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Keyboard has stopped working


LindaH

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I have an HP Envy 2 touch screen with Windows 8 and the keyboard has stopped working. Yesterday, a small amount water was spilled on the keyboard and, while it was working fine yesterday, this morning it isn't. My mouse works fine, so I can do everything that doesn't require the use of the keyboard. I can, of course, use the virtual keyboard, which is what I'm using now.

 

My main problem right now is that I don't know how to get from the Windows desktop back to the tile page. I normally just press the Windows button on the keyboard but that won't work now. Short of having to Restart the computer each time I want to switch from the desktop to the tile page, is there anyway of doing this that doesn't involve using the keyboard?

 

Thanks.

 

PS. Do you think this can be fixed, or am I going to have to get a new computer? If it can be fixed, I'll have to wait until we get home to take it in because I cannot be without a computer...I have spares at home.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Linda,

Look on the lower left of your desktop screen, that little gray Windows icon in the corner where the start button used to be will take you to the start page or tiles. If you have a tile open just flick in from the left to switch between the active tile/s and the desktop. Oops, just remembered that is in Windows 8.1, and I forget if it is in the original 8. If not click on the keyboard drop down screen on your virtual kb and click on the selections until you see a regular full kb choice. Just open your virtual kb and on the bottom right corner you will see a keyboard and arrow to open a kb menu. Open it and check if you have the full kb in your options. Switch to it and it has the Windows key too. You also have a Windows key on the charms menu. Just swipe in from the right and you will find a Windows icon in the middle of it, just tap it.

 

Let me know if those two worked for you.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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LInda,

Is that the same Envy x2 as I had? I would dry it in the sun upside down for a few days and bring it in at night. If your kb does not work but the USB ports do, you can attach a USB PC wireless mouse kb receiver to it. MY newer Dell Venue 11 Pro and newest ASUS TA 200 both have USB ports on the tablets, full size USB 3 on the dell, and micro USB 2 on the ASUS. I have adapters for micro to full size USB female. But with the x2 it never occurred to me what would happen if the bottom died on it. Since it has a spare battery in it, that likely shorted. At least you have a charger on the tablet part. But if the USB ports work when it is docked you can just use the Mouse kb set receiver. Here I have a micro to full size adapter on a 7" tablet. http://s1359.photobucket.com/user/RV_Roadie/media/USBadapter_zpsfb0c3b63.jpg.html?sort=4&o=16

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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You are right...Windows 8 does not have the Windows icon in the corner where the Start button used to be. However, I found the virtual keyboard you were talking about that DOES have the Windows icon and it works!

 

Strangely, my keyboard has started working again...at least most of the keys. The backspace key, for instance, doesn't work...there may be others that I find as the day wears on. However, now that I know that there is a virtual keyboard with the Windows icon, I'm not going to worry too much about it.

 

Thanks, Derek!

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Derek, yes, it's the same Envy x2 as you have. The USB ports work just fine. I'd do what you say about drying it in the sun...if we had sun where we're at now! It's cloudy and raining, so I don't think that will work! <_< I think I'll just leave the lid open once I turn the computer off so it has more of a chance to dry out. Since *most* of the keyboard has started working again, maybe the entire keyboard may start working as it has a chance to dry out.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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YW Linda!

Great! Hope it all dries out for you.

 

Also don't forget that you have the Bluetooth BT option. I did use mine with a BT kb for fun and it worked great. No mouse needed wit a touch screen. Go here to see how I did various stands, BT and regular wireless kb/mice, and various tablet stands: http://s1359.photobucket.com/user/RV_Roadie/library/Computer%20Toys?sort=3&page=1 Regardless you still have options. Linda you need to upgrade to windows 8.1 as they finally got the drivers needed and it really made my x2 work better. There is a new bios dated 2014 that you need to do to update your Bios: http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-ENVY-x2-11/5296226/model/5347014/drivers

 

BTW, I found the extra kbs when I wanted a tilden to indicate about ~ It is not on the larger kb. If you haven't try the handwriting kb and play with it. I used my finger and once I got the hang of it, it was pretty good too, but not to replace a kb..

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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Derek, I know I don't *need* a mouse with a touch screen, I just like using the mouse rather than having to reach up to the screen all the time. I do a combination of touch screen and mouse depending on what I'm doing.

 

I know at the time I first got this computer, you said not to upgrade to 8.1, so I haven't. Since you say it's now OK to do so, I'll go ahead and do it. Anything I need to be aware of before I do so? I have all my files that I want to save backed up, so that won't be a problem.

 

Do I update to 8.1 first and then do the Bios update, or vice versa?

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Yes,

But do not do it until your bottom half is working perfectly because there could be serious issues without the lower kb dock hooked up as Windows updates all drivers including the USB ones and others you need updated on the lower half. If it has any flakiness after it dries out and seems OK don't do it. If you are in warranty but cdid not buy additional breakage and accident insurance they will not fix it without a $300.00 charge, in which case a new one is in order as the newest and fastest are $399.99 - $450.00.

