<font color=plum>I know it's hard to believe, but I'm having yet ANOTHER problem with my main PC.

My 2yr old was banging on the keyboard with one of his toys and actually managed to knock the entire keyboard drawer off of my workstation. [img]graemlins/awcrap.gif[/img] I didn't think much about it until I tried to connect to the internet a little later.

Somehow, my entire desktop is now totally screwed up. When I clicked on the Shortcut Icon for my internet connection, it took me to MY DOCUMENTS instead of bringing up my dial-up pop screen. [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img] This actually happened once before a few days ago, but I managed to stumble around and reverse whatever it was he did that time. But not this time. This time, it seems like the internal configurations for the keyboard itself are completely screwed.

For instance, my CAPS LOCK key is REVERSED now. When it is "off", my keyboard is actually set to "CAPS LOCK" mode. And I can't get my numeric keypad to work AT ALL. Not even the numbers across the top. NONE of my numeric keys work AT ALL.

This is NOT a problem with the keyboard itself (I switched keyboards to see). It actually is set INSIDE my main PC. I now have NO WAY of accessing the internet through that PC, because when I finally DID get my dial-up screen to appear, I keep getting an <font color=yellow>ERROR 691: Username and/or password invalid</font>. Once I figured out that my CAPS LOCK was reversed, I thought THAT might solve the problem (since I apparantly typed my password in ALL CAPS when I thought it was in lower case), but that didn't fix the problem. So I finally decided to just set up a new connection and re-enter everything from scratch. THAT'S when I found out that NONE of my numeric keys are working...so there is no way to enter the phone number for my modem to dial.

As a good friend of mine is prone to say, this is enough to make me want to chew off my own foot. I am SO FRIGGIN FED UP with the problems I'm having with this machine. One thing I plan to do is call PC Store #1 back and tell them I want a replacement for this POS Motherboard they installed on my system. I'm normally not the kind of guy to get ugly or mean when dealing with employees in a store, but I'm about ready to give the owner a good ole Southern cussing for the CRAP I've put up with since bringing my machine to his shop to be upgraded. [img]graemlins/madhell.gif[/img] I've had NOTHING but problems since going to them.

Well, if anybody has a suggestion about how to fix this latest problem, I would appreciate. If not, just tell me where I can buy a good chainsaw and uzi and I'll handle the problem in another way.</font>

what kind of mother board do you have anyway?

Kill the Demon child and rid thyneself of the curse! And if that doesn't work.. is it just a standard keyboard or was it an upgraded one that may have drivers for it? If so, try reinstalling the drive. If not, go into your keyboard setting in your control panel and see if there is anything unusual set there.
Opening the keyboard may not reveal much, bur it couldn't hurt either, just to make sure nothing's jammed. Other than that "dear Sam" see if there's "help" in windows on it to see keyboard functions can be changed by a combination of buttons.

oh btw, you seem to be having really bad luck with motherboards cerek, so i suggest if ever your going to get a new board get "asus" brand. Those mobo never let me down in thier stability and compatibality issues so far [img]smile.gif[/img]

Perhaps your PC isn't the problem. You need to replace your 2yr old. [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color=plum>That's what I figure happened, <font color=yellow>Variol</font>. I'm guessing he actually hit a specific combination of keys that caused the settings to be changed like that - though God only knows what that combination is.

I DID try to troubleshoot the problem using the process you describe, but I never actually went into "keyboard configuration". I'll check that out later today to see if I have any luck.

<font color=white>Harkoliar</font> - I'm not really having any trouble with the mobo right now. I'm just pissed off in general about the crap-job the yuckapucks at Store#1 did and I'm also extremely frustrated with the problems I keep having. Sooooo, I'm looking for a target to vent my frustrations on and they seem like the logical choice.</font>

<font color=skyblue>Maybe now is not the time, but I really am glad to know that you and stormymystic would never be able to hook up together.

A person could open a PC shop next to you two and earn enough revenue to never need any other clients!

If I were to die in the next five minutes and could only tell you one piece of advice before passing on...it would be this. Learn enough about computers to fix your problems without having to pay fools to mess things up worse. In the long-run...the money you invest on educating yourself in PC repair and upgrades will save you from this long heartache.

Oh...build an electric fence around your work station to keep out the vermin. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Maybe add a moat.

