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Your Laptop Keyboard is Not Working – What Now?

Your laptop is the workhorse you count on for working efficiently, connecting with the world via the internet, and communicating with friends and family. It may even be a primary source of entertainment with television and video streaming, not to mention gaming power.

However, when the keyboard on your laptop refuses to cooperate or dies unexpectedly, your work or fun comes to a screeching halt.

How do you get your keyboard back in action quickly – with the least expense or frustration?

how to fix a laptop keyboard

Diagnosing and Fixing a Laptop Keyboard that is Not Working

Certainly, laptop keyboards can fail to the extent that they must be repaired or even replaced, but there are many steps you can take to diagnose the problem when your laptop keyboard is not working correctly – or at all.

  • Restart

     Powering off your laptop and restarting it often resets your computer enough to bring your keyboard back to life. This can be done without a working keyboard, using your mouse to shut down the laptop or holding the power key to shut it down. Be sure to shut down the laptop then restart it, as opposed to just doing a restart.

  • Battery

    Insufficient power can also create an unpredictable performance for your laptop, including freezing the keyboard. Power down your computer, then connect AC power and restart the computer. If everything is back to normal, it’s likely you have a faulty battery.

  • Clean

     Try using a can of compressed air for cleaning around your keys – especially if the problem is isolated to only some keys.

  • Keyboard option

    Try connecting a USB keyboard to your laptop’s USB port, to see if it performs normally. If it does, your computer is recognizing key functions, which could eliminate problems with the OS such as Windows or Mac OS.

  • Connection

    Some laptops are made to allow removal of the keyboard. If you find your model is one of those – and if you have the technical ability to be comfortable with performing this activity – try removing the keyboard to see if the connection to the laptop’s circuitry has come loose, and reseat it.

  • Software

    If you’ve recently installed new software – especially applications such as games or graphics software, it may have included new driver software that is not compatible with your laptop or keyboard hardware. Try uninstalling the software to see if normal operation of the keyboard resumes.

  • System driver

    Consult your laptop’s Device Manager functions, and navigate to the Keyboards section. For Windows systems, issues with hardware may indicate an issue with the keyboard device with a yellow exclamation point. You can right-click the keyboard and take an option to Uninstall Driver. When you reboot, the laptop should attempt to load the manufacturer’s standard driver, restoring normal keyboard functions,

If these steps fail to bring your keyboard back to life, it may still be a driver issue.

 

It May Be Your Driver

Be sure you’re running the latest driver that is compatible with your laptop device and version of the operating system (including any special hardware or software environments such as graphics cards or 32-bit vs. 64-bit environments).

Searching your laptop manufacturer’s website should provide support information that may include the capability to download current drivers for your system.

 

Updating Drivers Does Not Need to be Difficult

There are easier, hassle-free ways to ensure you have all the right drivers for your laptop. Utilizing a reliable service for scanning your system’s hardware and locating the appropriate drivers makes keeping your system up-to-date a snap. You can save time and frustration by keeping your laptop’s drivers current for all its devices:

  •         No browsing multiple web sites trying to find drivers manually
  •         No guesswork identifying the right drivers for your equipment
  •         Stay current with drivers as OS upgrades are done or new components are added
  •         No security issues downloading drivers from questionable sources
  •         Expert technical support when you need it

DriverSupport is your trusted resource for keeping your laptop running at peak performance with automatic driver updates. For the best in service and support, Give DriverSupport | ONE a try today! today.