diff --git a/src/aliases/,aliases_ram_lowmem_m65.s b/src/aliases/,aliases_ram_lowmem_m65.s
index 9fc12e3b..ee955201 100644
--- a/src/aliases/,aliases_ram_lowmem_m65.s
+++ b/src/aliases/,aliases_ram_lowmem_m65.s
@@ -55,12 +55,11 @@
 	!addr M65_SCRCOLMAX      = $594 ;            maximum allowed column
 	!addr M65_KB_BUCKY       = $595 ;            result of bucky keys scan
 	!addr M65_KB_COLSCAN     = $596 ; $596-$59E  results of keyboard scan, columns 0-8
-	!addr M65_KB_COLSUM      = $59F ;            sum (OR) of the M65_KB_COLSCAN
+	!addr M65_JOYCRSR        = $59F ;            joystick to be used for cursor movement
 	!addr M65_KB_PRESSED     = $560 ; $560-$562  keys pressed, used during scanning keyboard
 	!addr M65_KB_PRESSED_OLD = $563 ; $563-$565  keys pressed during previous scan
 	!addr M65_KB_PRESSED_NEW = $566 ; $566-$568  set of M65_KB_PRESSED minus M65_KB_PRESSED_OLD
-	!addr M65_JOYCRSR        = $569 ;            joystick to be used for cursor movement
-	                                ; $56A-$5EB  -- UNUSED --
+	                                ; $569-$5EB  -- UNUSED --
 	!addr M65_DMAGIC_LIST    = $5F1 ; $5EF-$5FF  reserved for DMAgic list, 15 bytes (modulo bytes are not needed)
 	!addr M65_RS232_INBUF    = $600 ; $600-$6FF  -- reserved for RS-232 input buffer --
 	!addr M65_RS232_OUTBUF   = $700 ; $700-$7FF  -- reserved for RS-232 output buffer --
diff --git a/src/kernal/keyboard_m65/mega65_scnkey.s b/src/kernal/keyboard_m65/mega65_scnkey.s
index 50bb7e70..419034a9 100644
--- a/src/kernal/keyboard_m65/mega65_scnkey.s
+++ b/src/kernal/keyboard_m65/mega65_scnkey.s
@@ -4,13 +4,21 @@
 
 m65_scnkey:
 
+	; Initialize work variables for scanning the keyboard
+
+	lda M65_KB_PRESSED+0
+	sta M65_KB_PRESSED_OLD+0
+	lda M65_KB_PRESSED+1
+	sta M65_KB_PRESSED_OLD+1
+	lda M65_KB_PRESSED+2
+	sta M65_KB_PRESSED_OLD+2
+
+	jsr m65_scnkey_init_pressed
+
 	;
 	; Scan the whole keyboard, store results in memory
 	;
 
-	lda #$00
-	sta M65_KB_COLSUM
-
 	ldx #$08
 
 	lda #%01111111
@@ -25,8 +33,6 @@ m65_scnkey_fetch_loop:
 	lda KBSCN_PEEK
 	eor #$FF                           ; let bit 1 mean 'pressed', not the otherwise
 	sta M65_KB_COLSCAN, x
-	ora M65_KB_COLSUM
-	sta M65_KB_COLSUM
 	dex
 	bpl m65_scnkey_fetch_loop
 
@@ -80,16 +86,15 @@ m65_scnkey_keytab_set_done:
 	; Scan the keyboard matrix stored in memory to determine which keys were pressed
 	;
 
-	lda M65_KB_PRESSED+0
-	sta M65_KB_PRESSED_OLD+0
-	lda M65_KB_PRESSED+1
-	sta M65_KB_PRESSED_OLD+1
-	lda M65_KB_PRESSED+2
-	sta M65_KB_PRESSED_OLD+2
-
-	jsr m65_scnkey_init_pressed
-
-	lda M65_KB_COLSUM
+	lda M65_KB_COLSCAN+0               ; no loop here - for performance purposes
+	ora M65_KB_COLSCAN+1
+	ora M65_KB_COLSCAN+2
+	ora M65_KB_COLSCAN+3
+	ora M65_KB_COLSCAN+4
+	ora M65_KB_COLSCAN+5
+	ora M65_KB_COLSCAN+6
+	ora M65_KB_COLSCAN+7
+	ora M65_KB_COLSCAN+8
 	beq m65_scnkey_try_joystick        ; branch if no key was pressed
 
 	ldx #$08