Buttons on Keyboard become hotkeys

The built in keyboard on my laptop hp pavilion ze4317 started acting very very strangely - suddenly I can't type out certain letters - they all turn into shortcuts for actions instead. Eg. pressing 'l' will yield automatically log me out, pressing 'r' turns on the 'run' command window when ordinarily you need to press the windows key + the letters I mentioned.

As a result, I can't type normally - eg, I can't type 'm' or 'e' - nothing appears. For some letters like 'r' and 'l' and 'f' if I click together with the shift button, the letters appear but in caps. Turning on cap locks don't work - still can't type those few letters mentioned.

Incidentally, the windows button on the keyboard when pressed doesn't show the start menu like it should - until you repeatedly press 'r' and then press on windows button.

Here's what I tried so far but still same problem remains:

1. Thought it might have been a keylogger program/virus/worm/trojan, so I tried reformatting that drive on which windows was installed and reinstalling windows xp pro all over again and updated with all the upgrades through the microsoft website.

2. Uninstalled the keyboard driver (which is by the way the standard driver that comes with every windoes xp installation)

3. Tried mapping software to change the keys to no avail.

4. Plugged an external keyboard to test if my built in keyboard was spoilt but same letters still can't be typed as mentioned above.

Anything else I can try?? Really pulling my hair out on this. Laptop works perfectly fine except for those strange keys that have turned into hotkeys.

 

It sounds like your "Windows" key is stuck to be honest:

Windows + R = RUN
Windows + L = Lock Screen

etc

Try carefully popping your windows key off and cleaning the pad underneath.

 

Ok, will try and post results later...tried popping it out before but didn't clean anything underneath it - same problem though. Thanks for the suggestion!

*cross fingies that it works*

 

ok tried cleaning my windows key as suggested but still same problem.

What else can I do get my keyboard in working order again?

 

Re-read your post, you have tried an external keyboard.
Just out of curiosity, when external keyboard attached, does your notebook keyboard continue to allow keyboard input? If yes, (internal not being disabled when external is attached) the fault in notebook keyboard could have influence on the external. My only other suggestion is removing / cleaning all the keys, ONE at a time ... or follow this suggestion Cleaning Laptop Keyboard. If you have a digital camera, would be nice to take a couple of closeup pictures of keyboard. Store them on a different computer or better yet, print them out ... provides a nice road map. Another solution, call your local computer repair and ask them how much they would charge to fix / clean keyboard.

 

Thanks, Dennis! Rechecked by replugging in my keyboard, am still able to type on internal keyboard even when external is plugged in. Which means I can use either internal or external keyboard or even both at the same time if I wished.

How do disable the internal keyboard then?

Strange thing is, when I plug in the external keyboard, pressing the windows key alone works for the external keyboard (ie the start menu pops up) but not for the internal one(ie no start menu appears). All other keys when pressed yield those actions as mentioned earlier when pressed on the internal or external keyboard.