was thinking the same thing it might just be my crappy usb hub. weird how my mouse and filco works fine with it though
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: alaricljs on Tue, 20 September 2011, 10:20:26
Quote from: jrockroll;419041
yea i was thinking the same thing it might just be my crappy usb hub. weird how my mouse and filco works fine with it though

Well my crap rubber dome had no issue with it... go fig?
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: dorkvader on Tue, 20 September 2011, 12:12:57
Quote from: ripster;419078
I remember the good old days when tech support would just tell me to reinstall Windows.

Now I have to install a Linux build too?
Since most people don't do backups, it's good to try and see if it's Windows' at fault or not before you reinstall. The purpose of the linux CD (or USB drive) is to test something else and see if it fixes the problem.

In the instance I recommend, you don't actually install linux to your hard drive, you just "borrow" it for a while. This is called a "liveCD". Unless you tell it to, it won't touch the files on your harddrive at all.

Ofcourse not using a USB hub at all when testing, or trying another computer will be useful, too.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: enoy21 on Tue, 20 September 2011, 13:00:37
Debian is teh ****.    I was always an OpenSuse' gnome guy before trying Debian....   I never cared much for Ubuntu ( based in debian )  but I liked LinuxMint when it was first released.  Debian seems pretty solid if just a bit behind on the latest and greatest.

Live CD's are pretty handy for grabbing files off a HD before a crash or reload or testing OS issues as this thread implies.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: alaricljs on Tue, 20 September 2011, 13:51:12
My favorite 'live' CD is the partition magic bootable image.  Not a distro, but it's got everything you need for recovery.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: hasu on Tue, 20 September 2011, 19:06:32
Quote from: jrockroll;419041
yea i was thinking the same thing it might just be my crappy usb hub. weird how my mouse and filco works fine with it though


Topre use analog signal to sense capacitive switch so that need clean power supply(5V without ripple or noise).
Bad power supply still causes the problem though Topre board itself has voltage regulator and noise filter.
I think what you need is new good hub and self powered will be preferable.
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: jrockroll on Tue, 20 September 2011, 21:49:43
yap i just tried connecting it directly to my laptop and it doesn't go crazy lol
Title: Does your keyboard go crazy?
Post by: Urglifast on Tue, 20 September 2011, 23:35:26
nope, usually i'm the one going crazy.  typically if an inanimate object starts speaking there's something wrong with you and not it.

oh...that's not what you meat.  my bad.

what was said about it possibly being the power supply on your usb line sounds about right.  i would check your hub, or get a new one altogether that has it's own power wart.