Tecra M10 - Stuck CTRL key issue -- perhaps to do with BIOS?

Hello and thanks for reading.
I recently switched my Tecra M10 to Windows 7 (from XP) and it soon developed the dreaded "stuck CTRL key" issue. This causes the keyboard to behave as if the CTRL key is permanently depressed. Sometimes hitting a combination of keys, or bringing up the onscreen keyboard, temporarily solves the issue, but then it returns.
It seems to be an issue many people have, with no simple solution. I've looked at every thread about it I can find, and tried many things to do with drivers etc. without any success.
So firstly, if anyone knows a remedy that works for this particular machine, I would be very grateful to learn it!
Then, there are two things I've not yet done: update BIOS and disable pinch zoom.
I was looking at the following BIOS update:
http://www.toshiba-asia.com/sg/support/drivers/details/25244
... which is version 3.00 and seems to be most recent. My own version is 1.90.
However version 3.00 is labelled "For PTMB0* ONLY". I don't know what this means or whether it applies to me. Can anyone help? Should I install this BIOS?
For the pinch zoom, I've been told that disabling it does sometimes cure the CTRL problem -- but I can't find any pinch zoom facility on the M10. I suspect it simply doesn't have one. Is that right?
Many thanks for any help you can give.

Hi
> I was looking at the following BIOS update. which is version 3.00 and seems to be most recent. My own version is 1.90.
There are different Tecra M10 models on the market.
Check the labels at the bottom of the unit. There you should find some numbers like for example PTMB0E-01K00LGR
The first 6 characters are important: for example PTMB0E
I assume your notebook belongs to European series.
In such case you should check the Toshiba EU driver page for possible BIOS update.
http://www.toshiba.eu/innovation/download_drivers_bios.jsp
However, on Toshiba EU driver page you will find also the BIOS v3.0 for all European Tecra M10 units.
Anyway, back to the CTRL button issue: guess what, you should connect an external USB keyboard and should check how the CTRL button acts.
In case the USB keyboard would work properly, the CTRL button of internal keyboard is affected and you will need to replace the internal keyboard.
PS: it could be possible that the option "sticky keys" has been enabled. To disable this function, you have to press SHIFT button 5 times in the row.

Similar Messages

Stuck ctrl key

Hello
I have recently bought a Pavilion dv6-1329tx entertainment notebook, and recently I have been having problems with the keyboard. The computer is acting as though the ctrl key is continuously being held, so whenever i press a key it activates a shortcut asssociated with that key. For example pressing 'W' closes the window I'm viewing instead of typing 'W'. I have turned off sticky keys and tried pressing both ctrl buttons simultaniously. When I start the keyboard acts normally, but after a few minutes of use this problem occurs. Physically the ctrl key is fine, both of them are not stuck down so i think i may have accidently activated a shortcut that started this issue. If anyone has a solution it would be appreciated.

Hi,
pureocean wrote:
Yes, in my case, I spilled cofffe on the keyboard. After drying, ctrl key became stuck. I took out the key (plastic part), and saw the rubber cone. But I cannot figure out how it works (I heard some one said about capacitor) and the bottom area seems to be clean.
How do I fix it in this case?
threre is no capacitor. It is a switch enclosed in a membrane. Go to http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2007/03/20/key-fell-off-keyboard/. They have generic instruction on replacing keys.
Best regards,
erico
****Please click on Accept As Solution if a suggestion solves your problem. It helps others facing the same problem to find a solution easily****
2015 Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience Consumer

Tecra A11 - keyboard space key issue

Just wonder, if someone with an A11 has similar issues or if my keyboard needs to be replaced.
When I am typing, very often the space key is not accepted. Very annoying when you type without looking at the text all the time.

Hello
Im not Tecra A11 owner but on my other Toshiba notebooks I never had a problem with the keyboard. Every key will recognized properly if I press it.
I assume your Tecra A11 is pretty new and so its still under warranty. Therefore contact nearest authorized service provider. The guys can replace the keyboard because there are no single keys available.
But dont be worry about this, this is covered by warranty. :)

Request: GX640 Fn and Ctrl Key Swap

Hi,
I'd like to request a Fn/Ctrl key swap for the GX640.
Bios Information:
BIOS Version: E1656IMS.106
BIOS Build: 02/12/2010 11:06:43
EC Version:1656EMS1 Ver4.06
EC Build: 12/15/2009
Thanks

