USB Keyboard randomly disconnecting

[DarkSideA8]

This is a weird one.

After about an hour of use, when I use the keyboard (games, typing, anything) I get the USB disconnect / connect sound. Random key press.

In game it acts like the last key pressed is continuously pressed - meaning (usually) a strafe or other action I can't get out of. With typing It just shuts down / freezes until I get the reconnect sound again. (Typing all of this has been fun, btw. Fun as in absurd).

I've googled around and tried a few things - checking power settings, disabling automatic updates, switching USB ports, etc. Even went and suspected my GPU or PSU might be bad (upgraded PSU - which was pre-covid) and that's not fixed it. (Suspected GPU because there was a 144 fault - and if the PSU was failing, I hoped this might resolve it; no joy, and otherwise GPU seems fine)

System is otherwise stable. Does not appear to affect mouse, headphones or other usb devices. I plan to look around for an old keyboard to try that out this weekend.

Anyway, Event Viewer has been spitting 131 errors at me constantly.

• Metadata staging failed, result=0x80070490 for container '{08EF658F-27E1-11EB-B6B8-B42E99395C96}'
• Metadata staging failed, result=0x80070490 for container '{3727425F-C62C-711D-FE55-15917D29F972}'
• Metadata staging failed, result=0x80070490 for container '{20B9CDE5-7039-E011-A935-0002A5D5C51B}'

Etc.

Any other ideas while I wait to find a different keyboard?

 

[Nobu]

Well, the reason it acts like the key is held is because each keypress generates two events: keydown, and keyup. When the device disconnects with a key down, and reconnects after the key is up, it never receives the keyup event so windows assumes it is still being held.

Did you try a new cable? Faulty usb cable would be my first suspect. If it's not removable, you may have to disassemble the board and do some wiring/soldering, or you might just have to bite the bullet and get a new keyboard.

Mini-usb ports on keyboards can sometimes get loose from the PCB due to the leverage put on them, so if it has one you may have to resolder it to the board.

 

[GotNoRice]

It might be a power issue. Not sure what keyboard you have, but some RGB keyboards can use quite a bit of power. If your monitor has the ability to act as a USB hub, then I would try to plug your keyboard into the USB ports on your monitor so that it's getting power from your monitor instead of from the USB port on your computer.

 

[DarkSideA8]

Hey fellers -- thanks for the fast replies. I like the idea of using the monitor as a powered USB hub. I'm not using RGB - but that was a good idea.

I found an old keyboard in the closet - and no issues since. Talking with a few other people, the guess now is that something (somehow) came loose inside the keyboard.

It really did remind me, however, of a past 'dying PSU' issue.

Anyway - thanks again for your thoughts!