Sven-
Nice going! The keyboard statue is stuck on 255 pegged all the way to the left. I cant move it at all. and when I press other keys It does snap back to 255. How do you think I can go about finding this thing?
could it be stickykeys?
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/stickykeys.aspx
also if its a physical problem, and you have the know how and will to do so i’d take the laptop apart, check and clean the keyboard circuit strip and if possible place something non conductive between the two pieces where the arrow key is. that’s what i would do but it could make things worse(a risk i’m always willing to take:lol:)
i’d wait for svens response first of course.
BTW that slider is read-only… you can’t manually reset the value - it keeps displaying the status code for the last pressed key. If you press any other key and the number snaps back to 255, then something is physically stuck or something is repeatedly sending the down-arrow code.
You don’t say if other apps are suffering the same problem. If it’s a physical, a stuck key, then Word, your browser, the Start Menu, everything should be showing the same symptom I’d think.
You don’t say if you tried plugging an auxiliary keyboard in… (borrow it from your desktop if the connector is compatible). Assuming that disables the laptop keyboard and corrects the problem then it’s probably the laptop down-arrow key.
But from what you describe, I don’t think that’s it.
I wonder if you happen to have any startup utilities or resident apps that are monitoring your keyboard input… something that’s corrupting the keystroke stream or feeding in extra bytes (255 is all-ones single byte, which some keyboard watching code might be using as a mask or something). Try turning all those off.
Have you run a spyware check lately?
Perhaps you could confirm that the down-arrow key IS repeating another way by downloading and installing your own key-logger software, run ZBrush, then check the log files.
Curious as to which OS you are using…
Finally, you might check with tech-support for your laptop and ask them about reinstalling your keyboard driver. Microsoft might have something about that as well.
And that about taps me out.
Sven
I have tried running other apps no problem with them.
my laptop keyboard doesnt have a usb plug so I cant check that.
My OS is win xp pro
I tried messing with the sticky keys option but I have never used this before and really don’t understand it. There was a option to hear if any keys are repeating, and it sounded like there was definitely a key repeating the pattern was "Beep…Beep…Beep… " same pattern or timing was the same as the timing in zbrush (highlighter dropping down to the bottom layer in the subtool)
Is there a way to shut down the down arrow key?
Also I havent ran a spyware test. I don’t have any spyware software.
If you newly reformed your laptop computer please check that all the newest drivers have been installed on your computer.
If this is Xp please go to my computer right click and go to manage
Then go to device managers.
Any yellow ones should be resolved.
If it s Dell/Alienware/HP or popular manufacture then you should have no problem updating the computer. Please make sure that the BIO’s has been properly updated for your OS.
Any unneeded resources such as modem and etc should be disable in BIOS to permit faster up time.
If in the BIOS that the system has the capacity to be SATA or ACHI please load OS so that this feature is available. Would not believe the speed that will be returned if proerly loaded. resolved many problems that were present in systems without that capacity properly loaded.
Also found that loading the current DirectX from microsoft helps a great deal on XP systems, seen some weird behavor on systems that have graphics programs loaded onto it without the current DirectX installed.
See what happens.
If the issues still remains look at doing a defrag and error check upon reboot.
also check the defaults for the keyboard in language preference that sometimes is the problem. Rare but it happens.
Check the keyboard settings and see if they are configured correctly.
If you are able to connect to a high speed internet connection get all the available updates from microsoft except there hardware ones. Should only take you a few mins to get all the updates. They number somewhere around 122 that I know of.
Using the air can trick works like a charm for those systems that have not been properly blown out.
Que tip helps like you would…
If that does not correct it then I would suggest that you wipe the hard drive with a program called Duke and nuke (great program by the way) reload the OS, drivers, updates and the load the apps in that order.
Also it is recommended that you load the drivers in the sequence idenitifed by the manufacturer, painfully simple sequence.
Should not take too long. Average time about 4 hours for fresh baseline if you use the Dule and Nuke program to wipe the hard drive clean.
Forgot,
If this a popular manufacture like Dell and is a older model I would suggest that you remove the keyboard and clean out and reseat the connector for the keyboard. LIGHTLY tap the edge of the keyboard on a flat surface to dislodge any grit and check to make sure there is no slillage such as old coffee stains and etc on the bottom metal surface.
-----CAREFULLY-----
blow out the laptop and removed keyboard with can of air.
Forgot about that one.
If a Dell 800 you are in a world of fun keeping that working.
Work on my mystery computers that had the keyboard do funny things. (dell 800’s are real pains about that one)
ya its an older laptop ,inspiron 1501 , think i might take it apart tomorrow and clean it out. install direct x now.
thanks for the info on the model.
Please use the keyboard cleaning method. detail and slowness is recommended on that model of computer.
When you remove the parts before you remove the keyboard remember the placement.
