Question

Why is my keyboard response time slow when using Windows XP?

Keyboards, Windows XP

I've got a problem with my keyboard's responds time. I have to hold a key down for about 5 - 6 seconds for it to respond to the computer.

First a thought it was the keyboard itself that was broken, so I bought another PS2 keyboard, but still the same problem. I then thought maybe it was the PS2 port on the motherboard, so I got a USB keyboard. Again, still the same problem.

As I was trying to fix it last night, I restarted the PC and while it was starting up I tested the NumLock key and it worked fine. However, as soon as the Windows XP loading screen came on there was a delay again. PLEASE please help me! I'm getting fed up with this machine and I have a lot a work to finish before next week.

Thanks.

It may not be your keyboard. It is highly likely that your computer is busy processing some application requests. I had the same issue on a computer and it had some poorly written security software loaded that was taking all processor cycles and keyboard response was slow. I stopped the application from running and the system response returned to normal. I replaced the software with a better behaving application. I would recommend starting the computer in SAFE mode and see what applications are in Startup and the RUN registry keys. It could be that your computer is infected with some malware (e.g. spyware, trojan, virus) that needs to be cleaned. Try Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal tool