I'm not sure what this problem is called, but I need help.

[silentknife]

So I recently upgraded to Parallels 3 and am running Windows XP Home (legit, fully updated) via my spankin' new iMac with Leopard installed.

The VM itself runs great. However, I keep encountering a weird keyboard anomaly.

Sometimes when I'm typing in Windows--whether it be QuickBook Pro or another app--suddenly the Start menu will pop up or the Autorun or even Help. This seems to happen frequently after pressing the TAB key, from what I've observed.

For example, I'm keying in an expense in Quickbooks. I enter the date, press tab, and begin to type the vendor, and suddenly I've got Autorun up on my screen and Windows has changed it's focus to this. It isn't immediately after pressing tab, either... sometimes I'm 2-3 characters into typing when Start/Autorun appears.

It's incredibly annoying and happens all day long. Any hints? Is there a setting I need to disable?

 

[Eru Ithildur]

Is it because you are hitting the apple (command) key?

 

[silentknife]

Is it because you are hitting the apple (command) key?

Positive. The only thing I can figure is maybe the keyboard is busted and somehow thinking I am when I press 2 or more keys too quickly in the general area of the Command key (I type about 109 wpm).

 

[Eru Ithildur]

Actually, I have the same issue when I hit the apple+tab command, I also type quickly, but not that fast... (~80-90 wpm when I get going, and probably 100 for memorized keystrokes) I don't think it deals with that.. I actually think it deals with if you let up on the command key prior to the tab or not.

Take a peak inside of your keyboard settings in Windows, I am pretty sure that buried in there you will find the key which toggles the start menu, by default this is the start/command key on a Windows keyboard (which is the apple key on an apple keyboard), switch that to something else.

 

[silentknife]

/bump in this thread because I'm still having this issue and it's growing ever more annoying.

While typing, the keyboard will randomly send the command in Windows to pop open the Start menu (not sure what that key is officially called).

So I could be typing an invoice in QuickBooks or keying in a URL in Internet Explorer and suddenly the Start menu pops up.

The problem with this is that because I type so quickly, this often results in unwanted actions, like Shutdown or Reboot, or opening the Help program.

No, I am not accidentally hitting a key.

The only correlation I can find so far is that this tends to happen when I've used SHIFT+<any key> to capitalize a letter.

ANY help on this? Is there some menu in either Parallels or in Windows itself that might allow me to turn off whatever is causing this? It's a daily annoyance.

Thanks!

 

[misterjangles]

If you don't use the windows key, you can disable it: http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/disable_windows_key/