keyboard intermittently stops working even after reinstalling windows 7; possibly a Chrome issue?

Question

My keyboard intermittently stops working. Sometimes a couple of keys will work, but usually none. Sometimes if I mash the ctrl+alt+windows keys randomly for a bit, the keyboard will let me type one more letter before stopping again. Sometimes the keys will open a program menu but usually not.

I have even completely wiped my machine and reinstalled windows 7; the problem continues.

Specs: Intel iMac (early 2006, 2.0GHz, 2MB RAM, 240GB HD) running ONLY Windows 7 Professional, 32-bit (NOT through boot camp) and using a USB keyboard (Saitek Eclipse II.)

• Unplugging & reconnecting keyboard does NOT fix it.

• Connecting a different keyboard does NOT fix it. That one won't work, either.

• Drivers are up-to-date. Removing and reinstalling drivers does NOT fix it.

• Restarting the computer does NOT fix it. In fact, when the Windows logon screen appears the keyboard won't work and neither will the icon to pull up the on-screen keyboard. My mouse can click around just fine. I can only log onto a non-password protected account.

• Generally, logging into as different Windows user fixes it. I can then log back on to my main user account and continue work for a few hours until it happens again.

• Clearing my Chrome browsing data stopped the problem from recurring for a week or so.

• I have already REINSTALLED Windows 7 (not just a restore.) The problem returned after 2 days of use.

I use Avira free antivirus software, and repeated scans turn up nothing fishy.

I suspect it is related to something in Google Chrome because I used my google account to reload all my previous Chrome extensions, saved data, etc. (Chrome Extensions Installed: AdBlock, Better Google Tasks, DropBox, FB Photo Zoom, Google Mail Checker, StayFocusd.)

Any ideas? Any at all?

Solution

I also have a similar problem. It first manifests itself when I get to the Gmail login page, where it won't let me type a username or password. I can still type into the address bar or into other Windows applications - so my workaround has been to type into Notepad and copy and paste into Chrome. I tried switching to IE after noticing the problem, but I still couldn't type into the textboxes on the login page. I also tried using a USB keyboard without any change. The problem occurs once every few weeks for me.

I found this page: http://www.kongregate.com/forums/60-anti-idle-the-game/topics/194864 which suggests disabling the Flash plugin. I disabled the Microsoft Office, Quicktime Player and Windows Live Photo Gallery plugins so far, and the problem went away, without even restarting Chrome.

I suspect it IS related to Chrome plugins. I suggest experimenting with disabling some plugins and see if that helps. I'll post here if I discover the one culprit plugin.

Comments

[Christopher Chipps]

This is not a fix, but you can use your On-Screen keyboard until the problem is resolved.

[Renan]

He says that the machine is an iMac, so this answer doesn't matter.