strange anomaly with keyboard settings

Hello. I am having trouble typing certain characters using my keyboard. My default keyboard language is English (UK) but I also frequently need to write in Spanish, and so I tend to switch to input from a Spanish keyboard layout.

Recently, and I cannot figure out the cause of this problem, I have had trouble typing accented characters in Spanish. Usually, these accents are achieved by typing the key showing the "@" sign on a UK keyboard layout, followed by a vowel. In the past weeks however, my computer shows "´´" when I hit this key, and an accented vowel is impossible. I know the character map can be used to input accented characters, but this is really not convenient given the frequency with which I need to type them (perhaps every five words or so).

Until recently I could input accented characters using this method with no problem, so something has changed. I have noticed (from google searches) that others have had this same precise problem, only I have not yet found the solution! Do I need to restore some windows files to do this (since surely something must have become corrupted?)?

Help much appreciated! Best, Duncan

ps. I'm using Windows XP home edition

 

Try pressing Ctrl + the "@" and then the vowel.....

mickzer.

 

Thanks both for your suggestions. I just tried your suggestion Mickzer, but no joy unfortunately. I'll try a restore point as suggested by Arie (although I had a problem with this earlier and my computer didn't want to return to an earlier restore point, though I understand from another thread that the answer may be to do the restore using safe mode). Again, thanks, and hopefully a solution will be coming, because using character map to paste in accented vowels is such a long-winded and frustrating way around the problem! Cheers

 

Maybe I wasn't as clear as I could be . Press Ctrl + the "@" button at the same time and then let them both go. Then press the vowel.

HTH.
mickzer

 

yeah I got you the first time actually - that was what i was trying but it gives me an unaccented vowel, curiously.

 

Some info here:
http://users.ipfw.edu/JEHLE/courses/ascaccnt.htm

mickzer.