Quote from: Pherein on 24-March-11, 12:56:03
Hmm trying to flash the bios now but it's being stuck on the screen in the images linked to this post for about 15 minutes :S Have I bricked it? What should I do?
http://img858.imageshack.us/i/dscf4542.jpg/
http://img29.imageshack.us/i/dscf4543k.jpg/
Quote from: Pherein on 24-March-11, 19:46:50
I performed a hard-reset and the computer still worked fine, it seems the flashing process never started. I noticed I had the USB stick plugged into the USB/eSata combo port...wonder if that made a difference. I'll try flashing again using a regular usb port.
Edit: This flash worked perfectly ) Don't know what happened the first time...
Thanks,
Pherein
well done
the lockup behaviour exactly as described can hapends in very rare cases in ratio 1/100,
its hapends to me think around 4-6 times [from 500 ec updates one after another in a loop],
and in some very rare cases the EnE flasher hangs at startup and FAN spinup @100% and do nothing,
i suspect ec unable to enter in reset mode or its some kind of the EnE flasher bugs,[too small delay to wait the EC for reply]
but its not dangerous, etc: do not contain deadly properties.

Request: Swap Fn & Ctrl key for GT640 (MS-1656)

Hi there,
I've purchased a lovely MSI GT640 notebook but i would like to swap the Fn and Ctrl key. Is there a custom BIOS for this?
Below is the data reported by the MSIHQ Tool:
MSIHQ: Information detected by MSIHQ Tool ver: 1.18x
MSIHQ: Report generated in 20/01/2010 at 0:24:19.20
Mainboard: MS-1656
PCB Version: REV:1.0
BIOS Version: E1656IMS.100
BIOS Date: 20/10/2009
EC-FW Version: 1656EMS1 Ver4.02, 09/29/2009
*********************************

Quote from: wampatan on 20-February-10, 16:37:12
Hi Svet,
I've flashed my laptop with your files, powered down my laptop, loaded the BIOS defaults and the swap works. Thanks!
However, my laptop is experiencing a side effect.
When I plug in a USB external harddisk, I hear a sound prompt and the "Safely Remove Hardware" indicates an exteral drive but thats it. The Autorun dialog doesn't show up and the disk is not visible under "My Computer". I've tried different external harddisks and a different USB port on the laptop but it still doesnt work. A smaller USB thumbdrive works however (as does my USB mouse). Is there an issue with the electrical output of the USB ports i.e. its being reduced to a point where larger devices cannot be recognized?
Any advice?
Quote
However, my laptop is experiencing a side effect.
When I plug in a USB external harddisk, I hear a sound prompt and the "Safely Remove Hardware" indicates an exteral drive but thats it. The Autorun dialog doesn't show up and the disk is not visible under "My Computer". I've tried different external harddisks and a different USB port on the laptop but it still doesnt work. A smaller USB thumbdrive works however (as does my USB mouse). Is there an issue with the electrical output of the USB ports i.e. its being reduced to a point where larger devices cannot be recognized?
Any advice?
Quote
Is there an issue with the electrical output of the USB ports i.e. its being reduced to a point where larger devices cannot be recognized?
Could be
Quote
When I plug in a USB external harddisk, I hear a sound prompt and the "Safely Remove Hardware" indicates an exteral drive but thats it. The Autorun dialog doesn't show up and the disk is not visible under "My Computer". I've tried different external harddisks and a different USB port on the laptop but it still doesnt work. A smaller USB thumbdrive works however (as does my USB mouse).
Can the BIOS detect the drive? Could be OS related.
Do you have some sort of USB adaptor used?
Check it in "disk management" from control panel, see if its listed there.
Also does they are recognized when you put them in another machine?
Quote
Hi Svet,
I've flashed my laptop with your files, powered down my laptop, loaded the BIOS defaults and the swap works. Thanks!

