How do you discharge an USB keyboard with internal memory? Using a multi-meter?? :)

Wanna reset its settings stored in on-board memory of the keyboard....


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On Sat, 8/2/2025 11:40 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

How do you discharge an USB keyboard with internal memory? Using a multi-meter?? :)

Wanna reset its settings stored in on-board memory of the keyboard....

With flash memory, you "over-write" it.

It is like "programming" or "flashing".

It quite likely requires a custom computer program of some sort,
if the storage inside the keyboard is not in the form of a
standard file storage scheme.

Persistent storage is via NOR or NAND Flash.

Non-persistent storage (only lasts for as long as
power is available on the item), is done with a RAM chip.
It is unlikely that a RAM chip is inside the keyboard.

Summary: It is unlikely a multimeter will help, for this project.

Paul


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"Mr. Man-wai Chang" <toyliet.toylet@gmail.com> wrote:

How do you discharge an USB keyboard with internal memory? Using a multi-meter?? :)

Wanna reset its settings stored in on-board memory of the keyboard....

Do a search on "<brand> <model> keyboard reset". Specify the brand and
model of your keyboard. There is not univeral method. Depends on which keyboard you have which you did not specify.

However, if the software you used with your keyboard altered the key
combos in the Windows registry, and what actions they commit, resetting
the keyboard is not going to reset the registry entries. Some are
standard definitions, like Mute, Web, Email, Calculator, etc. Find them
in the registry at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AppKey

There is no obvious mapping of key number to the keyboard key. Can be difficult to figure which to edit.

https://winaero.com/change-what-extra-app-keys-do-for-the-keyboard-in-windows-10-8-and-7/

That lists key numberings from 1 to 54. In my registry, mine only go up
to key 45, and some key numbers are skipped (9-14, 19-23). Although
some are missing, some "keys" still work on my keyboard, like Volume
Down (#9), Volume Up (#10), and so on. There are no definitions to the
key numbers. Each key number has a default behavior in the OS. For
example, key 15 activates the default e-mail client. While it would
bring up Outlook, my default e-mail client, it would keep starting a new instance. I wanted only 1 instance of outlook.exe running at a time, so
I changed:

key 15 : ShellExecute = "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\OUTLOOK.EXE" /recycle

The /recycle switch tells Outlook to reuse an existing instance of
outlook.exe, if there is one. If not, startup a new instance of
Outlook.

So, you might be using ancilliary software to define the keys on your
keyboard for what they do, like run a program or some macro, and you'll
have to figure out how to reset that software to the defaults, or
uninstall that software to revert to the OS defaults for some keys on
the keyboard (which you can override by specifying ShellExecute for what
the key should do other than the default action defined in the OS).

If it is a truly programmable keyboard (not using ancilliary remapping software), and if you're not trying to alter the OS definitions for
standard keys, why not read the manual for your keyboard to see how to
reset its programmed functions? Could be a trick of unplugging the
keyboard, and holding down the Esc key when you plug it back in. Could
be you use its ancilliary software (what you used to program it) to do a
reset.

Do a search on "<brand> <model> manual" to see if there is a manual on
whatever is your keyboard. Then save a local copy rather than having to
search for it again later. If it uses software to program the key
actions, could be you'll have to see if there is help on that software.

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On 3/8/2025 10:46 am, VanguardLH wrote:

Do a search on "<brand> <model> keyboard reset". Specify the brand and
model of your keyboard. There is not univeral method. Depends on which keyboard you have which you did not specify.

It's a Rapoo V500 Pro. Some keys were suddenly tied together (e.g.
pressing End would load the media player in addition to moving the
cursor; pressing SHIFT also triggered ENTER).

The problem went away after disconnecting the keyboard for days. So
somehow there was on-board memory to remember these bindings.

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On 3/8/2025 1:22 am, Paul wrote:

It quite likely requires a custom computer program of some sort,
if the storage inside the keyboard is not in the form of a
standard file storage scheme.

Persistent storage is via NOR or NAND Flash.

I did find the utility for the keyboard. But the utility did NOT quite
reset the keyboard to factory defaults.... the keyboard certainly had
on-board memory.

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On Sun, 8/3/2025 4:51 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

On 3/8/2025 10:46 am, VanguardLH wrote:

Do a search on "<brand> <model> keyboard reset".ÿ Specify the brand and
model of your keyboard.ÿ There is not univeral method.ÿ Depends on which
keyboard you have which you did not specify.

It's a Rapoo V500 Pro. Some keys were suddenly tied together (e.g. pressing End would load the media player in addition to moving the cursor; pressing SHIFT also triggered ENTER).

The problem went away after disconnecting the keyboard for days. So somehow there was on-board memory to remember these bindings.

