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control key problem on Inspiron 1545

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Latest post 02/06/2010 12:58 AM by jamesinica. 10 replies.
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Joined on 05/29/2009
Posts: 1
Points 65

control key problem on Inspiron 1545

29 May 2009 12:47AM

This isn't a huge problem, but sometimes my week-old Inspiron 15 will act like the control key is pressed when it's not.  So for instance when I'm typing an email in Firefox a new tab will suddenly open up when I press the "t" key (because ctrl+t = new tab).  Or suddenly all my text will be selected when I press the "a" key (because ctrl+a = select all).  It doesn't happen with great frequency and seems to happen more when I have my left hand resting on the palmrest (even though it's not touching any keys).  No new drivers are available for my keyboard, and the Device Manager says the keyboard is working properly.  Any thoughts on what's causing this and how I can fix it?  Thanks.

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10 Replies:

Joined on 07/06/2009
Posts: 2
Points 10

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

06 Jul 2009 02:28PM

I also have a new Inspiron 1545 and am having the exact same problem. It happens in both Word and Internet explorer.  I found another reference to this issue on the fixya.com site but i have not seen any solutions . Anybody have an idea how to fix this problem?

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Joined on 07/06/2009
Posts: 2
Points 10

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

06 Jul 2009 05:02PM

Here are more of the same problem.

Keyboard issue-Dell Inspiron 15 laptop
June 17, 2009
I just purchased a Dell Inspiron 15 from Best Buy 2 weeks ago...Windows Vista is the OS...for some reason when I type on the keyboard every now and again I'll hit some sort of shortcut that will pop up different commands. When I'm on IM, I might type an I and it will highlight the italics command. Am I just hitting the keys too fast? I can't type anything without accidentally opening up new web pages, copying something, deleting something or having to type slow so I don't get prompted to do anything. Please let me know if there is a way to turn off the shortcuts or re-set the keyboard driver. Thanks!
 
Product Reviews Inspiron 15
March 3, 2009
From a feature perspective, the $649 version of this laptop is a great buy at Best Buy. However, I'm a student; when typing papers, the Control key would sometimes turn on. I never touched the control key. When I was 7 pages into my paper and all the text was selected and deleted, I knew this laptop wouldn't work.
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Joined on 07/06/2009
Posts: 2
Points 25

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

06 Jul 2009 05:08PM

Same problem here, except I'm having it on the Studio 17.  Just got it yesterday... It's a little discouraging.  It happens fairly frequently.

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Joined on 07/06/2009
Posts: 2
Points 25

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

07 Jul 2009 09:48PM

For the Studio 1737, there is a driver update that fixed my problem:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&cs=19&dl=true&docid=67BB2841D6DCC6B5E040AE0AB6E11A82&journalid=6DD41AE4D114C678E040AE0AB5E1648D&l=en&s=dhs&servicetag=9q9z6k1

Unfortunately, a cursory search revealed no similar driver for the Inspiron 1545, so I can't help there.

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Cleveland and Columbus, OH
Joined on 06/04/2009
Posts: 46
Points 833

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

07 Jul 2009 10:17PM

This is going to sound weird, but try enabling Num Lock if it's not on. I have no idea why, but it solved a host of keyboard glitches with my Studio 1535.

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Joined on 07/09/2009
Posts: 1
Points 5

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

09 Jul 2009 11:08AM

Have the same problem with control key randomly going off when I donèt press it.  Now all my punctuation characters like è and É (supposed to be single quote and question mark) are appearing as è and É.  Dell rep, please email me with a solution to these problems, this is unacceptable.

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Joined on 07/13/2009
Posts: 1
Points 80

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

13 Jul 2009 01:40PM

Its the touchpad causing the issue. Go into the touchpad properties and turn off the zoom in/out feature.  Basically the left side of the touchpad is configured like the right side, except instead of scrolling up and down, its set to track zooming in and out. Every time you rest your palm  and you get the slightest touch on the touchpad, the keyboard registers CTRL key presses (that is how the zoom feature works).

I had the same exact problem, and this fixed it.

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Joined on 07/17/2009
Posts: 1
Points 10

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

17 Jul 2009 11:45AM

PDXgeek:

Its the touchpad causing the issue. Go into the touchpad properties and turn off the zoom in/out feature.  Basically the left side of the touchpad is configured like the right side, except instead of scrolling up and down, its set to track zooming in and out. Every time you rest your palm  and you get the slightest touch on the touchpad, the keyboard registers CTRL key presses (that is how the zoom feature works).

I had the same exact problem, and this fixed it.

THANK YOU! I wasn't having the same exact problem, but I was having problems selecting multiple files using CTRL + left-click in Windows Explorer. Unchecking "Zoom" fixed it.

 

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Joined on 07/26/2009
Posts: 1
Points 5

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

26 Jul 2009 09:48AM

It's actually a driver problem for the touchpad.  I was having the same issue and even when you disabled zooming, touching the middle left side of the touchpad was the equivalent of holding down ctrl.  It must have been a driver issue, i.e. that feature wasn't properly disabled.  I downloaded the new driver and it works like a charm now.  Here's the URL for the new driver from ALPS.....fyi, after you download, install, and restart, you will need to go in and deactivate the zoom/scroll features again....then the control issue should be fixed:

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&cs=2684&l=en&s=pub&releaseid=R213504&SystemID=inspiron1545&servicetag=HHH68H1&os=WV64&osl=en&deviceid=16519&devlib=0&typecnt=0&vercnt=2&catid=-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=17&fileid=301884

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Joined on 02/06/2010
Posts: 1
Points 5

Re: control key problem on Inspiron 1545

06 Feb 2010 12:58AM

PDXgeek:

Its the touchpad causing the issue. Go into the touchpad properties and turn off the zoom in/out feature.  Basically the left side of the touchpad is configured like the right side, except instead of scrolling up and down, its set to track zooming in and out. Every time you rest your palm  and you get the slightest touch on the touchpad, the keyboard registers CTRL key presses (that is how the zoom feature works).

I had the same exact problem, and this fixed it.

 

PDXgeek, thank you. I was going INSANE.

  • Post Points: 5
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