And a guard dog. The one on the Harry Potter movie. </font> :D

or just giving you more headaches :D .

the more you learn.. the more you realize how stupid you really are in computers. thats how i felt when i finally know how to assemble my own computer then after 3 months, you see all these new gadgets and new terms that makes you go crazy.

the only way is to keep learning.. OR find a good reliable computer repair shop.

thankfully, the pcparts i had installed worked like a charm ( too lazy to install it myself) and it was cheap like 10 AUD for the installation *which saved me 2-3 hours and alot of trouble). the only thing i did myself is the software installatin which i always do so i know whats going on. i hate it when someone tinkers with my computer without me knowing it.

[ 11-06-2004, 10:23 AM: Message edited by: Harkoliar ]

Well, I'm no expert, but have you tried replacing the keyboard?

At least prices of everything have come down. When I worked for Digital about 12 years ago my discounted price for 16MB ram was $699! I had 16 MB in my 486 and I was a god, since everybody else only had 4-8 at the time.
And things have just become harder, not easier. There should be a program out today that can scan your system and say, this is the problem, I'm going to fix it or go to a website to get the neccessary files. It can't be that hard with all the high-end software out there now. Even the guru's don't know much these days.

<font color=plum><font color=cyan>Larry</font> - I've already decided to pursue some computer classes at the local community college. It will really be great since I won't care diddly about what kind of grade I get - I'll just be going to get the knowledge itself. And I really have spent that much money on the system. I've spent about the same amount as the cost of a new system. Then again, all of my components ARE new, so it's basically the same thing. All told, I've spent around $450 on the machine in the last 6 months.

One thing I hope to do is maybe offer my own repair services once I learn enough. All the local business charge at least $25 just to LOOK at the system - whether they do anything or not. I would like to do some "under the table work" for individuals that can't afford to pay that kind of money just to be told what is wrong with their system.

<font color=silver>Iron Greasel</font> - Yes, I swapped the keyboard from my other machine and had the same problem. So the problem is in the System Configurations instead of the keyboard itself. I've spent a little over an hour working on the PC today. There is an XP Command for "System Restore" which I think might work...unfortunately, it won't run the program. I choose the option to "Restore System", click "NEXT", and nothing happens. :crying2:

A few other symptoms of my current problem that I forgot to mention in the OP.

When I turn my system on, I get a pop-up screen asking if I want to turn on the "Filter Keys". This is something new that has not shown up before. I've tried turning them on, turning them off, and even going into Accessibility Options and turning on the StickyKeys and Toggle Keys. Nothing works - but whatever the 2yr old did has caused the "Filter Keys" pop-up screen to appear each time the system Restarts.

Also, when I go into My Documents (or any other folder for that matter) and click on a file or folder, the PC will highlight ALL the icons above that particular file/folder and open them ALL. I tried to open 1 Word Document and the machine opened 14 different windows. The same thing happens when I finally get onto the internet. I went into the main menu for IW forums, but couldn't choose just one forum to go into, because the mouse would highlight ALL the forums listed above my choice. That's not so bad if I'm coming to G.D., but it sucks BIG-TIME if I want to go into the C.E. forum.

The thing is, I'm SURE that I can undo whatever my son did, it's just a matter of figuring out how. Like I said before, this is actually the second time he has done this and I managed to bungle around and click on the right thing to get the system to restore it's default settings before, but nothing has worked this time around.

I think the System Restore might work, but I can't get it to initiate. [img]graemlins/verysad.gif[/img] So if anybody can tell me how to access the system configurations and change them, I would appreciate it.</font>

Hey, I just remembered that there's 2 keys you can hit simulatiously a bunch of times to get "sticky keys" menu or fix or something like that. I don't remember the keys but somebody must.
I'll do some checking on it.

StickyKeys
A keyboard feature that enables you to press a modifier key (CTRL, ALT, or SHIFT), or the Windows logo key, and have it remain active until a non-modifier key is pressed. This is useful for people who have difficulty pressing two keys simultaneously.

See also: ToggleKeys; FilterKeys; MouseKeys

This was in my windows help.

<font = "skyblue">To turn on FilterKeys
FilterKeys is a keyboard feature that instructs the keyboard to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes. Using FilterKeys, you can also slow the rate at which a key repeats when you hold it down.

Open Accessibility Options.
On the Keyboard tab, under FilterKeys, select the Use FilterKeys check box.
To turn off FilterKeys, clear the Use FilterKeys check box.

Notes

To open Accessibility Options, click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Accessibility Options.
If the Use shortcut check box in the Settings for FilterKeys dialog box is selected, you can turn FilterKeys on or off by holding down the right SHIFT key for 8 to 16 seconds (depending on the other settings you have selected in the Accessibility Options dialog box). To open the Settings for FilterKeys dialog box, open Accessibility Options and then, under FilterKeys, click Settings. </font>

Presumably... you can turn it off the same way...