When removing the keyboard please go easy with it. They are very easy to break and cause more foul language than a broken spark plug.
reseating the hard drive, memory, and general cleaning while under the hood will prolong the life of the computer. I normally do mine every two weeks. High dust where I am at.
It’s highly unlikely that the stuck down-arrow problem (if it is a physically stuck down-arrow key) would only manifest itself in ZBrush and NOT EVERY OTHER PROGRAM YOU MIGHT RUN.
Therefore ripping out the keyboard for cleaning should be your last resort.
Let’s try de-linking the down-arrow as the hot key for TOOL:SubTool:SelectDown button.
Load ZBrush.
- hold Ctrl and left mouse click the TOOL:SubTool:SelectDown button.
- press DELETE - you should get a message (underneath the menu names) that says “Hotkey Note: Custom hotkey removed successfully”.
Now reassign some other key:
- hold Ctrl and left mouse click the TOOL:SubTool:SelectDown button again.
- press the LEFT ARROW key, which should assign that as the new hotkey.
If this fixes it, you might assign the RIGHT ARROW key to the TOOL:SubTool:SelectUp interface button for the sake of symmetry.
Finally, if this fixes your problem, you want to save the new hotkey assignments by pressing PREFERENCES:Hotkeys:Store so the reassignment sticks for future sessions in ZBrush.
If this works, it really doesn’t fix your problem, it just sweeps it under the rug, unresolved… BUT you can start testing ZBrush again on your laptop.
Sven
Well I was able to assign new hot keys for the down and up key in the subtool menu, I resigned them to the plus and minus buttons. So I have to hold ctrl and plus to move up in the subtool menu, ctrl and minus to move down. It still doesn’t disable this from key board though. I need to figure out how to disable the down arrow on my key board?
okay I found a little keyremapper app and was able to disable my down arrow key. I cant use it at all . Crossed my fingers and started up zbrush and… I DID NOT solve the problem.:mad: AHHHHHHHHHH!
Man what is the deal. I am completely frustrated and very confused also my brain hurts.
So lets see…Where are we at
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I matched the zdata folders with the one one my desktop. Same.
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The shift trick worked once ,but doesn’t work anymore.
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Install the end it all app to shut down running background programs,did’nt work.
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made new hotkeys inside zbrush. No luck.
I really have no clue to what else it could be.
AGAIN…
- hold Ctrl and left mouse click the TOOL:SubTool:SelectDown button.
- press DELETE KEY - you should get a message (underneath the menu names) that says “Hotkey Note: Custom hotkey removed successfully”.
This means that the down-arrow key’s function as a hotkey was removed successfully… that should stop the original problem and you can use the plus and minus keys instead. Right?
Sven
Maybe I’m not understanding. I go into tools subtoolmenu SelectDown button then press ctrl ,left click mouse and press delete.
then I press Ctrl .left mouse click , minus button to set new hot key.
After that I can press the ctrl minus to scroll down , but it does not fix the problem. the highlighter still scrolls down to the bottom layer by itself.
Also the down arrow key is still pressable and I can still mouse click it to move the layers down faster if i wanted to.
Sorry if I’m not understanding you right.
Hmm, yeah - I think the problem is you can’t just disable the down-arrow key because it is one of the standard hotkeys… but I think you can re-assign it where it (hopefully) won’t do any harm.
Try this (it works for me)…
Under PREFERENCES:Misc, - hold down Ctrl key and left-mouse click on Sub Tools item, then press the down-arrow key. That should reassign it, and isolate it so even if it is repeating, it won’t be doing anything. There might be some better buttons or obscure interface items to assign it to but at this point, just try it to see if it works.
As before, make the plus and minus keys into hotkeys for SelectDown and SelectUp… should work, and the down-arrow key problem should leave you alone.
Sorry this is taking so long but I’m figuring it out as I go along too. 
As to why the keymapper didn’t work - I’m pretty sure ZBrush is directly reading the keyboard codes, long before any key action even gets to the keymapper.
In the end, whatever the problem is between your laptop and ZBrush, resolved or not, I’m sure you’ll wind up wanting to get a new system, especially when you see what ZB4 can do.
Sven
“I think the problem is you can’t just disable the down-arrow key because it is one of the standard hotkeys”
I kept getting that message too.
I followed your instructions. You can see by the screen shots.
but no luck.
I wonder if there’s some way to disable that down arrow key. I’ll have to ask support on Mon. I have a ticket open ,but I guess there is no support on the weekends. Well except for the you guys, which I would like to thank very much for helping me out with this problem.
Attachments
Update- It seems to be working today. Weird! The only thing I did was turned my computer off for over 10 hours. Just turned it one a little bit ago and everything is working fine. So I would have to say its my computers fault and nothing to do with Zbrush. Sorry for the headaches guys, but thank you for helping me out. Nice to know I can count on the forum for help.