My Windows 11 PC has developed several strange input problems. It began repeatedly typing the letter C by itself, sometimes forcing me to restart every few minutes. The keyboard shortcuts also seem to change randomly: Windows and Alt occasionally swap functions, Escape may open the Start menu, and pressing the Windows key sometimes opens Copilot. In browsers, ordinary letters can trigger shortcuts—for example, pressing H opens browsing history—and some keys insert spaces or select text instead of typing normally. Scrolling with the mouse also zooms the page in and out. I have tried several different keyboards, reset the PC, and run malware scans, but nothing has solved the issue. Could this require a proper Windows reinstall, or is there another likely cause?
1 Answer
At this point, try a full clean installation of Windows rather than another in-place reset. Back up important files first, then reinstall from official installation media. A reset may leave certain drivers, settings, or corrupted system components in place, while a clean install gives you a more reliable test.
Is a clean reinstall different from using the Reset this PC option? I may have already tried a reset, but I’m not sure whether it was the same thing.