Alt Tab and Windows Key not working

[Lordbob75]

Hey guys,

I just ran into a very irritating problem. When I try to alt tab, the bar flashes up for a minute, then is gone. If I press and hold alt tab, it flickers continuously, but I cannot swap windows (easily). When this happens, the windows key also fails to work.

The odd thing is that this doesn't happen immediatly, only after a couple hours. Unplugging the keyboard and plugging back in doesn't help, but restarting fixes it.

I am at a loss, does anyone have any ideas?

~Lordbob

 

[Lordbob75]

Are you using VMs?

Nope.

~Lordbob

 

[Lee]

Sorry can't help you Bob, looked up your keyboard because I had never heard of that specific brand. Have to say that is a nice looking keyboard. Just one question; are the keys stitching or maybe one of those keys is going bad.

An oh by the way question, can't you use the Windows + Tab keys to do the same thing. Good Luck.

 

[Lordbob75]

And your SHIFT key works properly?

Correct. Alt and tab also work normally on their own, but I can't use control in a game.

Sorry can't help you Bob, looked up your keyboard because I had never heard of that specific brand. Have to say that is a nice looking keyboard. Just one question; are the keys stitching or maybe one of those keys is going bad.

An oh by the way question, can't you use the Windows + Tab keys to do the same thing. Good Luck.

Yes, I can, but it's rather annoying. I also use the control key in a game, which no longer works.

~Lordbob

 

[Lordbob75]

Press Control + Windows Key + Alt simultaneously

If that doesn't work, you may need a restore (sfc /scannow at a minimum).

I just rebooted, so it is working for now, but I will try that next time.

~Lordbob

 

[Lordbob75]

Since rebooting corrects the problem, you do not need a restore or sfc scan.

I know. I am just curious as to why this is occurring, what caused it, and how to fix it.

~Lordbob

 

[Anak]

Hi! LB,

• Does it only happen with a particular game or all of them?
• If it is a particular game, is it a new one recently installed?
• If an older game does it have an update?
• If this is a recent development could you use a restore point to go back and see if it corrects itself while your playing the games?
• Are you overclocking? If you are, can you drop back to the original settings to see if it corrects itself?
• When was the last time you checked for any driver updates. Especially any that would control the interaction between the keyboard and CPU, like the Controller chip.

You have recently had experience with thermal paste. Other than that, no odd occurrences while re-installing, like exerting too much pressure on the MB to lock down the CPU, connections okay etc..

I was thinking along with Manay that if it corrects itself after a reboot you wouldn't have to repair any files, but you may have a weakness in the CPU architecture that might need updating.

This is rare, but worst case would be a bad controller chip that may involve the Mother board.

 

[Lordbob75]

Happens with a couple different ones (haven't played many recently).
No overclock either.

~Lordbob

 

[Jonathan_King]

Have you tried a repair install?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

 

[Lordbob75]

Have you tried a repair install?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

Not yet, but it is an option. I would rather exhaust other options first.

~Lordbob

 

[Jonathan_King]

The results I have seen from SFC are far from optimistic, but I suppose for the 10 seconds it will take to get it started, it might be worth a shot.

Take no insult if you already know this, but better too much info than too little...

The command is sfc /scannow from the command prompt.

 

[Lordbob75]

The results I have seen from SFC are far from optimistic, but I suppose for the 10 seconds it will take to get it started, it might be worth a shot.

Take no insult if you already know this, but better too much info than too little...

The command is sfc /scannow from the command prompt.

You're right, there is no reason not to scan real quick (though I would be surprised if something was wrong).

I did know that, but it's always good to ask

Edit: Yup, came back clean

~Lordbob

 

[Lordbob75]

Well, the problem came back today, but I have an idea. It might be my audio card drivers, so I'm going to see if I can cause it sooner.

~Lordbob

 

[TheLogan]

Hi, I had a similar problem and while the last post is fairly old I thought I'd just post my solution in case it also could help you.

With me if i press tab now it tabs out of the text box and onto the first

 

[TheLogan]

Hi, I had a similar problem and while the last post is fairly old I thought I'd just post my solution in case it also could help you.

With me if i press tab now it tabs out of the text box, if i click alt the menu at the top appears, but if i press alt+tab nothing happens, and same if i press the windows-key.

OK this happened after i started kingpin (old game i bought via gog.com)

after i closed the game (and also while the game is running) i could no longer alt tab, turns out its because a program is started called gogwrap.exe it probably blocks windows tabbing and the windows menu because it can make the game unstable and crash. so far i havn't found a solution to make it close the program again (will contact gog in a moment) but closing the program with the process manager (task manager) fixed it for me. Hope this helps =)

 

[MsB]

Taking off scroll lock worked for me.

 

[Richy0326]

Try restarting the Human Interface Device Access service.

 

[willypimpernel]

Apache Service Monitor

Hi, I've had this problem occasionally, and found a solution so I thought I'd post it. I run the Apache Service Monitor for running Apache locally, and if you open the interface and leave the window open, it causes this behaviour (windows key and alt+tab not working). Close the window and it starts working again. Note that you don't need to close the application, just the Apache Service Monitor window.

It seems likely that there are other applications that cause this same problem, so check to see whether you've got any random windows open from badly-written apps that might be causing the problem.

 

[willypimpernel]

I had the same problem with the Apache Monitor, very annoying. Thanks!

 

[Lordbob75]

Ironically, this problem has come back for me. I have absolutely no idea why it is happening, and it happens every single time my computer is on for more than an hour. Driving me up the f***ing wall, let me tell you.