Not a functional description I would want.

https://www.amazon.ca/Rapoo-Programmable-Mechanical-Keyboard-Original/dp/B00SWIYYAE

"All keys on the keyboard are programmable (including single keys,
combination keys and macro keys). The simplified operations allow
you to be always one step ahead in the game."

"Built-in memory can save the keyboard configuration file in the game mode.
All your playing modes will be stored thus totally under your control
on any computer without the help of other software."

Reviewer comment:

The problem I had with the keyboard was that it would just quit.
I had to unplug it from the USB 3 port and plug it back into
the USB 3 port 2 or 3 times an hour. I uninstalled and reinstalled
the driver 3 times. I was running Windows 8.1.Update:

I now have Windows 10. The keyboard works great and all the time.

It would appear, even though the "memory" is inside the keyboard,
the driver is part of the story. Hmmm.

Paul



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"Mr. Man-wai Chang" <toyliet.toylet@gmail.com> wrote:

On 3/8/2025 10:46 am, VanguardLH wrote:

Do a search on "<brand> <model> keyboard reset". Specify the brand and
model of your keyboard. There is not univeral method. Depends on which
keyboard you have which you did not specify.

It's a Rapoo V500 Pro. Some keys were suddenly tied together (e.g.
pressing End would load the media player in addition to moving the
cursor; pressing SHIFT also triggered ENTER).

The problem went away after disconnecting the keyboard for days. So
somehow there was on-board memory to remember these bindings.

https://www.rapoo-eu.com/product/v500-pro/#features-anchor

Did not see anything there mentioning the keyboard is programmable.

https://www.rapoo-eu.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/V500PRO_WW_A.2_5602-06K13-222.pdf

Looked in the manual. I would've expected the Fn+key combos to give you
media functions (mute, play, web, email, etc), but instead they give you
a myriad of different choice of lighting fluff. All glitz, no function.
There is almost nothing else in the manual of note. All about lighting.

Since all the Fn+key combos are for lighting effects, where is the key
to load the media player? I went to:

https://www.rapoo-eu.com/product/v500-pro/

and clicked on the image showing the straight-on front view of the
keyboard. That gives a zoomed view of the keyboard, or click on the
view to get a separate page showing the front face, and click on that to
get a zoomed view. There are no media keys on this keyboard.

- Go to https://www.rapoo-eu.com/product/v500-pro/.
- Click on the front-facing pic of the keyboard.
- Hover mouse over the view (on left). Mouse pointer changes to "+"
(meaning you can zoom in).
- With the mouse pointer as a "+", click on the image. A new view opens
with the mouse still as a "+" character.
- While the mouse is a "+", click on the image. Get an even bigger
zoomed view.

Nowhere is there any media keys. You must be adding them using
remapping or macro software to redefine the key scan codes, often by
requiring a combo keypress.

What software are you using to map functions, actions, or macros onto
this keyboard (or any keyboard)?

There is a driver download, but no idea why this keyboard would need
one. Since it is not directly programmable, or indirectly programmable
via ancilliary software to perform remapping, it should work with the
standard HID (Human Input Device) for the keyboard in the OS.

There are some V500 Pro models with batteries, because they are wireless keyboards. For those, you have to replace the batteries when the
keyboard gets flaky. V500 Pro: wired. V500PRO 2.4 [TKL]: wireless.
Perhaps by "V500 Pro" you meant one of the submodels that are wireless.
If so, how long since you changed the battery? I saw nothing in the
manual that mentioned a battery charge level indicator, just all about lighting, and warranty.

You are using some ancilliary software to redefine key [combos] on the keyboard. There are no media keys on this keyboard, so it cannot even
use the pre-defined media mappings in the Windows registry -- unless
they keyboard itself is sending the wrong scan codes which means the
keyboard is broke.

Paul found the keyboard at Amazon which says it is programmable. Its
manual says nothing about programming nor of software to do that.
Nothing at the web site for the keyboard mentions programming. However,
the one Paul found at Amazon is not a Pro submodel. That ad is for a
Rapoo V500, but you said you have the Rapoo V500 Pro.

https://www.rapoo-eu.com/product/v500/

That is for the V500 non-Pro model. Doesn't look like what is being
sold at Amazon. The mfr site says it is a lighted keyboard. Nothing at
Amazon about lighting. The mfr specs on the V500 say it is lighted, and
shows a double inject molding for the keys: opaque black for the key
caps with clear injection for the letters (to let the light shine
through) which means the lettering won't wear off. The one at Amazon
shows key caps with printed lettering (which will wear off), and are
shiny. I suspect the Amazon ad is *not* for a V500 despite "v500" is
printed on the spacebar.

https://www.rapoo-eu.com/product-category/keyboards/

Didn't see one listed at the mfr site that matched the appearance shown
in the Amazon ad, especially the traffic cone orange strip under the F
keys. Could be what is at Amazon is a discontinued model. I'm starting
to suspect that "Arion Rapoo" is a counterfeit of "Rapoo". Consumers
shouldn't have to visit Dropbox accounts to get the programming software
(as mentioned by one reviewer).

