TOPIC: Keyboard and Mouse Problems

Hey Willie,
My keyboard keeps "doubling" letters when I punch them only once. What causes this?

Willie Says:
I'll bet the letters are either "c" or "s". Am I right?
This is usually caused by the thin membrane that lies under your keys. The most commonly used letters will wear through that membrane sooner than the others do. What that indicates is simply that you are going to need a new keyboard pretty soon. I'd suggest getting one now. Be sure to check and see if you have an available USB port to plug it into. Lots of today's keyboards use only USB ports and not the old PS2 connections. If your's is a PS2 connection and you are unable to plug a keyboard into a USB port, you will need to get a PS2 keyboard to replace your current one.

Another cause of this little headache is common crud. Food crumbs and everyday crud like to bury themselves under your keys. You can get a compressed air can that is designed for such purposes and try to blow out the crud. Don't try to wash the keyboard with any liquids, they usually do more damage than good.

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Willie,
My computer doesn't "find" the mouse when it boots up. I have to reboot several times before my mouse will work. Why is this?

Willie Says:
I'm willing to bet that you just bought a wireless mouse. Right?
If you already have a wireless mouse, did you think about replacing the battery in it?

Lots of times, a computer has difficulty "finding" a wireless mouse or a wireless keyboard. The simple way to fix this is go back to a "wired" mouse and see if the machine has no issues with it. The harder way is to have an IT Pro go into CMOS and set your machine to boot up slow at first. Then, after communicating with everything it needs to, pick up the pace.

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Disclaimer:
(lawyers make us do this stuff)
Although we will try to diagnose the problems you may be having with your PC through this column, there is no guarantee that this advice will fix the problems you are experiencing with your machine. Only a true, one-on-one diagnosis is an accurate way to pinpoint the issues a computer may be having. This advice is directed at the most common and easiest "fix" issues that are found in most home or office PC's and can usually be repaired or resolved (with some direction) by the PC user and not a IT professional. 360custom.com, its owners, staff or associates is not responsible for any damage including (but not limited to) loss of data, hardware or software damage) that may result from attemps at following the instructions in this column.