Intermittent keyboard driver problem

[CurtB]

Windows XP SP2
The keyboard on my friends computer will stop working from time to time. I
have the same keyboard and driver and have had no problems. It's an HP
keyboard and this is the driver. Description HP USB Keyboard/Hub -
HID-keyboard device (r.3)

I checked the following:
Control Panel > Printers and Other Hardware > Keyboard > Hardware tab

Nothing at all was displayed in the devices box. After cold booting the
machine, the keyboard worked for a while and the keyboard driver was listed.
Later, the keyboard quit working again and the keyboard driver was no longer
displayed when I checked. She runs spyware checks and virus scans regularly.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Malke]

Windows XP SP2
The keyboard on my friends computer will stop working from time to time.
I
have the same keyboard and driver and have had no problems. It's an HP
keyboard and this is the driver. Description HP USB Keyboard/Hub -
HID-keyboard device (r.3)

I checked the following:
Control Panel > Printers and Other Hardware > Keyboard > Hardware tab

Nothing at all was displayed in the devices box. After cold booting the
machine, the keyboard worked for a while and the keyboard driver was
listed. Later, the keyboard quit working again and the keyboard driver was
no longer
displayed when I checked. She runs spyware checks and virus scans
regularly.

She should try a different keyboard. If all is well, uninstall any
specialized software that came with the old keyboard and throw the old
keyboard out. They don't last forever.

Malke

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

If it is a usb keyboard, do not use a hub for it. Especially if it is a
laptop.

 

[CurtB]

It doesn't really seem like it ought to be a hardware problem since one of
the symptoms is that the keyboard driver is displayed in the Control Panel
device box when the keyboard works, but isn't displayed when the keyboard is
not working. I'm not sure it isn't a hardware problem though. That's why I
asked for help. I'll suggest she try another keyboard to eliminate it as a
variable. Thank you for your suggestion.

 

[CurtB]

Thank you for your response. It is a USB keyboard with a desktop HP
computer. The keyboard plugs directly into a USB port on the PC. She has
tried different USB ports on the computer and the results have been the same.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Does she get the same thing with a different keyboard? The symtoms suggest
a problem with the current one.

 

[CurtB]

I'll suggest she try a different keybard when I see her. But I don't see how
the the keyboard driver disappearing is a hardware problem.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You can't really assume anything when something goes awry with a computer.