[SOLVED] Have to re-plug in keyboard constantly

[Eth0s_]

Hey all. I'm using a Razer Black Widow Ultimate 2014 (US) that I purchased new about 5 or 6 years ago.

About 3 weeks ago I started having a new issue: the keyboard simply stops working until I unplug it and plug it back in, which usually works, but not always. Therefore I must sometimes unplug and replug in about 2-3 times.

There doesn't seem to be any real rhyme or reason to it. It happens while I am away from the PC, while playing games, while watching videos and not touching it at all, you name it. However it is particularly a nuisance while gaming.

I've tried a few solutions to no avail: updating the razer synapse drivers, trying to update the keyboard drivers via Windows 10 device manager, changing ports on the PC, going from USB 3.0 to 2.0 and vice versa, changing my USB ports to non-hibernation, even closing razer synapse entirely. Nothing has had a noticeable impact.

Here's some gory details that may hopefully pinpoint the issue.

The issue started happening just after two things.

1. I moved the computer from one desk to another. I was very careful with all components and hardware as I've been when moving it in the past.
2. Upon moving the PC (I moved it at night and didn't turn it on until the next day) I had a Windows update.

I would suspect if either of those caused the issue, it was #2. But I'm not convinced on either. However, it would be some coincidence as this issue started happening just after both of those things.

• The keyboard also has had another, less important issue for about a year and a half now. 90% of the time when I turn on the PC, the keyboard will be turned off and I have to unplug and replug it in. I tried all the same solutions when that happened, but no dice. I just dealt with the issue since it's only a minor annoyance.
• The issue seemingly tends to happen more often when I am gaming. Which sounds far-fetched, but usually I can get an hour or two of constant use out of the keyboard while browsing youtube/social media, or typing things such as this post. However, while gaming, it isn't uncommon to have to replug it in every 5 min or so, sometimes every minute or two. Sometimes it gets especially finicky and is even worse than that.
• The backlit keys also turn off when the keyboard stops working.
• Perhaps most importantly of all the keyboard does not ever turn itself back on. As in, as far as I have ever noticed (and I am on my PC quite often) the issue has never resolved itself. It must be unplugged and plugged back in to regain functionality. I've let it sit for minutes at a time and it simply stays off.
• And in the same vein as the previous issue, the windows device disconnect/connect sounds ONLY occur when I disconnect/reconnect the device. Windows disconnect noise does not happen when the keyboard kills itself.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but the device is truly giving me hell and I'm not in a great financial place to replace it currently. Any insight is greatly appreciated, even if the solution may take some tinkering. I'm not opposed to taking the thing apart at this point.

(heh, got through the whole post without it going out, and it just shut off during proof read)

 

[Ralston18]

Unfortunately the keyboard may be nearing EOL (End of Life). EOL is often designed into many products.

A 5 - 6 year old keyboard used for gaming is likely to have endured much longer than expected.

Could be some internal component that is no longer fully connected/in place but not disconnected enough to completely stop working. Basically an intermittent problem.

You unplug and re-plug. Sometimes those actions may be enough to restore functional connectivity - other times not.

What you can do:

Are you able to try the keyboard on another known working computer?

Are you able to try another known working USB keyboard on your computer?

Determine if the problem stays with your computer or follows the keyboard.

You can also look in Reliability History for error codes and warnings that correspond to the keyboard stoppages.

(Event Viewer, not as user friendly, can be used in much the same manner.)

Has the keyboard been cleaned? Maybe a bit of debris somewhere causing a key to stick.

 

[Eth0s_]

Unfortunately the keyboard may be nearing EOL (End of Life). EOL is often designed into many products.

A 5 - 6 year old keyboard used for gaming is likely to have endured much longer than expected.

Could be some internal component that is no longer fully connected/in place but not disconnected enough to completely stop working. Basically an intermittent problem.

You unplug and re-plug. Sometimes those actions may be enough to restore functional connectivity - other times not.

