I have a user that is complaining that when they type, it's lagging. I've already replaced their keyboard with a brand new one. When I did, I noticed they had an extension because the pc is so far away from the machine. This couldn't be causing the lag could it? I really don't want to move the pc closer as she has a heater and we all know heat is no go for a pc.
Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations strongm on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
Keyboard lagging 1
- Thread starter bdeal4122
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #3
I could, but those are even more unreliable do to the battery power. In the past, I never had good luck with wireless keyboards.
To test without the extensions, I moved her pc closer, turned off her heater, and am having her try it without the extensions. We'll see what she reports back.
To test without the extensions, I moved her pc closer, turned off her heater, and am having her try it without the extensions. We'll see what she reports back.
Look to see how busy the PC is. Run Task Manager and/or Resource Manager. I've seen PCs with a swamped CPU get laggy in a lot of different things including responding to key strokes. Also, running low or out of memory can make a machine run like molasses.
Is it all the time, or just at certain times? Maybe some background cleanup, virus check, or defrag is starting and eating up resources.
When they keyboard is laggy, does the mouse pointer also seem sluggish? That usually points to CPU or memory starvation.
What app is she using? Typing into Notepad requires almost no CPU, but typing into something like Word with heavy formatting being applied can eat a lot more of the machine.
What are the specs of the machine? CPU speed, disk speed, and physical memory can all affect how responsive it is. In fact I've seen laptops almost double their performance just by adding more memory.
Is it all the time, or just at certain times? Maybe some background cleanup, virus check, or defrag is starting and eating up resources.
When they keyboard is laggy, does the mouse pointer also seem sluggish? That usually points to CPU or memory starvation.
What app is she using? Typing into Notepad requires almost no CPU, but typing into something like Word with heavy formatting being applied can eat a lot more of the machine.
What are the specs of the machine? CPU speed, disk speed, and physical memory can all affect how responsive it is. In fact I've seen laptops almost double their performance just by adding more memory.
goombawaho
MIS
XWB meant "IS the user using a wireless keyboard?" Meaning - if it was wireless, it could be the source of the lag.
Agree with SamBones. Most likely - CPU use is very high and that is causing the lag. Seen it before check "System Idle Process" with Process Explorer. If that parameter is LOW, then something else is using the CPU. See what task is using the most CPU. Investigate high users.
Agree with SamBones. Most likely - CPU use is very high and that is causing the lag. Seen it before check "System Idle Process" with Process Explorer. If that parameter is LOW, then something else is using the CPU. See what task is using the most CPU. Investigate high users.
Look into the Logitech K750 keyboard. It has NO replaceable batteries, it uses solar cells on the keyboard and need to be exposed to 1 hour of light (sun light or office lights) per week to be fully charged. I have used it for over a year and it works great
Bill
Lead Application Developer
New York State, USA
Bill
Lead Application Developer
New York State, USA
![[bigsmile]](/data/assets/smilies/bigsmile.gif "[bigsmile] [bigsmile]")
-
1
- #9
goombawaho
MIS
Well played. I would prefer "high" users because they just sit around and do NOTHING. Non-high users do all kinds of crazy things to systems.
alexanealessia
Technical User
From my side, I think you should buy a wireless keyboard to solve this problem. There are many best wireless keyboards with long distance range are available in the market.
>I think you should buy a wireless keyboard to solve this problem.
Why? The length of a USB cable should not introduce any lag (obviously if you exceed USB design specs- so 5m for USB 2 - then you might get a problem with the signal getting through, but that's a different issue)
Why? The length of a USB cable should not introduce any lag (obviously if you exceed USB design specs- so 5m for USB 2 - then you might get a problem with the signal getting through, but that's a different issue)
- Thread starter
- #13
Sorry for the lack of response, had to have emergency surgery.
The user is not using a wireless keyboard and I agree that the length of the usb cable shouldn't have anything to do with lag.
I've looked at cpu usage and nothing is spiking.
I'm thinking it might just be all kinds of junk built up in the system over the years. She's been using this machine for about 4 or 5 years now.
I'm thinking my best solution might just be a rebuild.
The user is not using a wireless keyboard and I agree that the length of the usb cable shouldn't have anything to do with lag.
I've looked at cpu usage and nothing is spiking.
I'm thinking it might just be all kinds of junk built up in the system over the years. She's been using this machine for about 4 or 5 years now.
I'm thinking my best solution might just be a rebuild.
goombawaho
MIS
Try a clean boot to see if the keyboard behaves. If it does behave in a clean boot environment then it's the sum total of everything dragging the system down if no main prime suspect hogging the CPU.
JAWChemist
Technical User
The wireless keyboard (Logitech K270) had lagging and dropout. The wireless mouse occasionally had click dropouts. The caused was interference by the external hard drive sitting on my desk in a direct line (about 24 inches) between the usb wireless receiver dongle on the back of the computer. When the hard drive was moved back on top the computer or was on the desk with the data cable unplugged there was no issue.
JAWChemist
Technical User
Thank you for your response.
Resolved.
I am less convinced the issue was the external hard drive and believe it was a weak battery in the mouse. The takeaway is if someone has similar issues, check both the keyboard and mouse batteries. I can only surmise that since both the keyboard and mouse are wireless on the same USB dongle, the weak mouse batteries may have been affecting the keyboard.
Two weeks ago the issue became more severe, less intermittent and involved the mouse. It allowed for a better diagnosis. Before the first post, I did due diligence. Two-volt meters and a battery tester were verified as working properly. The keyboard batteries and 2 sets of alternate batteries were tested. Both voltage and current were tested on all the batteries. They were all tried in the keyboard. Logitech software also indicated the keyboard batteries were OK. The hard drive was disconnected and reconnected and it appeared that when it was connected there was an intermittent issue. The mouse battery was never tested and there is no on board software to indicate its state. About 2 weeks ago, the mouse pointer intermittently froze but then would unfreeze. It seemed to be during editing a massive document online; however, it started to occur consistently even on simpler usage items and even after rebooting. I started at square one and tested the mouse battery. It was very bad. It has been replaced and there has been no issues since.
Resolved.
I am less convinced the issue was the external hard drive and believe it was a weak battery in the mouse. The takeaway is if someone has similar issues, check both the keyboard and mouse batteries. I can only surmise that since both the keyboard and mouse are wireless on the same USB dongle, the weak mouse batteries may have been affecting the keyboard.
Two weeks ago the issue became more severe, less intermittent and involved the mouse. It allowed for a better diagnosis. Before the first post, I did due diligence. Two-volt meters and a battery tester were verified as working properly. The keyboard batteries and 2 sets of alternate batteries were tested. Both voltage and current were tested on all the batteries. They were all tried in the keyboard. Logitech software also indicated the keyboard batteries were OK. The hard drive was disconnected and reconnected and it appeared that when it was connected there was an intermittent issue. The mouse battery was never tested and there is no on board software to indicate its state. About 2 weeks ago, the mouse pointer intermittently froze but then would unfreeze. It seemed to be during editing a massive document online; however, it started to occur consistently even on simpler usage items and even after rebooting. I started at square one and tested the mouse battery. It was very bad. It has been replaced and there has been no issues since.
- Thread starter
- #18
I kind of forgot about this thread I created. I got a little confused too when JAWChemist said this was resolved. I thought this was my thread...
Anyways, either my user got used to the lag, or it went away as she hasn't said anything in a very long time about this.
I want to thank everyone for their input and I apologize that I abandoned this thread.
Anyways, either my user got used to the lag, or it went away as she hasn't said anything in a very long time about this.
I want to thank everyone for their input and I apologize that I abandoned this thread.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
- Question