 

If you have any other Office products installed make sure you have original disks for all of them and back up all your data. But first and foremost do a system image if you have an external drive and know how, are you still under warranty? If so I would have the HP techs talk you through changing the boot security from UEFI to legacy support for Disk booting and then make a Windows 7 Image in 8 after you change the UEFI to legacy and changed the boot order for it to boot from disk first assuming you have an external drive, and before you do the system images of 8.

 

EDIT It will take forever to do all the updates to 8.1. You do need to do the bios firmware update from HP, the one with the latest 2014 date in the link above and make sure the system is all working and plugged in before flashing the BIOS.

 

So just wait until it dries or it does not so you know how you have to do some data saving.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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The computer is no longer under warranty and I didn't buy additional protection (which I don't normally do, anyway).

 

The update sounds a bit complicated, so I'll wait until we get home before I attempt it...assuming the keyboard is fully functioning (so far, the Backspace key is still not working...haven't come across any others that don't work, but I haven't tried every single key on the keyboard). If things don't go well, at least I'll have a backup computer to use. DH has a Samsung tablet I could use for Internet and email, but I have to have access to Quicken, so can't be without a computer for more than a day or two.

 

Guess I'll go back and read the stuff you've been posting about Windows 10. If a new computer is in my future, I may as well wait until it comes out. Will there be touch screens available with Windows 10? I really like the touch screen feature!

 

(What do you think about the Surface with the pro software? As I understand it, I would be able to load Quicken onto it? If I get a new computer, I want something small like my current HP Envy x2 since we don't have much room in our motorhome for a large one...which my spare at home is).

 

Thanks for your help, Derek.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Regarding the part in your first post about how to switch from the desktop to the tile page - if that was answered I didn't see it. Couldn't you swipe the charm bar in from the right side and press the start icon?

 

From what I have seen in the beta releases of Win 10 it will still fully support touch screens. Also it appears that it will do a much better job of supporting the mouse.

 

As a side note, I bought my wife a new laptop last week - actually Best Buy replaced her one year old HP envy m6 for free because they were unable to fix it's propensity for doing thermal shut downs - and it was hard to find one without a touch screen. The displays folded back 180 degrees so they were flat on the back side of the laptops and they could be used as tablets. The air intake and outflow is along the back edge of the unit so the display doesn't block it when folded back. I got her a touch screen Asus that folds back.

 

She spends most of her time on a Kindle Fire HD while sitting in her recliner and is so used to the touch screen that I suspect when she wants to do business stuff I suspect she will be taking the new laptop from the office and using it in her recliner. I think that because I actually saw her trying to use her old laptop screen as a touch screen a couple of weeks ago.

Clay(WA5NMR), Lee(Wife), Katie & Kelli (cats)
Full timed for eleven years in our 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Snowbirds for 1 year. Now settled down in western CO.
Honda Accord toad.

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"Regarding the part in your first post about how to switch from the desktop to the tile page - if that was answered I didn't see it. Couldn't you swipe the charm bar in from the right side and press the start icon?"

 

Yes, Derek answered the first part about how to go from the Windows Desktop to the Tile Page without using the physical keyboard...see his first post, above, and then my answer.

 

Yes, I can do what you say and restart my computer to get to the Tile Page, but that was what I was trying to avoid since I have my computer password protected with a somewhat involved password, making it a PITA to try and use the virtual keyboard.

 

Good to know that Windows 10 will support a touch screen since I really do like that feature. If this computer didn't have that feature, I would have been dead in the water when the keyboard stopped working...I would have had to resort to using my phone to post my question here. While doable, I don't like typing on my phone because I have to type one letter at a time instead of touch type like I can do on a physical keyboard. And, of course, I can't do Quicken on my phone!

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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A can of Dust Off (or other brand) can sometimes do a good job of drying things. Use it until the can cools, warm it up under your hot water faucet and use it some more. It will also sometimes flake off chunks of stuff that the water washed into unwanted spaces. For best results stand the laptop up on edge so you are holding the can vertical and can slip the spray wand between your keys.

 

A USB keyboard can be had for about $10 as an option if you find yourself needing to type a lot. A Bluetooth one will be a bit more but if it will link to your internal Bluetooth it is wire and dongle free as was mentioned above.

 

You may also be able to remove the keyboard from the laptop, google up your laptop manuals and you should be able to get the instructions. Some are just a couple snaps or a screw or two to remove. If it still doesn't behave ebay will probably have a cheap replacement.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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Linda,

It's not that complicated. If you are crossing the country and can detour through Shreveport on I -20 I'd be happy to help and the downloads are much faster on my cable 30mbs broadband.

 

If you are ready for an upgrade the Surface can't be beaten for full features, full PC, tiny but fast package. The 64GB SSD version with i3 dual core was on sale for $699.99. The i5 for $799.99 with 128GB SSD.

 

Then another $100.00 for the keyboard cover.