What you can do:

Are you able to try the keyboard on another known working computer?

Are you able to try another known working USB keyboard on your computer?

Determine if the problem stays with your computer or follows the keyboard.

You can also look in Reliability History for error codes and warnings that correspond to the keyboard stoppages.

(Event Viewer, not as user friendly, can be used in much the same manner.)

Has the keyboard been cleaned? Maybe a bit of debris somewhere causing a key to stick.

Thank you for the solutions. I don't have a chance to test it on another computer right now but I'll give it a go later on today. And I will try another keyboard on this pc as well. If the problem appears to be keyboard specific I might just take the thing apart and see if there's a loose connection internally.

I checked reliability history and don't see anything that I understand to be problematic. But I do see a lot of Razer BlackWidow Ultimate "Successful driver installation" messages on certain days. I'd assume those are done automatically by Razer Synapse? However the those messages certainly don't align with every time I have this issue, as this issue is a multiple-times-a-day occurance.

EDIT: I'll give it a nice cleaning if it comes down to opening it as well. It's not been cleaned in probably over a year now.

You'd think if it was a connector issue I could shake it around a bit, give it some light slaps or something and the keyboard would shut off, no? Because I tried that and haven't been able to manually cause the issue.

 

[Ralston18]

" But I do see a lot of Razer BlackWidow Ultimate "Successful driver installation" messages on certain days."

That is not a normal event or occurrence - is that shown as an error, a warning, or an informational event?

Do your own test there.

Unplug and replug the keyboard yourself and note the time. Determine if there is a corresponding entry in Reliability History. Test two or three times just to be certain.

Are you using any third party software to find and install drivers?

And take another look at the Razer Synapse installation. Ensure that the correct version is installed as applicable to your system.

https://support.razer.com/software/synapse-3/

 

[cryoburner]

The keyboard could just be failing. Perhaps some component on its logic board might be going bad. I had a similar situation occur with a Logitech mouse that worked great for many years, but then started randomly disconnecting in a similar fashion, needing to be unplugged and replugged to work again. Over the course of a month or so, the disconnections became more frequent until it became unusable.

 

[Eth0s_]

" But I do see a lot of Razer BlackWidow Ultimate "Successful driver installation" messages on certain days."

That is not a normal event or occurrence - is that shown as an error, a warning, or an informational event?

Do your own test there.

Unplug and replug the keyboard yourself and note the time. Determine if there is a corresponding entry in Reliability History. Test two or three times just to be certain.

Are you using any third party software to find and install drivers?

And take another look at the Razer Synapse installation. Ensure that the correct version is installed as applicable to your system.

https://support.razer.com/software/synapse-3/

I've had to replug in the keyboard 10 or so times today already and the message has not shown up today. It has been an informational event on previous days. Razer Synapse is the only program I use to download drivers aside from Geforce Experience for my Nvidia drivers, Netgear Genie for my wireless adapter drivers, and Realtek HD Audio Manager for sound drivers. Beyond that I haven't had to mess with any drivers to my knowledge. Will check on the Synapse thing, but also note that this is a very new issue (~3 weeks) and I've been using this PC for about 2.5 years now with no other real issues.

 

[Eth0s_]

I tried the same keyboard on my laptop rather than desktop and it's hard to say for sure due to the seemingly random nature of the issue, but I haven't been able to replicate the issue so far.

One thing I can verify is that the keyboard DOES turn on correctly when the laptop gets booted up, which is something that does not work on the desktop.

I've not yet tried a different keyboard on the desktop though.

Hopefully this helps someone identify the issue. I did think think the timing of the issue would have to be a pretty big coincidence since I had just moved the desktop and had a windows update the day the error started occurring.

 

[Eth0s_]

Yeah, I can basically confirm that the issue is specific to the computer. I don't have another mechanical keyboard to test on my desktop, just a regular old dell one. However the issue is clearly not with the keyboard itself since it has no issues on the laptop.

