Can I boot a windows 2k pc without the keyboard and
monitor? I need to use it in an industrial application
where I will have keyboard and monitor for setup, but not
for normal operation.

No problem. You'll need to make sure that the BIOS isn't set to halt when
no keyboard/monitor is present, but as far as Windows 2000 is concerned, it
doesn't need a keyboard/mouse.

Regards

Oli


<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:113001c393ec$00774fd0$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Can I boot a windows 2k pc without the keyboard and
> monitor? I need to use it in an industrial application
> where I will have keyboard and monitor for setup, but not
> for normal operation.

Oli Restorick [MVP] wrote:
> No problem. You'll need to make sure that the BIOS isn't set to halt when
> no keyboard/monitor is present, but as far as Windows 2000 is concerned, it
> doesn't need a keyboard/mouse.

Really? That's impressive!

I don't even trust switch boxes for production servers' monitors and
mice. I have one of each for every server, and it's pretty crowded.

So what if you lock yourself out one day, and need to log on locally to
fix it? Can you just plug in a keyboard and mouse without rebooting and
suddenly be able to log on? I didn't think you could, in fact some
hardware manuals say you should never plug/unplug a mouse while the
machine is on (but that's maybe only kit from 10 years ago)...

One thing I did get a shock about the other day, was trying to run
Partition Magic from boot floppies, it said I didn't have a mouse! Damn
USB! I then connected it via PS2 (lucky I had a port and adapter), but
it still said "no mouse" - turns out the Microsoft DOS driver can't
recognize my Logitech mouse! Luckily I found an undocumented folder on
my Logitech CD that had a DOS driver, but it's a bit of a lesson in how
far things have become removed from the BIOS, and how you need to make
sure you've got all low-level drivers to hand for all your kit.

--
Gerry Hickman (London UK)

Hi Gerry

I don't actually do this, but I'm pretty sure that plugging in a keyboard
should result in a working keyboard, but a PS2 mouse won't magically work.
However, I think a USB mouse should work. That's an educated guess on my
part, though.

Regards

Oli


"Gerry Hickman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Oli Restorick [MVP] wrote:
> > No problem. You'll need to make sure that the BIOS isn't set to halt
when
> > no keyboard/monitor is present, but as far as Windows 2000 is concerned,
it
> > doesn't need a keyboard/mouse.
>
> Really? That's impressive!
>
> I don't even trust switch boxes for production servers' monitors and
> mice. I have one of each for every server, and it's pretty crowded.
>
> So what if you lock yourself out one day, and need to log on locally to
> fix it? Can you just plug in a keyboard and mouse without rebooting and
> suddenly be able to log on? I didn't think you could, in fact some
> hardware manuals say you should never plug/unplug a mouse while the
> machine is on (but that's maybe only kit from 10 years ago)...
>
> One thing I did get a shock about the other day, was trying to run
> Partition Magic from boot floppies, it said I didn't have a mouse! Damn
> USB! I then connected it via PS2 (lucky I had a port and adapter), but
> it still said "no mouse" - turns out the Microsoft DOS driver can't
> recognize my Logitech mouse! Luckily I found an undocumented folder on
> my Logitech CD that had a DOS driver, but it's a bit of a lesson in how
> far things have become removed from the BIOS, and how you need to make
> sure you've got all low-level drivers to hand for all your kit.
>
> --
> Gerry Hickman (London UK)
>

I can state that I've done that quite a few times and ALL the time the
KEYBOARD is detected without problems...Hmmmregarding the MOUSE, I've tested
using the PS/2 & that works too! Off coursedepending on which KBD/MOUSE you
have & whether you need extra drivers it might NOT work...

Ted

"Oli Restorick [MVP]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi Gerry
>
> I don't actually do this, but I'm pretty sure that plugging in a keyboard
> should result in a working keyboard, but a PS2 mouse won't magically work.
> However, I think a USB mouse should work. That's an educated guess on my
> part, though.
>
> Regards
>
> Oli
>
>
> "Gerry Hickman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Oli Restorick [MVP] wrote:
> > > No problem. You'll need to make sure that the BIOS isn't set to halt
> when
> > > no keyboard/monitor is present, but as far as Windows 2000 is
concerned,
> it
> > > doesn't need a keyboard/mouse.
> >
> > Really? That's impressive!
> >
> > I don't even trust switch boxes for production servers' monitors and
> > mice. I have one of each for every server, and it's pretty crowded.
> >
> > So what if you lock yourself out one day, and need to log on locally to
> > fix it? Can you just plug in a keyboard and mouse without rebooting and
> > suddenly be able to log on? I didn't think you could, in fact some
> > hardware manuals say you should never plug/unplug a mouse while the
> > machine is on (but that's maybe only kit from 10 years ago)...
> >
> > One thing I did get a shock about the other day, was trying to run
> > Partition Magic from boot floppies, it said I didn't have a mouse! Damn
> > USB! I then connected it via PS2 (lucky I had a port and adapter), but
> > it still said "no mouse" - turns out the Microsoft DOS driver can't
> > recognize my Logitech mouse! Luckily I found an undocumented folder on
> > my Logitech CD that had a DOS driver, but it's a bit of a lesson in how
> > far things have become removed from the BIOS, and how you need to make
> > sure you've got all low-level drivers to hand for all your kit.
> >
> > --
> > Gerry Hickman (London UK)
> >
>
>