T400 stuck key issue

I bought my T400 2764-CTO in last December, and started using it on mini dock without any problem. Until recently, it starts to show stuck key issue randomly (not always failure) both at boot up or under Windows Vista.
ERROR
0210 Stuck Key FF
Press <F1> to SetUp
Note: the stuck key keeps changing, sometimes 13, sometimes 1F, sometimes other key.
I opened the laptop, and checked the connection of the keyboard but couldn't locate any problem there. Can this be a keyboard issue? Or even a motherboard issue?
Can Lenovo swap a new keyboard for me? If so, what do I need to do then?
Thanks!
Best Regards

You can call Lenovo service, and log a service call, they will make the necessary arrangements. If you are not confident with bios update then please don't do it youself, and let the warranty department do it for you, as any mistakes can make your laptop useless and you will be paying couple hundreds of euros to get the motherboard replaced.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

Windows thinking Ctrl key is stuck on Satellite P750

Yes, I've done some thorough googling and searching of this forum before posting. No prior topic quite resembles my problem; and the solutions don't help. Sticky keys box in the Control Panel is unchecked, not using any aides--the computer is brand new with barely anything installed and zero customization.
Using my Satellite P750 (purchased just in October 2011), every once in a while after simply using Firefox or Chrome (either one)--using nothing but the mouse pad and the left mouse button--the size of the font of the text in the browser randomly increases, and after that the computer starts thinking the Ctrl key is being held down. (Ctrl +Alt + Del does nothing, only rebooting the machine). I realize that I'm inadvertently toggling some function, but what? Looking around Control Panel, nothing seems to be close to "if user moves curser, increase font size and make the Ctrl key stuck".
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Thanks, had the same problem with brand new Toshiba Laptop.
Ours also had external mouse attached. With OS thinking CTRL key stuck, Excel went ape and began doing all manner of evil upon a very complex spreadsheet we were working on.
One note: On ours after getting to Mouse Properties, there was not an 'advance' option. Instead we had to select:
Device Settings>Settings>Pinch Zoom screenshots below

Something may be stuck under "ctrl" key

The right side of my ctrl key doesn't move when I press the key. If I press the left side, then that half goes down, but I get no response from the computer. I can only assume that there is something stuck under the key.
While this isn't exactly imperative - I use that key only as part of a hotkey combination to access other programs - I would prefer to have a fully functioning keyboard.
Can Macbook keys "lock up"; that is, have they been known to have a malfunction in the hinges beneath them?
Is there some way I can remove the key?
What are some suggestions for looking under or safely removing something stuck under there?
Thanks in advance.

It pains me even mentioning this, but take a look at this set of visuals on removing a key:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88106
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69631394@N00
Before that, however, I'd use a blower as a less invasive way of dealing with the troublesome key. Easily available, online and on the street. Hold down the keys surrounding the Control key, and shoot quick bursts on all sides. Do it upside-down, too, while a friend holds the keyboard steady.

Ctrl key seems to be stuck

Hey
I am quite desperate and hope someone can help me here.
My Macbook acts as if the ctrl key is constantly pressed.
This happened a day after I spilled a tiny bit of tea on the keyboard (first everything seemed to be fine).
Now the keyboard is strange: Letters dont work but some of the other keys do.
External Keyboard works perfectly fine.
When using the Keyboard viewer I can see that when I press of the Letter Keys the key turns grey. So basically they should work.
By pressing the shift key on the internal keyboard or the enter key on the external following happens:
sorry I cant use screenshots because we wont be able to see it right then.
I already took the ctrl key out and checked it. Everything looks clean and right. It really just was a tiny bit of non sweeted tea.
I have googled this and spend already hours and reading and trying to find a solution to this problem but failed so far.
Really hope someone can help me.
It is a late 2009 macbook with OSX 10.7.2
Thank you in advance

Hello,
my father has the same problem. Same machine. He pretends that nothing was spilled over. He has a tiny place where uses his laptop that has not even space to place a cup of beverage beside the computer.
A little more details: I tried to log out and log in as the admin user but cant give the password. Some keys provoke a chime while typing, others dont.
While rebooting, Command-Alternate-P-R doesnt seem to work. Pressing Alternate to get into the boot volume chooser does not work. Pressing Command-S to boot into single user mode works, however I cant type any command while in the shell, now fsck, no reboot, nothing. Pressing "R" makes the prompt change to something like "search backwards `´" for a very short moment. I cant reproduce this behaviour in Terminal on my own machine pressing Control-R, so I am not sure what it is.
The way I came to the conclusion that the machine behaves like the Control key being pressed all time was within Apple Mail typing Command-N to open a new Mail opened a new notice instead. I was not able to close the Window Typing Command-W. I opened the trash can using the mouse and tried to resize the window because there was so much in the trash can but I got a context menu instead when grabbing the title bar. Scrolling with two fingers zoomed the whole Screen instead.
My father allow my small nephew to install games while in vacation. He even gave him the admin password although I told him not to do so. So my first idea was that he had changed something with the input methods. But then, the strange behaviour would be gone during the boot sequence at least I guess. And I should be able to log in as another user (I always create a separate user for everyday use that has no admin rights).
I have no firewire cable at hand to reinstall in target mode and -gosh- the MacBook 2009 does not even support this essential function because it has not firewire port, it is a crippled machine. I dont have any idea who to analyze the problem further.
Please throw some wisdom from heaven.
Bye, Christian