 

[Eth0s_]

I tracked down the day that the issue started happening. This is the day I moved the PC and had a Windows update. January 18th.

 

[Ralston18]

You mentioned that you tried updating the keyboard drivers on the desktop.

On the desktop try running "sfc /scannow" (without quotes) via the command prompt.

FYI:

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


Running DISM would be the next step.

 

[Eth0s_]

You mentioned that you tried updating the keyboard drivers on the desktop.

On the desktop try running "sfc /scannow" (without quotes) via the command prompt.

FYI:

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


Running DISM would be the next step.

Scanning now. Looks like I posted the Reliability History logs at just about the same time as your post.

Thanks so much for the help so far. I hadn't considered trying the KB on my laptop, and that's definitely helping to narrow down the issue.

edit:

No integrity violations... Does this mean running DISM is a moot point?

 

[Mr.Spock]

in device manager check the power management settings for the Mouse?
maybe allow Windows to turn off this device ... is enabled?

 

[Eth0s_]

in device manager check the power management settings for the Mouse?
maybe allow Windows to turn off this device ... is enabled?

It's a keyboard issue, not mouse. The USB ports are not allowed to turn off (I disabled that in device manager). The keyboard also is not allowed to turn off to save power.

 

[Eth0s_]

New development... all of the "events" listed in device manager for the BlackWidow start on the day after the issues began?!

I clicked "View all Events" in the device manager and this is all of them. They begin the day after I started having problems.

 

[Mr.Spock]

did you try rollback on the driver?

 

[Eth0s_]

did you try rollback on the driver?

No. It says the driver date is 8/12/2015.

 

[Ralston18]

DISM is not a moot point.

My preference:

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/dism-vs-sfc-first-windows-10

Overall, when troubleshooting or "fixing", I favor starting as simply as possible and working into more involved, complex, and perhaps higher risk actions.

I will take more risk with my own systems than I will with other's systems.

My thought at this time: If the PC was moved and there was a Windows update I would start by powering down, unplugging the computer, and opening the case.

Then check that all cables, cards, jumpers, etc. are fully and firmly in place. Nothing jostled loose.

And I would carefully inspect the USB ports for signs of damage, debris inside the port.

Plus I would take a look at Window's update history - some problem or issue may have been logged.

If nothing found then I would move on to Event ID 442.

A quick google found all sorts of "results". Do the same but revise your search as applicable.

Key is to not react to every possible "solution". Narrow down what you find to within the context of your hardware and software environment.

 

[Eth0s_]

I just wanna give an update to anyone who may stumble upon this thread with the same issue.

TL;DR I did what I said I did in this thread, issue persisted, and I eventually gave up and bought a new keyboard that I'm very happy with. I uninstalled Synapse and am now using a logitech keyboard (although that may not have been related, just saying it for reference as my issue is now "solved").

I gave Ralston best answer as he was tremendously helpful despite believing it could simply be faulty hardware which I appreciate a lot. Had I ran DISM, maybe it would've worked. But I found a good deal on a new keyboard and simply was too frustrated to continue tinkering with mine.

I don't think it was a hardware issue. I never have been able to replicate the issue while the keyboard was plugged into my laptop. I may continue testing that since I still have the BlackWidow and I'll post an update if I can ever confirm the hardware in the KB is to blame.

 

[wmalia513]

Though this is super old, I had been running into this issue with my Razor Huntsman v2 Analog. I ended up finding the problem to be that the keyboard was being registered as a controller in the computer. I had to go into device manager, go to Xbox 360 controllers and check the controllers in there. If you go into properties you'll find one is labeled "Location 1 (RazerHX Ersatz Xbox Controller)" I went in and disabled this driver and it completely solved my problem. For some reason a lot of razor keyboards register as controllers and it causes a conflicting driver problem, or so I've come to believe

 

[Ralston18]

Old thread.

Closing from further posts.