If the right Alt on your keyboard stops working when you switch input languages using the Alt + Shift combination, then the reason lies in an update that was recently installed on Windows. The problem with the right Alt appeared after Microsoft released an update that supported entering a special Russian ruble character from the keyboard. To do this, use the right Alt.
As a result, it turned out that switching the input language from English to Russian using the Alt + Shift combination works, but switching back (from Russian to English) not happening. Moreover, this behavior is present on both Windows 7/8/8/1 and Windows 10.
There are only two ways to solve this problem. The first method, which is not the most correct and will not suit everyone, is to remove the installed update, which uses the right Alt. It is known that for Windows 7 you should uninstall the update KB2970228, and for Windows 8.1 - KB3000850. However, updates are released regularly, and no one can guarantee that after an update is removed, a newly released and installed update on the system will not return you to the well-known right Alt behavior.
To uninstall any system update, you should launch and go to the section.
Which is used to remove applications and system components. Click on the line on the left to view installed updates.
In a new window you should find the required update. It is convenient to use the search by inserting the update number with letters into the search bar in the right corner. After that, click the button and uninstall the update.
After rebooting, check if right Alt works.
There is an alternative way to remove updates if the system gives an error during uninstallation.
Launch Command Prompt (Win+R>CMD>Enter) and enter the following line:
wusa.exe /uninstall /kb: 3000850
A special offline update installer will uninstall the specified update if it is present on the system.
There is another way to make the right Alt work - this is to make it a backup of the left Alt. In this case, in all versions of Windows, regardless of installed updates, changing input languages when pressing Alt right + Shift will always occur. That is, when you press the right Alt, pressing the left Alt will be simulated. This method will require making changes to the system registry. You don't have to install any additional programs.
Launch Windows Registry Editor on your computer.
The most effective and universal way for all systems is to press the Win + R keys. The Run command window opens. Enter Regedit and press OK.
Please note that administrative privileges may be required to make changes to the registry.
On the left is a tree of registry keys. We open the sections sequentially:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout |
In the main window, right-click on the free field and select Create> . Specify the parameter name as .
Now double-click on the created parameter and insert the following line into the value line:
hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,38,00,38,e0,00,00,00,00
After this, close the registry and restart the system. When logging into Windows, Right Alt will work normally as if you were pressing Left Alt. In this case, there will be no dependence on the currently used language layout.
It was the second method that was chosen by many users, and now nothing prevents them from using familiar keyboard shortcuts, both to change the input language and for other commands with the right Alt.
The other day I encountered the following problem: right Alt does not work. No way. On two machines at the same time, after installing the update.
Reason: update package KB2970228 (for Windows 7) or KB2975719 (for Windows 8.1), which, among other things, changes the standard layout of the Russian keyboard so that the right Alt (AltGr) becomes a dead key for typing the ruble sign, which is located on the number 8.
Solution: Remove update package KB2970228 (for Windows 7) or KB2975719 (for Windows 8.1) from the Programs and Features Control Panel applet.
Note: when you uninstall the update package, the ruble sign disappears from the fonts and is no longer displayed.
An alternative solution to the problem is under the cut...
Suspecting a problem with the keyboard layout, I switched to English. Under English - everything is fine, under Russian - the right Alt is silent. With the help of MSKLC, I found out that the ruble symbol (₽) was added to the Russian layout, hanging it on the right Alt+8 combination.
Look at this mess:
Picture
To add one single character, they had to strip the right Alt of its normal functionality. As a longtime lover of the right Alt+Shift to switch languages, I simply couldn’t pass it up! Yes, there are few of us who like Alt+Shift, but we still exist! Switching layouts without the right Alt instantly turned into hell, and all for the sake of the rarely used ruble sign. I don’t know how it is in Russia, but in Kazakhstan it is 100 % not needed.
There is nothing to do, using the same MSKLC I made a layout without a ruble. It works fine under Windows 7, immediately after installing the layout. Under Windows 8.1 it works after reboot. So, for all caring fans of right Alt+Shift, I am posting the layout installer.
