Keyboard problem, can't press 3 keys at once

[terQ]

Hi, this keyboard problem I have is really bugging me. I can't seem to press more than 3 keys or more at once. And the weird thing is, I COULD press 3 keys of some combination, but not others. For example, I could hit up-left-s fine, but not up-left-z. Whenever I press the problematic combinations, my pc speaker beeps. This is very annoying because sometimes in games pressing 3 keys at once is neccessary. Anyone have any ideas? I have a ps/2 fujitsu 8725 keyboard and I run windows 2000.

[Guru]

Does w2k find any problems with your keyboard? Check it by selecting Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Keyboard!

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[terQ]

nope, it's fine in control panel... it's showed as "standard 101/102-key or ms natural ps/2 keyboard" by the way

[Thundrchez]

Some keyboards are cheaper than others. I've had some where I can press several keys simultaneously when gaming, and others that get lost after the first few. I guess that some keyboard manufacturers don't think about gamers, and they design the keyboard primarily for a single key to be pressed at a time.

Perhaps you can borrow a buddy's keyboard and see if it suits your gaming, and then get one just like his.

[Wombat]

This may not be a keyboard issue. I've seen this caused by keyboards AND motherboards. Try the keyboard with another machine, and/or another keyboard with that machine.

[terQ]

ah damn, so it sounds like a hardware limitation? i don't have another machine or another keyboard heh

[Helevitia]

Actually, it is a keyboard issue. Keyboards have buffers which limit(or not) how many keys you can press at one time. It is always wise to invest in a good keyboard.

Dave

[terQ]

but why are some key combinations causes problem while others don't? this keyboard isn't cheap, it's pretty good quality, it's not one of those one's that comes with the computer...

[terQ]

could this be a problem with win2k? i recall (maybe not correctly) that this wasn't a problem when i ran nt4

[Rags]

Haven't seen this prob in win2k yet.

Rags

[Chucky Cheese]

just out of curiosity, does it say what voltage and amperage it is operating at??....on the back of the keyboard. i have a fujitsu fkb4725 in a win2k environment with no problems noted. mine says 5 volts at 100 milli-amps. Two other questions, is it on an "extender"??? and does it do it with 2 key combinations?

cc


[This message has been edited by Chucky Cheese (edited 11 December 2000).]

[terQ]

mine's also 5V 100mA, what's an extender? i don't think any 2-key combination causes any problem

[This message has been edited by terQ (edited 11 December 2000).]

[This message has been edited by terQ (edited 11 December 2000).]

[Wombat]

This really is a HW limitation. If you play around, you'll find that it tends to be you can't have combinations with certain region's of the keyboard (the one that got in my way was Ctrl-Shift-somecertainletters-an_arrow_key, but Ctrl-Shift-somecertainletters-Insert/Home/etc worked fine).

[Chucky Cheese]

terQ...think of it like an extension cord for your keyboard...
cc

[xortam]

Locate a keyboard mapping utility and test it with that. The utility will trap the keyboard make code (key depression) and highlight that key. It would be safer to use a DOS based utility as that would eliminate the event queuing of Windows. If the DOS utility works, then you could test with a W2K version to see if its an OS issue with your keyboard/BIOS. I don't know off hand where to find one other than a web search. Actually, I wrote one of these utilities 17 years ago but I don't have access to it. You might also want to check on your keyboard and MB vendors' website to see if this has been raised as an issue and/or if they have a BIOS update.