If what you have is what Paul found, yep, why I mentioned ancilliary
software to remap or program the keyboard. Could be it has a reset (to defaults) function.

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On 3/8/2025 11:12 pm, VanguardLH wrote:

Didn't see one listed at the mfr site that matched the appearance shown
in the Amazon ad, especially the traffic cone orange strip under the F
keys. Could be what is at Amazon is a discontinued model. I'm starting
to suspect that "Arion Rapoo" is a counterfeit of "Rapoo". Consumers shouldn't have to visit Dropbox accounts to get the programming software
(as mentioned by one reviewer).

If what you have is what Paul found, yep, why I mentioned ancilliary
software to remap or program the keyboard. Could be it has a reset (to defaults) function.

The one I got does not have lightning. I dunno what's the proper name
for it. It's definitely a V500 mechanical keyboard. I had problems
finding information about it as well. It's a TKL keyboard.

It seemed that somehow the keyboard could be programmed to work like
macros WITHOUT using driver or utility. That's why right-SHIFT triggered
ENTER and END suddenly loaded the media player. Should have sokmething
to do with "on-board memory". I was only typing like normal.....

I have disconnected the keyboard from the PC. Those "macros" should be forgotten after maybe a week. Dunno..... that's why I asked whether I
could speed up this process using electronic method, say shorting the
pins in its USB plug. :)


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On 3/8/2025 7:31 pm, Paul wrote:

I now have Windows 10. The keyboard works great and all the time.

It would appear, even though the "memory" is inside the keyboard,
the driver is part of the story. Hmmm.

Bad luck for me buying this TKL keyboard... I never expected this
strange behavior.

But if there was a way to reset its on-board memory by discharging, like
a motherboard's CLEAR CMOS. :)


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"Mr. Man-wai Chang" <toylet.toylet@gmail.com> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

Didn't see one listed at the mfr site that matched the appearance
shown in the Amazon ad, especially the traffic cone orange strip
under the F keys. Could be what is at Amazon is a discontinued
model. I'm starting to suspect that "Arion Rapoo" is a counterfeit
of "Rapoo". Consumers shouldn't have to visit Dropbox accounts to
get the programming software (as mentioned by one reviewer).

If what you have is what Paul found, yep, why I mentioned ancilliary
software to remap or program the keyboard. Could be it has a reset
(to defaults) function.

The one I got does not have lightning. I dunno what's the proper name
for it. It's definitely a V500 mechanical keyboard. I had problems
finding information about it as well. It's a TKL keyboard.

It seemed that somehow the keyboard could be programmed to work like
macros WITHOUT using driver or utility. That's why right-SHIFT triggered ENTER and END suddenly loaded the media player. Should have sokmething
to do with "on-board memory". I was only typing like normal.....

I have disconnected the keyboard from the PC. Those "macros" should be forgotten after maybe a week. Dunno..... that's why I asked whether I
could speed up this process using electronic method, say shorting the
pins in its USB plug. :)

Maybe it is this one:

https://www.rapoo-eu.com/product/v500pro-2-4-tkl/

That has "TKL" in the model name, but doesn't have the orange racing
stripe showing in the one Paul found. It can be wired or wireless. For wireless mode, yep, an internal battery is needed. Says it has a
rechargeable lithium battery, so you'll occasionally have to use a wired connection to get power to the keyboard to charge its battery. There
was no manual at the mfr site. Since it is a lithium battery, it
probably is not a user-serviceable battery; i.e., it is permament.
You'll have to run a cord to it from a USB port to occasionally charge
the internal battery inside the keyboard.

I did not see a download for a programming tool for the keyboard. All
the media key (Fn+Fkey) combos are those already defined in the Windows registry as previously noted.

This TKL model at the mfr site is not programmable versus the one Paul
found at Amazon. No downloads are listed for the TKL model, so it uses
the HID driver already included in Windows, and the registry media key definitions.

The TKL model at the mfr site mentions "RGB backlighted", but you say
yours has non lighting. There is no manual at the mfr site for their
TKL model. Not sure what you got for a keyboard.

For this TKL model at the mfr site, the battery is for wireless mode
with the keyboard, not to save programming remaps or macros. We don't
know with what brand and model of computer you are using this keyboard.
If it is a pre-built, likely it came with loads of bundleware of which
one might be some keyboarding enhancer or remapper.

Did the keyboard come with any software, like on a disc, or the manual
or info sheet had a URL from where to download software?

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On 4/8/2025 1:15 am, VanguardLH wrote:

Did the keyboard come with any software, like on a disc, or the manual
or info sheet had a URL from where to download software?

