Unable to disable internal keyboard Windows 11

Hi Convexus,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I'm Hahn and I'm here to help you with your concern.

I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble with disabling your internal keyboard on Windows 11. I have searched the web for some possible solutions that might help you.

One method is to uninstall the internal keyboard from Device Manager and then change the device installation settings to prevent Windows from automatically reinstalling it. Here are the steps for this method:

• Open the Start menu and type Device Manager. Select Device Manager from the list of options.
• In Device Manager, expand the Keyboards section and right-click on your internal keyboard. The name of your internal keyboard may vary depending on your device model and manufacturer. You can check the Location section in the Properties window to see if it says Location 1 or Plugged into keyboard port. If it does, then it is likely your internal keyboard.
• Select Uninstall device from the context menu and click Yes to confirm the action. This will disable your internal keyboard temporarily, but it will be reinstalled when you restart your laptop.
• To prevent Windows from reinstalling the internal keyboard, open the Start menu again and type Device installation settings. Select Change device installation settings from the list of options.
• Select No and then Save Changes. This will stop Windows from automatically installing drivers for new devices.

Another method is to disable the PS/2 i8042prt service using the Command Prompt. This service is responsible for managing the communication between the keyboard and the system. Here are the steps for this method:

• Press the Win key and type cmd in the Windows search bar. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. Click Yes when the UAC prompt appears.
• In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

sc config i8042prt start= disabled

• This will disable the PS/2 i8042prt service permanently and prevent the internal keyboard from working. To enable it again, type the following command and press Enter:

sc config i8042prt start= demand

I hope these methods can help you solve your problem. If there is anything not clear, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Your Sincerely

Hahn - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Hi Convexus,

You can try the following methods to disable your laptop's inbuilt keyboard:

1. Right-click on the desktop computer icon, select Manage → click on the left side of the Device Manager → under the keyboard, find the HID Keyboard Device, if there are more than one, please unplug the external keyboard and mouse, etc. in order to prevent the device from interfering with (especially the receiver of the wireless mouse).
2. Right-click and select Update Driver, select "→Browse my computer for drivers(R)".
3. Select "→ Let me select from the list of available drivers on my computer (L)".
4. Select "HID-compliant device" and click Next.
5. When the installation is complete, the built-in keyboard is successfully disabled and the keyboard is displayed in Ergonomic Input Devices.
6. To restore the built-in keyboard, uninstall the device and scan for hardware changes or reboot.

Your Sincerely

Hahn - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Hi Convexus，

That's great to hear that your keyboard got fixed! If you ever encounter any other tech hiccups or need assistance, feel free to drop by.

It is my honor to be able to help you solve the problem. Please vote Yes or No below this post to help others with similar concerns.

Your Sincerely

Hahn - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Hello,

As previously mentioned, I have tried all of this but did so again just to see if maybe it'd work this time - sadly, it did not.

Even after disabling it from Command Prompt it will continue to type, and restarting just seems to reinstall even with it checked 'No' to device installations.

Thanks for the attempt!

I have a Legion 5-15ACH6 Laptop (Lenovo) - Type 82JW (Can be found here.)

Parts are coming in but I've heard no word on any of them so far and have heard demand is high and supply is low, I currently have a very old USB k120 Logitech USB keyboard plugged in setting in front of the half-working internal keyboard on the track pad - uncomfortable and hard to work with, to say the least, but at least I managed to disable the track pad for the time being.