How to Unlock Keyboards

PC computers have keyboard options that can be turned on without the user's knowledge. Nothing can be more frustrating than beginning a session of work at your computer and finding that your keyboard is either responding very sluggishly or is not responding at all. The term locked keyboard can also be used when a keyboard is responding only sluggishly. Because there are system processes running in the background, keystrokes can take seconds to be recognized. These system processes can be turned on accidentally with errant keystrokes. Learning how to unlock your computer keyboard can save you hours of frustration.

Instructions

1

Recognize that you have a locked keyboard. If your PC computer is not responding to keystrokes or is responding very slowly, you could have a locked keyboard.

2

Use your mouse to move the pointer over the "Start" button. Use the left-click button to bring up the "Start" pop-up menu.

3

Position the pointer over "Settings" and use the left-click button to select. Then select "Control Panel." On some versions of PC operating systems, you can select "Control Panel" directly from the "Start" menu.

4

Select "Accessibility Options" to bring up another menu, then select "Keyboard." You'll see three options that have check boxes. Make sure each check box does not have a check mark in it. The three options are "StickeyKeys," "FilterKeys" and "ToggleKeys." Note that these options can become checked if the keyboard operator has repeatedly depressed the "Shift" key in rapid succession--or if the "Shift" key is held down for longer than eight seconds.

5

If the keyboard is still not responding, the problem could be that the computer has lost communication with the keyboard. Turn off the computer. Disconnect the power supply. Remove and then reconnect the keyboard cable, then reconnect the power supply. Turn the computer on. This will reboot the computer, allowing it to recognize the keyboard.