Keyboard and mouse won't work in XP

[Chris Atkinson]

I have a bizarre problem which appears to have pretty much screwed up
the computer.
The machine is an old P3 with XP-Pro (basic, no SP1) installed, I used
it as a back-up machine and it worked perfectly, albeit slowly.
It was intended for my Granddaughter and it had been powered down all
peripherals removed and sent off. My Grandson (16 and very computer
literate) tried to set it up and discovered that the keyboard and mouse
were not being recognised.
The machine is now back with me and I've found the same problem. The
keyboard (Cherry PS/2) and mouse (USB optical) - which were working fine
before - still work fine on other computers but not on this one.
I have tried various other keyboards and mice (including serial) - no
use.
The keyboard works fine in BIOS setup and although it won't work with XP
the numlock light is on; the optical mouse is certainly getting power.
The computer appears to boot up okay right thro' to the XP desktop. I
can also access the computer on the network.
Given that all that happened was that the computer, keyboard and mouse
went for a ride, I'm at a loss to figure out why they now won't work as
they should.
Any ideas??
Chris A.

 

[Guest]

Are they plugged into the correct PS/2 port. It is possible that you have
mouse in k'bd socket. Some PCs have incorrect labels on them. Newer units
have the keyboard socket colour coded purple and mouse is green.

 

[Chris Atkinson]

Are they plugged into the correct PS/2 port. It is possible that you have
mouse in k'bd socket. Some PCs have incorrect labels on them. Newer units
have the keyboard socket colour coded purple and mouse is green.

Thanks for the quick response - I'd love to be able to say that you've
solved my problem ... but alas not. All sockets are present and correct
and properly plugged into .
The keyboard and mouse are the ones that have always been on this PC,
and the keyboard works okay in BIOS setup and they both work fine in a
DOS environment. For the life of me I can't imagine what has happened to
cause this problem in just a simple move of a machine - done the same
thing loads of times over the years. And, yes, I checked that every
board is seating properly.
Chris A.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

Can you boot into safe mode and then select last known good config?

Peter

 

[Chris Atkinson]

Can you boot into safe mode and then select last known good config?

yep, tried that several times and the result was always seemingly the
same - couldn't input.
I even tried re-installing XP Pro and it seemed to be going okay until
the point when it asked me for an input (choice of language ISTR), and
once again I couldn't do a damn thing.
Ran out of time and patience and have now passed it back to the guy who
built it for me some five years ago to see if he can fix it.
Many thanks to all who offered advice, it's what Usenet is all about.
Chris A.