More Laptop Issues, Ugh!
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (98902)
United States
April 10, 2025 7:37am CST
Well, that was it. My laptop's keyboard went totally kaput on me. It started with the enter key on the number pad not working, followed by the period, then the 6, then finally on the main keyboard one of the alt keys stopped working, then the right arrow became an issue.
Needless to say, it caused a lot of frustration and issues, which at one point I lost my temper and slammed my fist onto the keypad destroying the Y, U, I, G, H, J K, B, N, and M keys.
The computer was completely unusable.
I plugged in an external keyboard, but for whatever dumb reason it doesn't override the main onboard keyboard when you do that, so I had to go in and uninstall the internal keyboard, then go through a process to enter a written command into the command prompt screen to completely disable it.
It's fixed for now. But what a royal pain in the butt and I have only had this laptop for a little over a year. This is the third Dell Inspiron I have had keyboard issues with, and the next one probably won't be a Dell. Sorry, Mike. Third time's a charm.
13 people like this
12 responses
@DaddyEvil (145718)
• United States
10 Apr
I've always had trouble with a Dell when I was working on them for friends... I always advised them that I'd see their laptop more than they would if they bought Dell...
I've had good luck with Lenovo laptops and HPs...
I hope you get something that works for you when you buy something else.
4 people like this
@porwest (98902)
• United States
10 Apr
I had good luck with Compaq's back in the day, which I am pretty sure now is HP. Maybe I will give those another gander when the time comes. I should be able to prolong the life of this one with this option I used, but it makes the portability a bit more of a problem for me now.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (145718)
• United States
10 Apr
@porwest True, your portability is lacking when you have to carry around a different keyboard.
My last two laptops have been HP... The only reason I got the one I'm using now is because something damaged the screen in the upper left hand corner of my other one and it slowly started dying from that corner spreading on down... This one isn't my favorite, but that's because it's got an older, slower chipset in it. It works okay but Pretty keeps telling me it's the slowest laptop she's had to use. (I keep telling her to use her own and leave mine alone but you know women. They don't listen. 
)
)
@BarBaraPrz (49254)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
10 Apr
Have you tried vacuuming the keyboard to get all the crumbs out? 
2 people like this
@porwest (98902)
• United States
11 Apr
@BarBaraPrz Maybe. Or maybe Dell's are just a POS laptop. lol
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (163057)
• United States
10 Apr
Dells used to be very good. I will take your experience to heart when looking for a new laptop.
2 people like this
@LeaPea2417 (37742)
• Toccoa, Georgia
10 Apr
Sorry about that. That's so frustrating.
2 people like this
@LeaPea2417 (37742)
• Toccoa, Georgia
11 Apr
@porwest I understand that. Also, my phone and I Pad are important to me because of the same reasons.
@moffittjc (123640)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Apr
Don't blame Mike, blame that little 8 year old kid in China who puts your keyboard together.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (123640)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Apr
@porwest But don't worry, soon we'll open factories back here in America, and then your keyboard will be made by some fat, lazy American who calls out sick more than he shows up for work!
@thislittlepennyearns (63848)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
11 Apr
All I have to do with my laptop is connect the keyboard with Bluetooth.
2 people like this
@porwest (98902)
• United States
11 Apr
The question is, does your onboard keyboard work? The reason I ask is because all I had to was plug in the external keyboard, BUT, the onboard keyboard was still "working," meaning the stuck keys were still activating without pressing on them, and so, technically, both keyboards were working simultaneously. Just adding the external keyboard did not disengage the onboard keyboard.
@terri0824 (5128)
• United States
10 Apr
My work computer is a Dell, but I have an external keyboard that I use...so maybe that circumvents the issue that you have had with your onboard keyboard.
2 people like this
@porwest (98902)
• United States
11 Apr
The problem I had is that when I plugged in the external keyboard it did not override the onboard one, and so, the sticky keys were still being "pressed," causing numerous issues. Totally disabling the onboard keyboard was the only solution.
1 person likes this
@May2k8 (18503)
• Indonesia
10 Apr
After 5 years every laptop brand has its own problems, like my brother had a Lenovo brand laptop, but because the processor fan couldn't spin, the laptop couldn't enter the BIOS. It turned out that the inside of the laptop had melted and the casing couldn't be opened. He was have to buy a new laptop with another brand.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (73479)
• United States
10 Apr
I so rarely use my MacBook that I won’t know if/when it croaks. 
Hope you get everything resolved to your satisfaction.
Hope you get everything resolved to your satisfaction.1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (45940)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Apr
You really went at it. 
Why did it stop working? Could there be dust or crumbs under the keys?
I guess you gotta say bye bye to Dell.
Why did it stop working? Could there be dust or crumbs under the keys?
I guess you gotta say bye bye to Dell.
@LindaOHio (186424)
• United States
12 Apr
I don't know how many Dells I've had; but I've had very few problems with them. I've had this one since 2019. I just looked up my desktop...would you believe 2010??? I'm sorry you've had so much trouble with yours.
@holdoors (2532)
• Malaysia
10 Apr
I totally get it—it’s incredibly frustrating when something like that happens, especially when it’s a fairly new laptop. You’ve been through a lot with those Dell Inspirons, so it makes sense you'd be fed up. Hopefully, your current fix holds up, but I’d say it’s worth looking into a different brand next time around if this keeps happening.
2 people like this
