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All good analysis of the problem.
I remember way back in the day (building 386 systems) we installed a mainboard into a case.
Booted it up and it went crazy in Windows 3.0 and would then crash.
We took the mainboard out of the case, and placed it on the workdesk and booted up.
No problems.
Hmm...
Examine the mainboard. Oh, one of the circuits crossed into the standoff hole.
When the screw was tightened into the standoff on the mainboard it closed the circuit and caused undefined behavior.
Maybe something similar here. Especially since it is a cigar box.
Good luck. Hope to hear what you find.
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See if the problem persists even after a clean boot. Disable all startup programs. Use Sysinternals AutoRuns utility to find and disable everything that runs automatically when Windows starts and when the user logs in.
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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It persists even after complete reinstall of Windows 10, with (quick) disk formatting.
I would think that any strange startup programs would be wiped out by that, but I will keep the tip in mind when I visit my friend, and check it.
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Try getting a Linux bootable thumb drive and booting from there? I don't know Linux, but does the Windows key trigger an equivalent to the start menu there? If so, and the problem persists, it would definitely seem to be hardware.
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You could try running a Linux from a thumb drive. You could then use xev (in an X environment) or showkey (from the command line) to see if any bogus keystrokes were being generated.
<°}}}>«<
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I doubt it is a virus.
The following google search returned the best collection of suggestions. And demonstrates it is not a unique problem.
"start menu" intermittently opens up
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You might also try:
1. running the DISM and SFC /scannow commands.
2. Sign in under a different username (or create a new user profile/account) and see if it happens with that account.
3. If the wireless keyboard and mouse use any software/special drivers, try uninstalling that.
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Another way to check whether it is a fake/broken keyboard problem can be use a "key logger" application.
A few (many) years ago I made an application that caught all keys pressed. It was an application to program a programmable keyboard. All pressed keys (with the exception of Ctrl+Alt+Del) were redirected to the application to allow programming of any key.
The application was of course reported by security application as keylogger. A Windows keyboard hook was used to remove the pressed key from processing and storing it in the sequence for programming.
It was (I think) in the time of Windows XP and it requested to allow the hook. (Needed for this purpose.) I do not know whether it will work on Windows 10 (with the hook).
Application[^], product support page[^]
Another way is to use Workrave[^] -> System tray: right click -> Statistics -> Activity.
This will report only key presses.
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My vote would be an out of date driver.
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I'm going with hardware because I've seen issues like this before and every single one of them was related to either the keyboard or mouse. If he's using a wireless keyboard I'd replace the batteries and/or switch to a wired keyboard.
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If all else fails, try to disable Cortana, or Cortana's access to the microphone.
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Do you think Da Vinci would have been more productive with CAD and Photshop?
I find myself doing things that seem harder than they were before. Sometimes, I think it's about getting old; then I remember I'm not using the same skills I used to: I'm using Visio and create 10 pages of diagrams and still feel unsatisfied.
I finally resort to pencil and paper away from the computer and ... success.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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I used to do drawing for my woodworking projects and kinda wing it with measurements, but I have TurboCAD and became fairly proficient at drawing so now I use it to do my woodworking projects. I akin it to typing as opposed to had writing, you can move thing around, change them, etc..
Makes life a lot easier.
Give me coffee to change the things I can and wine for those I can not!
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - An updated version available! JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: Simon Says, A Child's Game
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For 2D I use NanoCad and for 3D I use SketchUp.
So far, they fullfil my needs.
I do find that when "thinking" about a project I still prefer to do drafts with pencil, once I have a better Idea and details start to be important, then I go to the PC
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Yeah same here, I still do hand drawings to get a general idea of what I want.
Give me coffee to change the things I can and wine for those I can not!
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - An updated version available! JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: Simon Says, A Child's Game
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Mike Hankey wrote: I still do hand drawings to get a general idea
I think doing things by 'hand' to get started helps by minimizing the tool(s) required to express your idea. Pencil/pen requires almost no thought to move the idea from your head to the paper. Using an application on a computer is more indirect, putting the mouse/keyboard/application between you and the screen.
One of those "ePaper" tablet devices with an intuitive CAD program might give you the best of both worlds.
Software Zen: delete this;
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Gerry Schmitz wrote: I think it's about getting old; then I remember I'm not using the same skills I used to:
Err...you are also more experienced now. So your perceptions are colored by that.
Not to mention that one must keep in mind that human memory is very selective. And not necessarily exact.
Gerry Schmitz wrote: I finally resort to pencil and paper away from the computer and ... success.
Yes but you probably don't present the napkin to your co-workers from which you intend for them to work.
Sometimes the tools get in the way just because of their precision. If I don't know the solution at all then I might stare into space and/or doodle on a piece of paper. When I know the solution then I use the tools.
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Ever since Chrome introduced the feature of making unused tabs "sleep" to save memory, I've had a problem where the entire Chrome window goes black. Not just the client portion either. The whole thing.
Anybody else experience this?
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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Nope, but I don't know if the sleep option is on ... I just checked and yes, it's on. Which means it's been running for about 6 months or more with no problem. And it gets hibernated overnight rather than shutdown, so Chrome doesn't get closed often.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Thanks for your response Griff. I appreciate the feedback.
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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I haven't seen that, but I found and disabled the sleep mode a few weeks ago.
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i wasn't aware Chrome had that feature.
i had been using a free Chrome extension "The Great Suspender" that suspends unused tabs.
Then, Google blocked that, and i started using "Tab Session Manager." [^].
i'll try turning on the Google feature,.
thanks, bill
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
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Glad I could put some light on that for you!
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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mmmm ... in latest Chrome on Windows (10/64) i am only seeing a memory saver in Settings/Performance where you add specific sites.
and, in Settings/On Startup: an option to resume where you "left off."
with these enabled and google.com added to "keep active" ... i sure do hope i will not lose my tabs !
thanks, bill
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
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Not just Chrome, but entire Windows shows a BSOD (which I call as Black Screen of Dumbness). And the screen starts flickering.
Was initially thinking it was a problem with my display driver, but everything is the latest and greatest.
Cannot find a reproducible pattern, but it most likely is related to Chrome.
(Black screen of Dumbness, because the entire screen will be black, and unresponsive for a few moments, and when I use Alt Tab to shift focus, the screen comes back to life)
modified 2-Jul-23 15:04pm.
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