Tecra M10 fan is always on

Hi,
I have had a Toshiba Tecra M10 for a few days now, and compared to my previous laptop, I notice a very different behaviour of the fan. The fan of my old Satellite Pro L10 used to be turned off unless the system really got hot. This was around the 55 to 60C. But now, with my Tecra, the fan starts running upon system start and never shuts off. This happens even on a cold start. It looks like the BIOS triggers the fan, as it did also happen during the installation of Windows Vista and Windows XP. This is definitely not OS-related. Even when I clock the CPU back to 798 MHz and set the cooling method to optimize battery life, the fan runs and runs.
After looking at the temperatures, it turned out that my CPU(-cores) were working at 30C, and my hard drive was running at 35C. The hottest thing was the NVIDIA Quadro NVS 150M, at 40C. So you'd say that the fan runs to cool this GPU. However, as I wrote above, the fans do always run, even if the entire computer is below the 20C.
So I've got two questions, and I hope that anybody can answer them for me.
First of all I'd like to know if there are other users of the Tecra A10/M10 that experience the same "problem" as I do. Can this be seen as a defect, or is it perfectly normal?
And secondly, if this is perfectly normal, is there a way to turn the "fan always on"-thing off in the BIOS? As I am visually impaired I cannot check this for myself, so I'd like to know if this is at all possible before I ask a friend or relative to help me.
I don't ask all this because the fan noise annoys me, but merely because I'd like to squeesh the most out of my battery.
Many thanks in advance!

Hi,
Thanks for your reply! I'll answer your questions below, hopefully this will save me from sending the notebook back to the reseller...
The BIOS-version that was preinstalled on the machine was v2.00, and this seems to be the latest and greatest. (I looked it up on the Dutch Toshiba website.) So I don't think I can solve the issue that way.
And about the fan speed, it is constant until the internal temperature rises. A basic scenario would look something like this:
- You turn the PC on, and the fan starts to run while the Toshiba-logo is displayed. That's not too weird, some of my previous computers did that as well.
- The Windows XP bootscreen pops up and the fan maintains its speed. This is not the maximum speed, perhaps 1/4th or 1/3rd of it. But as the computer is sitting in a room with a temperature below the 15 °C this really shouldn't be necessary.
- Windows is ready to go and just displaying the desktop. After 1 minute the LCD-screen and the hard drive power down to maximize battery life, but the fan keeps on running.
- After a while I start using my PC to convert some MP3s or to create some highly compressed RAR-archives. During this process, the fan starts running faster. The longer you use the computer intensively, the faster the fan will spin. So it definitely is responding to heat sensors.
- After the heavy work is done, te fan quickly slows don, but never stops completely. It will only slow down till that "stationary" speed.
- When I shut down the computer, the fan stops running about half a second before the screen goes black. So basically, the fan runs when the computer runs, kind of like a desktop PC would do.
As my computer is not even a week old, this can't be dust and debris that's causing the problem. And the temperatures are not that high either. Is there any Tecra-user (A-series or M-series) who can confirm this odd behaviour?
Thanks for the help!

Chromebook 14-q029wm ctrl-key

My left ctrl-key appears dead. I've only been using the laptop in earnest for maybe a month and the keyboard is spotless as-new so there's no need to blame dirt/crumbs. When I view "keyboard shortcuts" and hit the left ctrl-key nothing happens on the screen but the right ctrl-key works as expected. I have also gone into "languages & input" and tried US Keyboard, US International, US Extended and didn't help. Lastly, I have Powerwashed the unit (on stable OS) and that didn't fix either. Any suggestions would be appreciated and thanks!

Hi @gigzter9 ,
Welcome to the HP Forums!
It is a terrific place to find answers.
For you to have the best experience in the HP forum I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide Learn How to Post and More
I understand that the left ctrl-key is dead but the right one functions. You have tried different keyboards, under language and input to no avail.
When I checked the specifications for your notebook, I see it came with Chrome OS. Here is a link to Adjusting Touchpad and Keyboard Settings on Your HP Chromebook (Chrome OS).
If this has not resolved the issue, I suggest contacting HP support for assistance. As one key works and the other one doesn't , it may very well be a hardware issue.
Please call our technical support at 800-474-6836. If you live outside of the US/Canada Region, please click the link below to get the support number for your region. Phone Assist Worldwide
Sparkles1
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
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How to setting Ctrl Key: PM02 not become auto generate PR ?

