M-w not working but M-x works - windows

Hi, I just got issued a new work computer and I'm not sure what the problem is. `M-w` does not work. `M-x` works, which would seem to indicate that the problem is not that windows is prioritizing the meta key for other operations outside of emacs. When I run `describe-key`, it doesn't register anything as happening when I press `M-w`. When I use `M-x` to find the `kill-ring-save` command, it shows `M-w` as being the assigned shortcut. And yet, nothing happens when I type `M-w`. https://preview.redd.it/73se2bbbp5z91.png?width=272&format=png&auto=webp&s=07132ae264ff7b67afdd149259b663b846284e4f Any ideas on whether the issue is with emacs or with windows, and how to address?

> When I run `describe-key`, it doesn't register anything as happening when I press `M-w`. Almost certainly, something else in the OS is capturing the keypress or it's a bad keyboard.

Thank you! This makes sense, but then I don't understand why `M-x` works. Does mean it's not that something in windows is capturing `M`, but is capturing specifically `M-w`?

Yes, exactly. It's super hard to search for the right keywords, but there are applications that can capture the input and tell you what application is responsible for trapping them. I found this on stack exchange: https://superuser.com/questions/11308/how-can-i-determine-which-process-owns-a-hotkey-in-windows

maybe you are pressing alt gr key? Windows is fucking dumb and confuses ctrl alt with alt gr.