T500 keyboard locks when docking or undocking - Windows 7

[ericpe]

I believe this started happening when I upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7, which was a long time ago.  If I dock or undock my computer (I use the advanced mini-dock port replicator) while it is running, the keyboard is all locked up, which means there is no response to any key presses at all.  The easiest way I've found to recover from this is to use my mouse (either the touchpad or external bluetooth mouse) to select "Restart" from the Windows start menu.  Once I awaken the computer from sleep the keyboard works just fine.  It's not too bad, but it is annoying, especially if I'm in a hurry for something.

Has anyone else experienced this, and/or know of a better solution?

Here's some of my pertinent info (all updates to date have been applied):

Lenovo ThinkPad T500

OS Name    Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Version    6.1.7600 Build 7600
System Manufacturer    LENOVO
System Model    2081CTO
System Type    x64-based PC
Processor    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     T9600  @ 2.80GHz, 2801 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date    LENOVO 6FET87WW (3.17 ), 12/3/2010
SMBIOS Version    2.4
Boot Device    \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale    United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer    Version = "6.1.7600.16385"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM)    8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory    7.90 GB
Available Physical Memory    5.30 GB
Total Virtual Memory    15.8 GB
Available Virtual Memory    12.8 GB
Page File Space    7.90 GB

Keyboard

Description    PS/2 Keyboard
Name    Enhanced (101- or 102-key)
Layout    00000409
PNP Device ID    ACPI\PNP0303\4&2B110597&0
Number of Function Keys    12
I/O Port    0x00000060-0x00000060
I/O Port    0x00000064-0x00000064
IRQ Channel    IRQ 1
Driver    c:\windows\system32\drivers\i8042prt.sys (6.1.7600.16385, 103.00 KB (105,472 bytes), 7/13/2009 5:19 PM)

Let me know if there's anything I've missed that would be helpful.

Thanks!

Eric

[Grank]

I just started having this issue in Windows 7 SP1 on a brand new ThinkPad W520 with a Mini Dock Plus Series 3 (170 W).

If I have a keyboard plugged into the dock, and I undock and re-dock, the keyboard will no longer accept keystrokes.  

It appears in the Device Manager as working correctly, but just ignores me.  

Unplugging it from the USB port and plugging it into another USB port, either on the dock or on the laptop itself, has no effect.

Undocking and re-docking again has no effect.

The only way to get keystrokes back from any affected keyboard is to restart the machine, which is incredibly inconvenient!

I have no trouble with any of the other hardware plugged into the dock, including a mouse and an external sound card.

I have tried now with two totally different keyboards so I know the problem's not related to drivers for the keyboards themselves.

I believe it actually doesn't work for ANY keyboard other than the laptop itself once you've undocked and redocked, even if it wasn't plugged in at all before the undocking/redocking, as long as *some* keyboard was.  (I'm not in a position to verify that right at the moment but I think that's the case.)

Interestingly enough, using the ThinkPad USB Keyboard With TrackPoint (SK-8855), while the keys do nothing, the trackpoint mouse in it still works.  Bizarre!

I've updated the BIOS, the Intel chipset driver, and the UltraNav driver, and these have had no impact at all.  I don't know what more to do, and this is a major, major productivity drain for me.

[Mithrandir]

Strange problems you describe here.

We have several W520 with Docks and Win 7. No problems at all with keyboards while docking and undocking.

We had some monitor and beamer issues which could be solved by changing some BIOS settings.

I remember a trick one colleague uses with his W520 when something isn't working the way it should. He puts his system to sleep FN+F$ and wakes it up again. This helps most of the time. Maybe also a workaround for your problem.

Sorry for not having a final solution for you. Maybe you should check teh BIOS for relevant settings.

[CadErik]

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Grank wrote:

I just started having this issue in Windows 7 SP1 on a brand new ThinkPad W520 with a Mini Dock Plus Series 3 (170 W).

If I have a keyboard plugged into the dock, and I undock and re-dock, the keyboard will no longer accept keystrokes.  

It appears in the Device Manager as working correctly, but just ignores me.  

Unplugging it from the USB port and plugging it into another USB port, either on the dock or on the laptop itself, has no effect.

Undocking and re-docking again has no effect.

---

Same issue here, it started happening with my W520, have you solved your problem?

[Grank]

This no longer happens, but I can't recall if it's because I fixed it on Windows 7, or if it simply went away when I upgraded to Windows 8.  Sorry I can't remember!