No.

But then the box was NOT sealed. Dunno whether things were removed
before I bought it. :)

My V500 TKL got a blue stripe under the function keys, not orange.

I suspect it's a defective wireless keyboard resold as a wired keyboard.
Maybe I might find a stub battery if I opened its plastic casing.


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On Sun, 8/3/2025 1:52 PM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

On 4/8/2025 1:15 am, VanguardLH wrote:

Did the keyboard come with any software, like on a disc, or the manual
or info sheet had a URL from where to download software?

No.

But then the box was NOT sealed. Dunno whether things were removed before I bought it. :)

My V500 TKL got a blue stripe under the function keys, not orange.

I suspect it's a defective wireless keyboard resold as a wired keyboard. Maybe I might find a stub battery if I opened its plastic casing.

Based on Vans find, I would guess that's the problem,
an 18650 or a pouch cell or something, inside.

It would be interesting to see whether it has a
keyboard chip part number inside, or whether it's
just a processor of some sort, with RAM and Flash.

Sometimes, the battery pack on such things, has a
relatively easy connector to remove.

Paul

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On 3/8/2025 4:51 pm, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

It's a Rapoo V500 Pro. Some keys were suddenly tied together (e.g.
pressing End would load the media player in addition to moving the
cursor; pressing SHIFT also triggered ENTER).

The problem went away after disconnecting the keyboard for days. So
somehow there was on-board memory to remember these bindings.

After this Rapoo V500 was disconnected from electricity for over 5 days,
I reconnected it to the PC. Those 2 keys still malfunctioned, but after
I hit the Right-Shift keys multiple times inside Command Prompt, the 2
keys returned to normal. I dunno what happened at all....

--
@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw


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On 8/8/2025 6:19 pm, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

On 3/8/2025 4:51 pm, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

It's a Rapoo V500 Pro. Some keys were suddenly tied together (e.g.
pressing End would load the media player in addition to moving the
cursor; pressing SHIFT also triggered ENTER).

The problem went away after disconnecting the keyboard for days. So
somehow there was on-board memory to remember these bindings.

After this Rapoo V500 was disconnected from electricity for over 5 days,
I reconnected it to the PC. Those 2 keys still malfunctioned, but after
I hit the Right-Shift keys multiple times inside Command Prompt, the 2
keys returned to normal. I dunno what happened at all....

Oh well, the problem reappeared again!!


--
@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw


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Keywords: VanguardLH,VLH

"Mr. Man-wai Chang" <toylet.toylet@gmail.com> wrote:

Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

Man-wai Chang wrote:

It's a Rapoo V500 Pro. Some keys were suddenly tied together (e.g.
pressing End would load the media player in addition to moving the
cursor; pressing SHIFT also triggered ENTER).

The problem went away after disconnecting the keyboard for days. So
somehow there was on-board memory to remember these bindings.

After this Rapoo V500 was disconnected from electricity for over 5
days, I reconnected it to the PC. Those 2 keys still malfunctioned,
but after I hit the Right-Shift keys multiple times inside Command
Prompt, the 2 keys returned to normal. I dunno what happened at
all....

Oh well, the problem reappeared again!!

Does this problem happen with a different brand of keyboard? You said
you discharged (disconnected) the V500 keyboard for 5 days, so what
keyboard were you using in the meantime which apparently never
encountered the problematic cross-key linkage?

You got an open box which means used (although sellers like to hide that
under "refurbished" or "previously owned"). Could be you got a
refurbished dud, and perhaps why it went back to the seller for you to
then get stuck with it. Is it still within the warranty period? If so,
check if the seller wants you to return to get a different unit (mark
the defective one to be sure you don't get it back, like a black Sharpie
on the bottom of the black case, or 2, or more, dots on the underside
label). Of course, they'll want you to pay the return shipping, but it
may be worth the cost to get rid of a flaky keyboard to use the refund
to replace with something better.

While Rapoo advertises being at the low-end of the pricing scale for
mechanical keyboards, there are others at the same price point; e.g.,
Logitech K845 (https://tinyurl.com/L845mech). Some are even cheaper,
but I don't have experience with those odd-brand units.

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On 10/8/2025 2:45 am, VanguardLH wrote:

Does this problem happen with a different brand of keyboard? You said
you discharged (disconnected) the V500 keyboard for 5 days, so what
keyboard were you using in the meantime which apparently never
encountered the problematic cross-key linkage?

The problem was specific to the Rapoo keyboard, not Windows overall.

--
@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw

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On 10/8/2025 11:49 am, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

The problem was specific to the Rapoo keyboard, not Windows overall.

Imagine a keyboard with firmware hosting A.I!! Absolutely horrifying....
I want very very old keyboard controllers! :)

--
@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw

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