Hi Gurus,
While using Ctrl Key: PM02 (For External) for creating Maintenance Order, Purchase Requisition (PR) will generated automatically.
Can we make it not automatically, so then person responsible to create PR will create PR base on Maintenance Order. This requirement base on our client environment while person who create Maintenance Order is from different department and Maintenance Order person must not create PR.
I am waiting for your knowledge sharing in this issue.
Regards,

Hi,
Generation of PR can not be controlled through control key , however generation of PR can be controlled for a order type through
Maintenance and service order->Functions and settings for order type->define change docs.collective PR indicator
Hope that it helps.
With regards,
Mrinal

Re: Tecra M11 - Outlook anywhere connection issue

Hello,
Has anyone tried to connect to an Exchange server with Outlook Anywhere on the factory installation of Windows 7 and Office 2010? The authentication window keeps popping up asking for a user name and password. (DOMAIN\Username)
I've been trying to get this working (with Microsoft tech support also), but haven't been able to. I've installed an Enterprise copy of Win 7 with Office 2010 & 2007 and got the same result. I tried this with a Tecra M10 with both a factory restore of Win7 and an Enterprise copy of Win7 from my company and it worked flawlessly.
This leads me to believe that this particular model of laptop could be the culprit. I have 2 M11's, and this happens on both. These are not connected to any domain. I don't believe this is an Exchange issue because Outlook Anywhere works with other models of Toshiba Tecras running Win7 and also several standalone Win7 PCs running both Office 2010 and 2007.
Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

I've just restored the M11 to Windows XP with the disks provided and Outlook Anywhere connected without issue. As strange as it sounds, this looks to be isolated to this particular model of laptop and Windows 7.
I've used the same Enterprise copy of Windows 7 and Office on a variety of laptops and pc's and none have come across this problem. The only commonality I can see is the hardware and OS.
Aftery trying to troubleshoot this unsuccessfully with Microsoft tech support for a few hours, they eluded to the fact that this +could+ be a hardware related problem. (driver, adapter properties, etc)

Is there a way to change the Alt key to the Ctrl Key?

Is there a to access the Alt key screen functions (the quick Eyedrop, (holding Alt and click the color) and the Zoom in and Zoom out (holding alt alt and scrolling with the mouse wheel) with other key instead of alt, for instance the Ctrl key?
It is really annoying to me to deal with it, because in my shortcut configuration I use the keys "Q" and "W" to increace and decrease the size of the brush and the keys "A" and "S" to increase and decrease the hardness of the brush. What happens is that when I hold Alt to pick a color or to zoom, it calls the menu bar's shortcuts (it underlines the menu shortcuts) , so If I do so and press "S" it calls the Select menu, which is not what I'm trying to do.
In Gimp, the pick a color and zoom in and zoom out actions are configured to work with the Ctrl key instead of Alt, so the shortcut menus are not an issue. Is there anyway to switch it to Ctrl? Is there anyway to make the Alt stop calling the menu bar?
Thanks

Hello, Other than a keyboard remapping software, you might be out of luck.

Ctrl key not working properly

Hi,
I have an HP Pavilion 17-e031sa Notebook PC purchased only 2-weeks ago and running Windows 8. The ctrl key is not working as it should. I would typically use it together with the left mouse key to highlight non-consecutive items for copying, but it will not work for this function. It doesn't seem to be the key itself as it does work in the alt/ctrl/del combination. I have tried uninstalling the keyboard driver and rebooting, but without success. Any help would be appreciated.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi riggy69,
Sorry for the confusion, I knew those hotkeys wouldn't do the function you were looking for. I wanted to know if those shortcuts worked using the Ctrl key. This way we can see if it that particular function is working or all the ctrl key shortcuts are working. Did any hotkeys do what they were supposed to do? For example, does Ctrl+X cut the selected text or does Ctrl-Esc open the start menu?
Trying to see if there is something wrong with the key itself or is someone is wrong with that particular function you are trying.
Thank you,
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!
Thank you,
BHK6
I work on behalf of HP

Tecra M10 - Stuck CTRL key issue -- perhaps to do with BIOS?

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