# Totally Wierd Pc Problem



## ESL (Jan 27, 2004)

This is taxing me right now and has been for weeks...

I run XP SP2 (fully up to date)

Some gremlin or other is corrupting some words as I type them. This is not application specific as it happens in ALL apps and even dialog boxes in fac it happens ANYWHERE I can type. The funny thing is, it seems to affect only some words or phrases and not a huge number of them - but they are some of the most commonly used phrase that I actually use, so it very frustrating.

As an example if I try to type watchwrist in the correct (unreversed manner) I get wris....ch

I'm OK typing wristwa but as soon as I add the "t" I get almost like an "autofill/autocorrect" effect to wris....

All I can do is deliberately mistype the word and then go back to correct it. The problem also affects my post code and street name - so it's particularly annoying.

As it's not application specific, it can only be an OS issue - but I'm at a loss as to where to start. All the autofills and autocorrects I am aware of are switched off.

Anyone have any ideas?

George, wearing a wris....ch in .......... street at postcode >>>>>>

(see what I mean - I did not do that, the blasted computer did)

Cheers


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## Alas (Jun 18, 2006)

May be a problem I've heard with IE6

Have a read at this link see if it can help.

Also do you use MSAccess?

http://experts.about.com/q/Microsoft-Inter...ill-problem.htm


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Wow. That's a new one. Not heard of that before!

My guess is it's a dodgy keyboard sending the wrong scancodes and therefore printing wrong characters to the screen. So, try a different keyboard if you have a spare one lying around somewhere.


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## mad_librarian (Jan 30, 2005)

Yeah...keyboard possibly...have a work laptop that does that and autofills will previous typed content....


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

George,

are you using a wireless keyboard?

if you are, it may be going QRP on you?

Roger


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## James (Jul 17, 2006)

Probably KB or Windows Explorer error related. Have you run a virus scan lately? There are viri that will do this.

Do you know when it showed up and if after installing any updates or new appz?


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## ESL (Jan 27, 2004)

Thanks for all the pointers guys, but still, none of it makes sense.

I have changed the keyboard, it's not wireless, and it's not IE related (as far a I can see).

I get this effect if I am typing into this forum window, an IE Address bar, a form field, MS notepad, anywhere where you could possibly type.

It's fazing me cos I can see how if the keyboard was sending incorrect scan codes I might get a wrong character, but then it should do that all the time. With this problem it's only when I type certain words







.

Moreover, it takes text I have already typed and replaces it instantly with something else - not like autofill which always give you a preview and the option to accept - this problem just switches it "blam".

It's almost if there is a macro parsing my typing and automatically replacing what I have typed when it detects certain words. In fact, it's probably something very like this - it's just that I can't for the life of me think of what to turn off!!!


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## limey (Aug 24, 2006)

Do you have any of the Language options on? I disable them on the PC's I setup at work, I don't think it would give the results you descibe but worth a mention. "Text services and input languages" from Control Panel, Regional and language options.

Another possibility, again doesn't sound like it but ??? I read of someone having text appear as they were working. Though it was a virus, trojan, etc. but turned out they had a microphone and speech-to-text enabled. The TV was on and it would pick up words from the TV and type them.

Martin


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## ESL (Jan 27, 2004)

Thanks for the tips Martin - but no deal.

No its not language or voice to type. This is utterley and completely repeatable and only on certain words and all words that are known to me - that's the really co-incidental, spooky bit.

It's got me utterley foxed, short of a full re-install, I don't have a clue.

G


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## hotmog (Feb 4, 2006)

If you're using XP, have you tried doing a system restore to a point in the past when you didn't have the problem. If that fixes it, you know it's software-related; if not, then it suggests it's your hardware.


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Try making an MS-DOS boot floppy and testing the keyboard that way.


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## Ironpants (Jul 1, 2005)

The missing letters from your example are twat. Do you have a foul language filter installed?

Or am I the April fool?!?

Toby


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Yes, I was wondering if you get the same problem when typing on the command line?

However, for my second guess, take at look at the Microsoft Agent and associated Text Normalization documentation. I know you said you didn't think it was Text to Speech related, but it's all I can think of.

As you said it happens in all programs, do you have this check box ticked by any chance? Try unticking it and rebooting:












Ironpants said:


> The missing letters from your example are twat. Do you have a foul language filter installed?
> 
> Or am I the April fool?!?
> 
> Toby










Then he must also have an offensive Post Code and street name.


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## ESL (Jan 27, 2004)

> The missing letters from your example are twat. Do you have a foul language filter installed?
> 
> Or am I the April fool?!?










I wish it was that simple Toby - No, it's a genuine problem. Although if I lived in Scunthorpe It may have given me some ideas.



































































Well bugger me........................ EUREKA!

I'm at work typing this reply on one of our shared (Internet Cafe PC's) and it just auto-corrected that town name in the above paragraph - to take out the offensive bit, and it's just bloody dawned on what the problem is....

This PC (and mine at home) are both running a bit of software called Cyberpatrol and those particular 4 characters must be in Cyberpatrol's offensive or blocked words in the "chat guard" filter list - see S....horpe I can't type it - I can only go back and correct it manually.

I have suddenly remembered that on our home PC, I have entered our home address (and well as the other more usual offensive stuff), so that the kids could not give out our home address details in chat programs or in Internet forums.

I now reailise that it is also blocking these words from ANY application in the OS and not just chat or Internet programs!!!







I should have guessed it - all the clues were there - it was only blocking words that were known to me, like our address!

Looking back, Toby - you are perfectly correct - the missing letters from wris*twat*ch, do form the word twat (apologies, but it does) and because I can type it on this PC - that word is not present in this PC's block filter, but .... is as I can't type it, see, .... .... .... or .... for that matter!










Until I tried to type S....horpe, the penny did not drop!.

Well .... me!!! (that's another 4 letter word, that obviously IS in the filter list )









*Cheers Toby,you helped me nail it!














*

And thanks to everyone else who helped with suggestions too.


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## Russ (Feb 7, 2006)

F*** ** that was an interesting one!


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## PhilM (Nov 5, 2004)

Mods: I reckon this one should be moved to the jokes section









Sorry George


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Shorty keeps asking why I spend so much time at RL Twaches.com.


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## Ironpants (Jul 1, 2005)

Glad to be of help George. It was so obvious from your example I thought you lot were playing a practical joke







. Like me you probably got so frustrated with the problem you do not see the most likely cause









The problems with the Post Codes would be the same to stop the use of numbers to replace certain letters when typing swear words.

Do you know if the story about the foul language email filter at Scunthorpe Council was actually true?

Toby


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Well done Toby. This one had me completely stumped; I didn't spot it at all. What a twat!


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## ESL (Jan 27, 2004)

Ironpants said:


> Do you know if the story about the foul language email filter at Scunthorpe Council was actually true?
> 
> Toby


I would have to say that if they used Cyberpatrol, then yes, the S....horpe (bugger - there it goes again) story must be true!










It's funny though: another clue that is now ....... obvious







was that to get around the substitution problem in the word "wrisTWATch" I always used to type it as "wrist watch" - not thinking for an instant that it was that embedded word that was causing the problem.

It's a funny old world 

In fact, it's a ....... old world, if only I could type it!


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