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I can't type @ on a standard PS.2 keyboard

Anonymous
2016-04-20T16:12:56+00:00

Good day. Someone gave me a Compaq laptop from South America with Windows and a Standard PS/2 Keyboard. I can see the "@" symbol on the Q key, but  every time I hit the Q key, a q appears. What combination of keys do I press to get the @? Thank you.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-04-30T07:07:54+00:00

    Hello Jennifer,

    We understand your concern in this regard.

    You can customize your keyboard for a specific language or format by changing the keyboard layout. The layout controls which characters appear on the screen when you press the keys on your keyboard. Some input languages have several keyboard layouts; others have only one. For example, you can change your keyboard layout from the English QWERTY format to the English Dvorak format. After you change the layout, the characters on your screen might not correspond to the characters on your keyboard keys.

    Follow below mentioned steps, if you're willing to change the language or format.

    * Press Start, select Settings.

    * Navigate to Time & Language />Region & language

    * Under Language, click Add a language and select the appropriate language

    * Go back to the “Time & Language” screen and click on the language you just installed and select “Set as default”, and reboot your PC.

    * Now check if the display language appears correctly. If not, open Control Panel by pressing Windows logo key + X and select Control Panel. Navigate to Region >Administrative tab and click “Copy settings”.

    * On this screen you can copy your current language (make sure your user language is set to the one you want to use everywhere) to the system account which will cause everything to show up in the language you choose. You also have an option to set it as default for new users. Once finished, restart the computer.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-04-21T03:23:30+00:00

    Hello Jennifer,

    Thank you for contacting Microsoft Community.

    We understand your concern in this regard.

    Are you sure that @ symbol appearing on Q key?

    Usually, @ symbol will appear on the numeric key 2 which is on the top of the alphabetical keys. I mean it will be mapped with the numeric key 2. So, to get @ symbol you need to press the key combination of SHIFT + number key 2.

    Coming to the issue, I really wonder if it is mapped with alphabetical key Q. However, try pressing the concerned key along with the key combination of SHIFT key to see if it makes any difference.

    Let us know if you require further assistance.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-04-23T02:48:50+00:00

    You are using the wrong keyboard layout for whatever country you are in. You should change it, not just look for a way to type @.

    Read here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/change-keyboard-layout

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-04-23T01:37:51+00:00

    Hello Jennifer,

    Nice to hear that.

    Let us know if you require any help in future, we're happy to assist you.

    Thank you.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-04-21T17:32:48+00:00

    Thank  for your reply. After playing around hitting all the keys, I found that by hitting the "up arrow key" and the "Q" key with the @ symbol on it worked.

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