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How do I disable my laptop built-in keyboard?

Anonymous
2021-05-06T21:20:17+00:00

My laptop is 7 years old. Some keys of the built-in keyboard have begun getting stuck (specifically my F1 and windows keys, though I suspect others are also affected), preventing me from typing normally and causing Windows 10 shortcuts to activate. This has become a severe annoyance, and I have since needed to use the third-party software Auto Hotkey to disable these keys. However, even Auto Hotkey is not perfect, and sometimes even though I am running a script to disable these keys, the shortcuts may activate anyways for short periods of time. I need a way to disable the built-in keyboard of my laptop.

PLEASE do not suggest to use Device Manager and uninstall the drivers. I have tried preventing Windows 10 from installing drivers, disabling the keyboard drivers, and restarted my laptop. This DOES NOT WORK.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. LemP 74,940 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-05-06T22:33:23+00:00

    You don't say what you did to try to prevent Win 10 from installing the keyboard driver after you had uninstalled it.  I've seen suggestions to use Group Policy to do that (but of course, that's not available if you have Win 10 Home).

    I've also seen suggestions to install a defective keyboard driver to disable the keyboard.

    Both of those suggestions are described here (https://www.lifewire.com/disable-laptop-keyboard-windows-10-4582462), but I'll take you at your word that you're unable to prevent Win 10 from reinstalling the driver and also assume that you've tried the bad driver method with no success.

    The simplest solution is to forget about disabling the laptop's keyboard.  Just attach an external keyboard -- USB or wireless -- and don't let your fingers anywhere near the built-in keyboard.  I assume you already have an external keyboard (or you wouldn't be asking how to disable the built-in one).  Unless the defects in the built-in keyboard are causing it to press keys on its own, using an external keyboard ought to be sufficient.

    A more extreme solution is to open the laptop and disconnect the keyboard.  Depending on the make and model -- which you didn't specify -- this is a task that varies in difficulty.   If you provide the make and specific model, someone here can probably find some directions for you to do this on your own (or you could take the laptop to your friendly neighborhood independent computer repair shop).  A somewhat more difficult variation, which is also more expensive, would be to replace the built-in keyboard.

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  2. Dumba_M3 7,200 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-05-06T22:12:19+00:00

    Out of ideas. There might be a way how to disable the HID but probably not often used by anybody sop far.

    All I found is:

    How to Temporarily Disable Your Keyboard with a Keyboard Shortcut in Windows (howtogeek.com)

    Don't know if any of that article helps at all.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-05-06T21:53:39+00:00

    I've already done this with the affected keys (though more out of frustration), and this does not seem to have fixed my issue.

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  4. Dumba_M3 7,200 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-05-06T21:51:30+00:00

    As I personally hated the caps lock key when I started to type, as it turned my speech into shouting without me noticing it, I popped the caps lock key out of every keyboard I own ever since. ( I learned that I could disable it or map it differently in the meanwhile, some 15 years ago, but the old habit stays.)

    So, in principle if you are using a different physical keyboard or onscreen keyboard, you could get rid of the sticky keys by taking them out. Brutal and ugly, but would work.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-05-06T21:45:53+00:00

    Have you used canned air to blow the trash out from the keyboard or used liquid contact cleaner to washout the keyboard?

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