My OH just took a panicking call fo me from a friend needing to do some work tonight on his laptop , which involves using capital letters , and since Microsoft downloaded a stack of updates last night, his computer will only do lower case . I havent a clue , so thought Id ask on here. Is this a common problem on laptops generally, or do I need to find out exact model etc? Can anyone help please?

How about system restore for a quick fix. btw, my first was born at the Heswall Maternity Hospital.

I thought system restore was a resource you only used if you were pretty computer savvy -- not sure if this guy would be ok with that route . I certainly wouldnt know what I was doing with it.

Im afraid I only remember the Cleaver hospital, not the maternity one. Bet you had a nice view of Wales.

It's not complicated. You can find it under Accessories-System Tools-System Restore and follow prompts.

Yes, the view was and still is spectacular.

ok, thanks, Ill pass the info on and he can try it.

It's possible that it's not connected with the update; maybe his shift key isn't working.

Microsoft upgrades would not cause this.

I'd start by trying another keyboard.

The guy did a systems restore to the previous day, and Bingo, it worked thank goodness. Apparently no, it isnt difficult, so might try myself in the future if ever I have the need. Thanks everyone for your posts.