Thinkpads Forum

Hey everyone!

Last week I bought a used/refurbished T420s from an online shop. And mostly, I am really happy with it. However, there is one issue with the keyboard that I seem to be unable to solve. Whenever I write a capitalized E num lock activates and u turns to 4, i to 5 etc.. Using then, for exmaple, Shift + u in this state lets you go one space back in text without deleting. Deactivating num lock (via shift + e or fn + nmlk, doesn't matter) turns everything back to normal, but since I constantly have to use the 'E' when typing in German it is something that needs to be fixed.

I've tried selecting different keyboards (ENG US Int, ENG UK & Ireland etc.), I reinstalled windows (first win 7, then upgraded to win 10) but nothing seems to solve it. It is definetely a qwerty keyboard.

How can I tell which keyboard is built in? Does anybody have any idea what could be causing this weird issue and how to fix it?

Massive thanks in advance,
Phil

Boot some linux live cd. If problem persist - replace keyboard.

Switch off, remove battery and remove RAM-door.
Remove 1 KB-screw from under the RAM-door and 1 KB-screw from the battery-bay.
Turn machine over, slightly push the KB backwards a little, then lift up the front of the KB.
Carefully flip it over till you can see the P/N or FRU on the KB-label.

Get the Manual for T420s using the HMM-link at the top of this page.
Check the KB-number against the Manual.
Their list has three colums (L to R), indicating KB was made by Alps/Chicony/NMB.

Thanks for your replies!

The Keyboards Fru. No. is: 45n2141 -> English (US), second row, which I guess means it was made by Chicony.
Using the US Keyboard option in Windows did not help.

The Linux live dvd is in the making and will be tested soon. If that doesn't help I'll probably have to get a Keyboard replacement...

Meaning you got the cheapest/worst of the lot.
If not a software problem, I suggest you get a new keyboard from NMB (best) or Alps (2nd best).

In Linux you can remap keys easily.

use 'xev' to figure out which key is being pressed and then remap with xmodmap: You can remap in windows too but it's much more complicated.
Perhaps it's easier with third-party software.