Windows – WinKey + R not always working in Windows 10

hotkeyskeyboard shortcutswindows 10

When I press WinKey+R to bring up the run-command, it started not working all the time. I don't recall if it's been there since I've installed Windows 10 or appeared after, but I would like it if I didn't have to install it all over again.

I don't use a wireless keyboard.

Tests I've done:

  • WinKey+D (or L, A,
    X, K, M, Q) works fine
    all the time, as does the WinKey itself to open the Start Menu.
  • When I'm in Chrome browser (for example) and I scroll a page, it's
    enough for WinKey+R to be ignored. I have to
    change focus to another window (e.g., to Command Prompt) and only then
    can I press (WinKey+R) twice to open the
    Run dialog. (But it's not consistent when I have to do this – it might
    work first try!)
  • WinKey+X followed by WinKey+R, for example, doesn't yield any result.
  • If I click the taskbar (the one that used to contain the 'Start' button) and press WinKey+R, it works!

I was thinking that it could be due to some program catching the key-combination, but I can't seem to find any (did scans with S&D, AVG, Ad-Aware).

Any ideas what it might be or how I can debug this?

Best Answer

I encountered the same problem, that all other shortcuts with WinKey seemed to work perfectly fine, except for WinKey+R.

Symptoms

WinKey+R sometimes (rarely) worked on the the first try, sometimes after the 2nd or 3rd try, and sometimes it did not work at all; except when first focusing the Windows taskbar.

Cause

This occurred immediately after installing Windows 10 (more precisely upgrading from Windows 7 to 10). So, installing Windows 10 was most probably the cause (on my system) for this is.

Solution

For me, uninstalling Adobe Flash did solve this problem

[EDIT] my "solution" seems to have been a fluke: it seemed to work for a about a week, then it reverted to the old problem ... so I still have no idea what causes this problem

[EDIT 2] this problem is solved / does not occur anymore since updating to Windows 10 ver. 1607

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