 

I now have the ASUS TA 200 which has an Atom Z3795 quad core, 4GB of RAM, and a dock with a place for a second HD SSD. I caught the Crucial BX 100 256GB SSD on sale for under $100.00 and now have it in the kb dock. It goes for 10-12 hours of use on a charge. Full size USB 3 & another full size USB 2 on the dock, tablet part has micro HDMI, micro USB, power and headphones. Much faster than the x2 a bit thicker tablet and base too. Great for $449.99 brand new price. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=asus+ta+200&qpvt=asus+ta+200&qpvt=asus+ta+200&FORM=IGRE

 

But since I rarely used the kb on the x2, and rarely with this one too, I may just put the fast 256 in my wife's desktop which currently has a sloooow Kingston SSD in it. The Crucial entry level 100 series has the BX100 which is faster than the mx100. And put the Kingston in an external drive case.

 

I fell into an open box Ta 200 at my friend's computer shop. I traded myx2 for it, and a hundred boot money. Otherwise I was ready for a Surface 3 Pro too.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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How to Dry keyboards

 

Another way.

Simply drying off the device and keyboard is a start, but it’s only the beginning. Even if you thoroughly wipe the keyboard off, stick it in big box of rice, or use a hairdryer on it (be careful not to melt the keys!), the keys may have sticky residue from the spill inside the tiny cracks and crevasses, gumming up the works.

Full Time since Oct. 1999
99 Discovery 34Q DP | ISB
Datastorm | VMSpc | Co-Pilot Live | Pressure Pro
2014 MKS Twin Turbo V6 365 HP Toad
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A can of Dust Off (or other brand) can sometimes do a good job of drying things. Use it until the can cools, warm it up under your hot water faucet and use it some more. It will also sometimes flake off chunks of stuff that the water washed into unwanted spaces. For best results stand the laptop up on edge so you are holding the can vertical and can slip the spray wand between your keys.

 

I'll try using this method and see what happens. I left the lid to the computer open last night...everything is working except for the Backspace key, and it's the only key in that row that isn't working.

 

A USB keyboard can be had for about $10 as an option if you find yourself needing to type a lot. A Bluetooth one will be a bit more but if it will link to your internal Bluetooth it is wire and dongle free as was mentioned above.

 

I'll check into this...probably a Bluetooth one since my computer only has two USB ports and both of them are in use.

 

You may also be able to remove the keyboard from the laptop, google up your laptop manuals and you should be able to get the instructions. Some are just a couple snaps or a screw or two to remove. If it still doesn't behave ebay will probably have a cheap replacement.

 

The Envy x2 has a removable screen, so it can be taken off and used as a tablet. I rarely do that, however, preferring to use the physical keyboard for all my typing.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Derek, thanks for the information on the computers.

 

I looked at the Surface online last night...I'm not sure I want to spend $700+ for another computer, though. The Asus to which you gave the link is more in my price point!

 

I'll live with my computer for now...as I mentioned, the only key not yet working is the Backspace key. If I get a new computer, I'll most likely wait until Windows 10 is out.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Biker, thanks for the link on drying keyboards! I'm pretty sure at this point that the keyboard is dry. There wasn't that much water splashed on it, and I've left the lid open since yesterday morning when I discovered that the keyboard wasn't working at all. But if it ever happens again, I'll know what to do!

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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I think this is the right manual, it looks like the keyboard is part of the cover of the base and isn't removable.

 

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03581901

 

 

Ebay has one listed for $50 if I got the right manual above, didn't price it elsewhere.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/702369-001-PALMREST-TOP-COVER-WITH-KB-ISK-PT-US-HP-ENVY-X2-/271815907030?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f497d96d6

 

Hope it dries out and behaves so you don't have to try the other options.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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"Regarding the part in your first post about how to switch from the desktop to the tile page - if that was answered I didn't see it. Couldn't you swipe the charm bar in from the right side and press the start icon?"

 

Yes, Derek answered the first part about how to go from the Windows Desktop to the Tile Page without using the physical keyboard...see his first post, above, and then my answer.

 

Yes, I can do what you say and restart my computer to get to the Tile Page, but that was what I was trying to avoid since I have my computer password protected with a somewhat involved password, making it a PITA to try and use the virtual keyboard.

 

Good to know that Windows 10 will support a touch screen since I really do like that feature. If this computer didn't have that feature, I would have been dead in the water when the keyboard stopped working...I would have had to resort to using my phone to post my question here. While doable, I don't like typing on my phone because I have to type one letter at a time instead of touch type like I can do on a physical keyboard. And, of course, I can't do Quicken on my phone!

When I press the Start icon on mine the computer doesn't reboot, the tile page comes up. Just tried it again to make sure.

Clay(WA5NMR), Lee(Wife), Katie & Kelli (cats)
Full timed for eleven years in our 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Snowbirds for 1 year. Now settled down in western CO.
Honda Accord toad.

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When I press the Start icon on mine the computer doesn't reboot, the tile page comes up. Just tried it again to make sure.

 

Sorry, Clay, I guess I didn't read your post closely enough the first time. I just did what you suggested and it, too, works! Much easier than switching over to the virtual keyboard that has the Windows icon, although that works, too.

 

Thanks!

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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