Hardly the computers shop's fault.

Without knowing the exact make/model of the keyboard advice will be generic at best.

Under All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools you will find System Restore. Open it and choose to restore your computer to a previous state and hit next. Pick a restore point prior to the incident but as close to it as possible and follow the prompts.

I think the key thing for Animal's advice may be to tab to the "Next" button and hit return, rather than clicking on it.

Also, another thought popped up... what about deleting the keyboard from the system manager and letting Windows reinstall it? And when it does, tell it to scrap the current files... keeping them would be counterproductive [img]smile.gif[/img]

On the topic of filter keys and such, I completely deactivate and remove them. That's the *only* way I've found to prevent them from trying to activate all the time... if the window pops up asking you if you want to activate them, you can say "yes" or "cancel"... which is *NOT* the same as "no" :(

Since I occasionally hold down a shift key while I'm in the middle of programming or something, that eight-second-delayed message is more than a little disruptive.... [img]graemlins/madhell.gif[/img]

*edit* forgot to suggest logging in as a different user or in safe mode to see if it behaves differently... worth a shot [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 11-06-2004, 10:55 PM: Message edited by: Bungleau ]

<font color=plum><font color=orange>Animal</font> - you're right that this issue isn't the fault of the PC Shop, but this is just the latest of several issues I've had with this PC....and the vast majority of my problems have occurred AFTER I took the machine to the PC Shop for a memory upgrade. I really do feel they sold me a POS mobo and I also feel they screwed up some of the internal settings on the machine because the tech admitted he kept doing the re-installation of my O.S. wrong. But when I had my first problems with the machine (after they had worked on it for over 2 weeks), the tech tried to say that I had "f***** up" the machine by changing the settings on it. Thing is, I don't know enough about PC's to be changing the settings. The tech then admitted he had followed the wrong steps when trying to install the O.S. (my version of XP is apparantly an "upgrade version" from 98 instead of a fresh install) and then he said "Geez, I hope I didn't screw it up when I did that." So, yeah, I do think the PC shop is more than a little to blame for the other problems I've had with the machine.

BTW, I TRIED to do the System Restore and the machine won't respond. I choose "Restore System", click "NEXT" and nothing happens.

<font color=coral>Bungleau</font> - that's a good idea about tabbing down to the "NEXT" button instead of clicking on it. I'll give that a try. I had also considered just un-installing the keyboard too, but I'm worried the machine won't automatically detect it and re-install the drivers itself. Still, the keyboard files ARE obviously corrupted...so I may just have to take that chance.</font>

hmm... why dont you do a fresh installation. do you have a win2000 or winxp lying around and not an upgrade. do you have impt files lying about?

I would also open up the keyboard, just for fun and see that nothing is damaged under there.

If the machine doesn't re-detect the keyboard, how are you worse off than you are now? Other than you'll know that you have to reinstall everything... [img]smile.gif[/img]

Do try logging in as a different user, if you've got one set up. Also, when you tab to NEXT, you may be able to get by with hitting space bar, return, or "N" to activate it.

FWIW, my first forays into fixing computers involved adding memory. Quite simple, really. Then it was adding a hard drive, and I finally decided to build one. It's really quite easy, as long as you can read the instructions and can check with someone else (like, say, the IW boards? :D ) when you're not completely sure what it means. I've now built my last two from scratch, and rebuilt several others for various reasons. It keeps getting easier...

<font color=plum>Thanks for all the suggestions. Using the TAB key FINALLY did the trick!!! [img]graemlins/yippee.gif[/img]

The only way I would have been worse off if the system didn't re-detect the keyboard was that the machine would have then be completely non-functional until I got it fixed. PLUS, it would have meant taking it back to the PC Shop to see if they could re-set it. I really wanted to fix the problem myself and avoid any more repair bills. But if the TAB key suggestion hadn't worked, then there wouldn't have been anything to lose by at least trying an "un-install" on the keyboard.

But no worries (at least for now). The system is back up and running. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] </font>

Cool! Now... make a backup of the system, in case you need to restore to it again later... [img]smile.gif[/img]

To put your mind at ease a bit, and upgrade version of XP is just fine and is no different than a regular version. You don't need to have 9x installed to use it, you just need to have a 9x CD.

Glad you got things fixed. Sometimes the best way to learn is through trial and error. It sounds to me like the shop to which you have been taking your PC has seen enough of your money! [img]smile.gif[/img]

..now chain the Demon child back up in it's room!