Installation under Windows 7.
Run the installer (setup.exe), it will work, after which a new layout will appear in “Languages and text input services”: “Russian without RUB symbol with free right alt”. It can be set by default to eliminate any possibility of switching to the ruble layout. Like this:
Picture 
Installation under Windows 8.1.
Run the installer (setup.exe), it will work, after which you should reboot. After the reboot, go to the Language applet, where you can use the Additional options link to set this layout as the default layout.
These are the pies with kittens. Uninstalling the update does not go away without leaving a trace, the new ruble symbol disappears from the fonts, and now some kind of stub is displayed instead. So, if now I encounter this symbol somewhere, I won’t see it. One might say that he deleted it in vain. This really solves the problem with the layout, but at the cost of the ruble symbol disappearing completely. So I would still recommend setting your own keyboard layout so as not to lose this character.
If anyone knows more about this problem, please post in the comments.
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The right key on the Windows keyboard has stopped working Alt. This manifested itself when I switched the keyboard layout with the right combination Alt+Shift became impossible. The reason is that you installed a Windows update that displays . For Windows 7 this update is numbered KB2970228, for Windows 8.1 - KB2975719. The update also causes problems with the right alt KB3000850.
There are two main and most suitable solutions to this problem.
Uninstalling a Windows update
1. Uninstall the update KB2970228(for Windows 7) or KB2975719(for Windows 8.1) or in some cases KB3000850. But in this case, the correct display of the ruble symbol in Windows will be disrupted. For those who do not care, the update is removed as follows.
Let's go to " Start», « Control Panel»:
We find " Programs and components", then click on " View installed updates»:
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In the list that opens, find the required update, select it and click “ Delete" Next, follow the dialogs (in the window that opens) and delete the update. Then we restart the computer. Right Alt should work.
Reassigning Right Alt
2. The second method will be acceptable when displaying the ruble sign in Windows is needed. In this case, the right Alt will be reassigned and will perform the functions of the left Alt. That is, there will not be left and right Alt, but there will be left on the left and left on the right. To do this (a file with the extension .reg in a zip archive) we launch it. A system message will warn you and ask you to continue, to which we respond “ Yes».
You must restart Windows for the entered values to take effect.
For curious and more advanced users, it’s worth describing the second method a little. Entries have been added to the registry branch. The file that was presented above for download has permission .reg contains the following content (which can be viewed in notepad):
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,38,00,38,e0,00,00,00,00
After the changes have been made right Alt will work and perform the function of the left.
As you know, after one of the updates in Windows 7, the ability to switch the layout from Russian to English by pressing the RAlt+Shift combination disappeared. The situation is complicated by the fact that both altos still work in the opposite direction, which is why some (for example, me) for a very long time did not understand why sometimes the layout stops switching.
Probably, the situation can be corrected by Punto Switcher. There are perhaps 20 more programs that can be used by a person who is used to switching layouts only with his right hand, and does not want to relearn at the behest of Microsoft. But installing a new program on every computer, home, work, and also on everyone you know, is not the most convenient way.
There is one difficulty here: the format is binary, and only a person who has absolutely nothing to do can do without an editor. For editing, I used the SharpKeys program. But, since I promised that the solution would use only the registry without third-party programs, I will now share the result of this program.
Solution.
Here is a solution for simply replacing the right alto with the left one. I will not write what is written below, because this post is not a tutorial on working with the registry.Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,38,00,38,e0,00,00,00, 00
This solution has one drawback: previously the right alt worked as an AltGr modifier, and someone could use it. If you used AltGr for its intended purpose quite rarely, then you can press Alt+Control in the future to achieve the same goal. But if you want AltGr with one button, then you need to find some other unnecessary button that you can sacrifice. Here I offer two more options.
Option two is to make the left alto work like the right one (yes, this will disrupt switching layouts with your left hand).
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,38,e0,38,00,38,00,38, e0,00,00,00,00
Option three is to make the right WinKey work as a right alt.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,38,e0,5c,e0,38,00,38, e0,00,00,00,00
