Question Ctrl sometimes acts like Alt+Tab on Windows 10

[Cellie]

My Windows 10 has a funny issue. I can live with it, but it's annoying, I've accidentally closed the wrong program many times thanks to it.

Sometimes Windows will act as if I pressed Alt+Tab when I press Ctrl, throwing me back to the last active window, then it finishes executing whatever shortcut I was performing on that window. That happens when I'm in the middle of a shortcut like Ctrl+C/V, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+A or even Ctrl+W (thanks satan!). I'm not sure if it also happens when pressing Ctrl alone since I don't often do it.

I have no idea what's causing it. At first I suspected it was an AutoHotkey script I wrote to rebind keys but it happens on fresh reboots without the script running. It happens at random, in multiple programs such as Notepad and internet browsers, and I don't know how to reproduce it reliably. Any ideas on how to start investigating the issue will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

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First try the built in Windows troubleshooters. The troubleshooters may find and fix something.

Make and model keyboard? Try reinstalling the drivers.

Go to the manufacturer's website and manually download the applicable keyboard drivers. Reinstall and reconfigure. No third party tools or installers.

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If the problems continue then take a look in Reliability History/Monitor.

Look for any error codes, warnings, or informational events being captured just before or at the time of the problems.

(There are other diagnostic tools that can help if that becomes necessary.)

In any case, with or without Reliability History proving helpful, you can try "dism" or "sfc /scannow".

Premise being that there may be some buggy or corrupted file(s) involved.

FYI:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-dism-command-line-utility-repair-windows-10-image

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

Post accordingly.

 

[DaleH]

My Windows 10 has a funny issue. I can live with it, but it's annoying, I've accidentally closed the wrong program many times thanks to it.

Sometimes Windows will act as if I pressed Alt+Tab when I press Ctrl, throwing me back to the last active window, then it finishes executing whatever shortcut I was performing on that window. That happens when I'm in the middle of a shortcut like Ctrl+C/V, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+A or even Ctrl+W (thanks satan!). I'm not sure if it also happens when pressing Ctrl alone since I don't often do it.

I have no idea what's causing it. At first I suspected it was an AutoHotkey script I wrote to rebind keys but it happens on fresh reboots without the script running. It happens at random, in multiple programs such as Notepad and internet browsers, and I don't know how to reproduce it reliably. Any ideas on how to start investigating the issue will be greatly appreciated!

Try another keyboard.

 

[Cellie]

The keyboard is from the Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5050 kit. I had one from the 5000 kit before that on which I also experienced the issue. I'll fish for a USB Dell I know I have lying somewhere around to see if this happens.

System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (x64) Build 19044.2130.

Tangentially related settings modifications I made: Disabled Microsoft Text Input Application, Windows Touch Keyboard and "Press and Hold" from Pen and Touch, all which responded to MS-set shortcuts and interfered with my work.

Already reinstalled the drivers. No luck.

I'll take a look at the Reliability History when it happens next, plus also use a couple of apps to monitor my input devices and see if something odd pops up.

Dism and SFC are clean

>sfc /scannow
Beginning system scan.  This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

>DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.844

Image Version: 10.0.19044.2130

No component store corruption detected.
The operation completed successfully.

System Specs

Component	Model
Motherboard	Gigabyte H170N-WIFI
CPU	Intel Core i5 6600
GPU	NVIDIA Galax GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
RAM#1	16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4-2400 1200.5MHz
RAM#2	8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4-2400 1200.5MHz
PSU	Corsair CX430

+ OS on a SSD, a couple more SSDs and 2 portable HDDs for storage.

Peripherals:
Wacom Intuos 4 graphic tablet and wireless receiver for mouse/keyboard combo.