Keys Sticking/not responding

[ConVicT]

The first time i open arma, after i start up my computer. The keys stick, or don't respond.
No response - is when i try to turn 3 times fast it will only do 2, or sometimes 1.
Keys stick - When i enter a game i will say something and a key will stick e.g Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.................................
and i have to press the windows key to minimize the game then click the game and that fixes it. Why does this happen?

I've saw other people saying their keys weren't responding when i killed them (i thought this was an excuse lmao)
but now it's happening to me.
In no rush for an answer because i can fix it the way i just said.

[AI-team]

edit: jump straight to dlh's post. there's a 95% chance of his answer being correct

What's your OS?
Are you also getting lags (packet losses?) or just the feeling of keys not responding?

[dlh]

Did you accidentally enable sticky keys?

[ConVicT]

I use Windows 7 and yes it lags more than usual when this is happening, sometimes i'll skip the whole grid.
Sometimes the keys sticking happens before i even enter a server, it will happen when i'm scrolling through the server list and get to the server i was looking for, let the down arrow key go and it will continue to scroll. Pressing the windows key to minimize and clicking on the game also fixes this for me, but i'd prefer if it just stopped.
The not responding thing, iv'e had for an entire match in CTWF before so that one is a bit of a problem

I know the two are related because as soon as the keys start sticking and i fix it, then the keys not responding also fixes.

[ConVicT]

Did you accidentally enable sticky keys?

Well if i did, then i don't know how in anyway that by pressing the windows key would be disabling sticky keys.
So that can't be it.

[Ratchet]

Try pressing shift five times anyways and disabling them. Then try again. It's quite possible to happen on accident. Wouldn't hurt to try fixing it.

[ConVicT]

Try pressing shift five times

Just tried it and got "do you want to turn on sticky keys?"

So it's definitely not sticky keys.

[Jip]

What version are you using?
Maybe you experience this bug what is fixed in recent versions?

[Word]

could it have to do with the limited chat length, so it depends on the server how many letters you can type?

[delinquent]

I get this fairly often, but also I can hear a beep coming through the speakers. It's almost like the stickykeys and ignore keys functions, expect that they are both disabled. I thought it was down to my keyboard being dodgy, which in al fairness, it is...

[Child_of_blood]

I had a similar problem before, where suddenly about half my keystrokes stopped registering, and it got frustrating very quick. The solution I found was rather simple: Open Task Manager, go to processes, look for "dwm.exe" and kill it. Twice. It restarts after you kill it the first time, but it stays dead the second time.

A side effect of this is that I get more than double the FPS with dwm.exe dead than I do with it on... hmm.

(If you're curious, dwm.exe is Aero: it's the transparency effects you see on your taskbar/window headings/etc)

[Clutch]

I get this fairly often, but also I can hear a beep coming through the speakers. It's almost like the stickykeys and ignore keys functions, expect that they are both disabled. I thought it was down to my keyboard being dodgy, which in al fairness, it is...

That happened on my friends old computer when he tried to triple bind. It would happen like %50 of the time

[Jonathan]

If your computer won't respond to triple binds (and beeps, if it likes to do that), you're holding down a combination of three or more keys that confuses the keyboard matrix. Fortunately there are many solutions:
- Don't triple bind.
- Don't hold down all keys at once.
- Use keys that are unambiguous to the keyboard.
- Get a keyboard with a different matrix so you can use your favorite keys.
- Get a keyboard that has a diode under each key, which should cost the manufacturer next to nothing but is rarely done except in expensive gaming keyboards for some reason.

Here's my laptop's matrix for no reason in particular:

Code: Select all

f1    f2    f3    f4    f5    f6    f7    f8    f9                rshft
1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9
q     w     e     r     t     y     u     i     o
a     s     d     f     g     h     j     k     l
z     x     c     v     b     n     m     ,     .                       lcmd
f12   `     §     ]     [     =     eject right up                      rcmd
bcksp tab               fn    space '     left  down  caps  ropt
f11   esc               -     /     ;           \     p     f10   retrn 0
                                                                              lopt
                                                                                    lctrl
                                                                                          lshft

[delinquent]

Would the average USB keyboard make use of such a matrix? I'm dead skint atm and I saw a model in my local Asda for a fiver...

Edit: How would one locate a keyboard matrix? Is it in the manufacturers specification somewhere on the web? And if so, let's say we use your laptop's keyboard matrix as an example, how would I configure my bindings within this matrix? I only wish to double bind btw

[Jonathan]

I'd be surprised to find a keyboard that doesn't use a matrix. And if it's cheap or exhibiting symptoms it's definitely without diodes.

You could check the inside, perhaps aided by a continuity tester. Or infer the matrix from the combinations that fail, as I've done. A combination fails when a key's row and column are both shared with other held keys. It takes some reasoning to put everything where it belongs.

Finding a good set of keys is much easier, once you have the matrix. Just avoid those combinations. Let's say this is your matrix:

Code: Select all

A B C D
E F G H
I J K L
M N O P

Keys that can be combined safely (no key is on the intersection of both an active row and an active column)
A B C D
A E I M
A F K P
B D G K
A G L N

Keys that don't mix:
A B F (B is on the intersection of A's row and F's column)
A C I (A is on the intersection of C's row and I's column)
B D K P (D is on the intersection of B's row and P's column; K can be decoded unambiguously but will probably be swallowed too)
B D J P (B is additionally on the intersection of D's row and J's column)
B D N P (four-way madness)