Something is very wrong. I have been playing Skyrim for years, and suddenly some keys on the keyboard stop working. I have investigated all possible solutions found on the internet, nothing works. Basically, when I hit TAB the Character Menu does not show. But I know the TAB key works. When I hit J, the Quest Menu does not show. Instead, the System Menu shows.


1. I have tried deleting Skyrim and reinstalling from Steam. Problem persists. I have also deleted Steam and reinstalled it. Problem persists.


2. I have fiddled with the Steam overlay (which I have never used). I pressed SHIFT + TAB, then again to exit the Steam overlay. Problem persists.


3. I have tried 'disableplayercontrols', then 'enableplayercontrols' in the console. Yes, the Character Menu does show. But, it only persists until I exit the game. Then, on returning to the game, the TAB key once again fails to work. Plus, more importantly, after trying these console commands, on exiting the Character Menu, the player viewpoint immediately shifts 90 degrees to the right. This happens suddenly, it happens all the time.


4. I have tried fiddling with 'bGamepadEnable=1' in the SkyrimPrefs.ini file (in BOTH copies of this file). I tried changing the 1 to a 0 in both files, then rebooting the computer. Problem persists.

The thing is, I had been playing Skyrim for months and years and NEVER had to worry about touching the SkyrimPrefs.ini file.


5. I refuse to believe it is a defect in my keyboard or mouse software. I have played Skyrim for years with the same keyboard and mouse, never had a problem. The TAB key works perfectly elsewhere. It also works in Skyrim once I go through 'disableplayercontrols' and 'enableplayercontrols', but subject to the problems mentioned above.


Can this be a problem that Bethesda inadvertently created, maybe having something to do with the release of SE on October 28? The problem does not seem to affect existing saves. It is only when you delete all saves, and start a new game.


I'm very frustrated with this game, and about to give up.