C27 Keys Repeat Frequently C27-962-UA91

donlboy

Keystrokes repeat very often, sometimes even  for two or three letters in the same word! Happens no matter what application software I am using. All keys do it, including space, shift, etc. Several months old now but has happened since it was new - I just wasn't tuned into it to stop setup and return until it was too late. Did the usual BIOS update, re-install driver,  boot to safe mode, etc., nothing helped. Talked to Acer support, sent me new wireless keyboard, no help. Tried USB keyboard. no help. Talked to Acer again, said send in for warranty repair. This would be a huge deal since I need it every day and repair could take weeks. And I have over 30 hours in install and setup to get it how I want it, I want to avoid re-doing if possible. Tried to get Acer to send me a replacement so I could at least continue using this one while I got the replacement setup but would not agree. It clearly seems to be an operating software problem. I am on Windows 10, fully updated. Asked Acer if update to Win 11 would fix, they were unsure but sounded doubtful. CPU and  memory loads are low, and problem seems independent of what else is going on at the time. Sometimes is OK for a few minutes but most times it is almost continuous. It isn't a nuisance, it makes the machine almost useless. 

Has anyone else seen this problem? Appreciate any ideas.

(Thread was edited to add model name to the title)

billsey

Windows 11 update will do nothing except add complexity to the diagnosis... Wait until the issue is understood and fixed before making any big changes. My guess is you have an app or apps running in the background that hogs enough resources to cause the stutter. Try booting into safe mode with networking to see if that gets rid of the issue. If it does we'll dig deeper into finding what might cause it. Without more knowledge of what system you have I can't guess any closer. For instance there have been many, many different C27 models over the years. Yours should be something like C27-xxx-xxxx and the model number should be on the same sticker as your SN and SNID. What OS are you running? How much memory do you have, how much storage? Is the storage a HDD or SSD? What are you running for an antivirus? Is it paid up to date or expired? Which CPU is in it, and if it's a G model which GPU?

donlboy

Thanks billsey. My machine is a C27-962-UA91. OS is Win 10 21H1. Have had same problem through all updates of OS. I have 12 Gb of RAM, 512 Gb SSD. CPU is Intel Core i5. I use only Microsoft Defender. I have tried in safe mode, I get the same problem only less seveere (I'm doing this in safe mode now and it just repeated). Have tried various combinations of programs/apps running to geet varied CPU and memory loads, can't see any for-sure correlation. Ceertainly have the problem sometimes at 4% CPU load and memory aroundd 30%. Seems to be doing it more right now - safe mode, CPU 3%, memory 36%. I don't see any clues in these results except more and more looks like a fundamental problem in the macchine.

billsey

OK, so it's not likely to be software then, not impossible but not likely. Is that a wireless keyboard an mouse on your system? Can you test with wired versions? There might be area noise that interferes with the wireless signal between the system and the peripherals. If you can't reproduce it with wired connections then we can start looking at your EMI environment.

donlboy

As I said in my original post, I did try aa USB keyboard and had the same problem. Do you have any other ideas? Can I possibly have a one of a kind problem?

billsey

Very likely it's either one of a kind of very rare... It's got to be hardware since it happens in the BIOS but if it also happens with a wired connection it's not anything easy. USB support is done by the chipset side of the chipset/CPU combo and repeating keys are usually a symptom of mismatched clocks. The data sent between a keyboard and the port is synchronized such that the USB port won't see a single event as a multiple. 30+ years ago when I was using Amiga computers we had a hack that allowed installation of a PC keyboard, but it required a separate crystal to allow the two different systems to sync, since the Amiga expected a different frequency.

The block diagram for your system is pretty generic, the USB ports all come off the same buss and are used by the external ports, the Bluetooth side of the WLAN/Bluetooth adapter and the camera. Your USB 3.0 ports are on a separate connection. Do you get the same systems on USB 2.0 as on USB 3.0? Do you see any issues with the camera or Bluetooth? The 2.0 ports are black inside and the 3.0 are blue.

donlboy

Sorry for the slow response, things got in the way. I tried my USB keyboard on both the USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. On 2.0 it is about the same as with the wireless keyboard. On 3.0 it is much better, almost free of repeats but not quite. I have been using it that way quite a bit and only get rare repeats. I hope there is a clue in this, meanwhile I am continuing to use the USB kbd on the USB 3.0 port. I use the camera very little but have not seen any problems with it - but it does have quite a background hum/buzz in the audio, as does the voice recorder. I also don't use BT much, but it has seemed to work OK.

William_mk2

donlboy

I understand you say -  I use the camera very little but have not seen any problems with it - but it does have quite a background hum/buzz in the audio, as does the voice recorder

Try windows x 

Go to device manager - Go to sound video and game controllers.  Expand it 

Uninstall the sound driver from device manager.  Please uninstall all the items below the sound video and game controllers. Restart the computer.  It should work fine.. 

If it is still not working 

Uninstall the sound driver from device manager 

Dont restart the computer. 

Go to support.acer.com 

chose your country 

type snid or chose your model 

go to drivers 

Install the sound driver 

It should work fine. 

William_mk2

@donlboy

If you are still facing the keyboard issue.. 

If it is still not working then we have to do a refresh and reset

click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started 

or 

on start - type here to search - type reset this pc - click on reset this pc on the top  - click on get started 

It will show you keep my files and remove everything

chose keep my files 

chose the account - type the password - click on local reinstall - click on reset 

It will be in progress.. 

login to computer and start using the computer. 

If it is still not working 

click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started 

chose remove everything 

click on local reinstall - just remove my files - click on reset

It will be in progress

Note:

If you do refresh ( keep my files ) -  all your personal files like pictures, music , documents , videos  will still be intact.   Only the applications will be lost

If you do reset  ( remove everything )  - you are doing a factory default.   It will become like a day one computer.    It will wipe out everything and take your computer to day one like a new computer. 

You can also do the recovery in an alternative way..

There are two alt keys on the keyboard.  If you look at the bottom row of keyboard you can see the one on the left side of space bar and the other on the right side of space bar.  The alt key on the right side will be looking like alt, alt gr or alt car.  Turn off the computer.  Hold the alt key on the left and tap f10 continuously.   It will go to repair mode.  It will show you chose an option, continue, troubleshoot.   If it is not going to repair mode, turn off the computer.  Turn on the computer.  Hold the right alt key ( alt gr or alt car or alt )  and then tap f10 continuously.  It will go to chose an option continue and troubleshoot..

It will show you chose an option, continue, troubleshoot

Go to troubleshoot  -  click on reset this pc

click on keep my files  ( only applications will be lost )   chose your account and type your password   - click on local reinstall  - click on reset

It will be in progress 

If the keep my files option is not working 

Go to troubleshoot  -  click on reset this pc – click on remove everything – click on local reinstall – just remove my files – click on reset 

It will reinstall windows. 

If the just remove my files is not working.. 

Go to troubleshoot  -  click on reset this pc – click on remove everything – click on local reinstall – Fully clean the drive – click on reset 

It will reinstall windows. 

Note: You can also go to chose an option , continue , troubleshoot by holding the alt key + tapping f10  or alt gr + tapping f10 on the keyboard while turning on the computer.    Once you see the troubleshoot option, you can stop tapping the f10 and stop holding the alt key.    Then you can try the keep my files and remove everything ( just remove by files and fully clean the drive ) by following the steps which was mentioned above. 


Even after the factory reset if you are facing the same issue then it is a hardware issue.