How I Fixed a Non-Working Keyboard in a Windows 11 VMware VM
I spent hours scratching my head when my keyboard stopped working after I converted my live Windows 11 laptop into a VMware virtual machine on Linux. Here’s the quick fix and how I discovered it.
The Symptom
- I created a VM from my running Windows 11 system.
- After booting the VM, the keyboard didn’t register any keystrokes.
- Device Manager showed my keyboard with “Error 19,” and reinstalling drivers did nothing.
The Hidden Culprit
Windows was still loading my old Synaptics laptop driver as a filter driver. That driver conflicted with VMware’s virtual keyboard driver, so no keystrokes reached the VM.
The Registry Tweak
- Press Win+R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
- Navigate to the keyboard class key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96b-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}
- In the right pane, find UpperFilters and double-click it.
- Remove everything except kbdclass so the value reads:
kbdclass
- Click OK, close Registry Editor, and reboot the VM.
Why It Works
By stripping out the Synaptics filter, Windows falls back to its built-in kbdclass driver, which is compatible with VMware’s virtual keyboard. Once the old driver is out of the way, your keystrokes flow normally again.
Final Thoughts
Sandboxed VMs can carry over legacy drivers that no longer make sense in a virtual context. Checking the filter drivers in the registry is a quick way to catch hidden conflicts. Next time your VM’s keyboard goes silent, give this registry edit a shot.
