Keyboard issues with Windows 7 64-bit

I've been having some major issues with the keyboard shortcuts. I'm running Windows 7 64-bit SP1, and I've tried multiple reboots to fix the issue, to no avail.

Most of the time, the keyboard shortcuts won't work. The problem persists even if I remap to some other key. For instance, belt slot 1-5 won't work so I keep getting killed because I can't mouse-click the belt fast enough to recharge. I tried re-mapping belt slot 1 to the spacebar key, but it still doesn't work. I can mouse-click on the slot and it works just fine, so I think it has something to do with the keyboard settings. I have a standard 104 keyboard and my language settings are set to English-US. It's a PS2 keyboard connection. I tried swapping the keyboard out with a different USB keyboard, but it has the same problem.

The machine itself is a vanilla PC (built from scratch Core i7 w/ 16GB RAM and the standard copy of OEM Windows 7 Pro 64-bit).

Occasionally, it just starts working for some reason (for a short time), but I can't figure out why. Has anyone else had this problem persist, even after reboots?

my co-worker had problems with his wireless keyboard (it was actually his driver) he updated it and it was fine... dont know if this helps but worth a try.


(ie...if there are drivers for your keyboard...try to see if there are updates for it)

I did update the keyboard drivers earlier to try to fix the problem, but the issue persisted.

I noticed a couple of other strange things as well. When the keyboard shortcuts for the belt don't work, I can go into the PoE settings and re-map the shortcuts. When re-mapping, in the settings dialog for re-mapping, the keyboard keys work fine. But they don't work in-game. Also, when the problem is occurring, if I alt-tab to the desktop and load up Notepad, the keyboard doesn't work there either. In addition, the mouse acts goofy as well.

This only happens when I'm playing PoE. It goes away for a while if I reboot, but eventually the issue returns. Very strange. Maybe it's a DirectX issue?

I'd appreciate any suggestions you guys may have to try to narrow down the problem and pinpoint the issue when it occurs next time. There are probably some things I'm not thinking of...

Do you have any other programs running at the same time in the background? Not sure what you'd look for but sounds a bit like "something/some program is stealing the input" from your keyboard.

It's weird that you can use the keys in keymapping but not in notepad though.

Edit: Another thought, input languages. Do you have several of those installed and if so could it be that the wrong one is activated when playing? It wouldn't explain the mouse behaviour though. In which way is it acting goofy btw?

I just checked my taskbar and noticed that I have some IR remote control software running. I think it's possible that this may be conflicting with PoE and causing the problems. I'm going to disable this and see if the problem persists. I'll keep you posted...

Thanks for the helpful suggestions!

Well I've killed all of the background software and I'm still having the same issue. It doesn't just affect the belt hotkeys, but other things as well. For instance, the "ESC" key no longer pulls up the exit dialogue. Instead, it minimizes PoE. In effect, there is no way to properly quit the game. Weird thing is, it comes and goes randomly...

Hmm... ALT + ESC is the shortcut to minimize but since you've already tried switching keyboards I guess we can rule out a glitch on the ALT key.

It would however explain this also:

"

When the keyboard shortcuts for the belt don't work, I can go into the PoE settings and re-map the shortcuts. When re-mapping, in the settings dialog for re-mapping, the keyboard keys work fine. But they don't work in-game.

I just tried it and keeping ALT pressed down won't let me use the keys in game but will let me re-map them.

I've discovered something else. If I ALT-TAB to the desktop, then click on the PoE taskbar and pull the game back up, the problem goes away!

I just got through playing for several hours, and every time I did this, it worked! Probably about twenty times I ALT-TABed...

I think this is indicative of a deeper problem with PoE's handling of keyboard modifiers. Sometimes they seem to "stick". I'm on windows XP and occasionally bump the Windows button when playing PoE. It's not an immediate problem when I do, as the start menu doesn't pop up in my face, but sometimes the modifier "sticks".

That is, although I'm no longer pressing the start button, the next time I try to use my E or R ability I get an explorer window (Win+E) or run dialog (Win+R) opening and taking the focus from PoE. There are similar reports from other people around on the forums.

I wish I knew enough about W32API keyboard handling to suggest exactly what the problem might be :)