Keyboard problems

[Dsquared]

I am working on a friend’s computer. His problem is his keyboard stopped
responding.

Here are the basics of the machine:

White Box Tower
ECS K7S5A MoBo w/ AMI BIOS
Athlon XP Processor, 1.25 GHz
1.024 GB PC3200 Ram (I just upgraded this from 512 MB SDRAM)
Windows XP Pro, SP 2
Logitech Easy Internet USB Keyboard (Connected via P/S 2 adapter)
Generic 2-button Scroll Optical Mouse (P/S 2)

Playing around with it, this is what I observed:

1. I tried a different P/S 2 keyboard,; same problem.
2. I plugged his keyboard straight into USB port; same problem.
3. I switched to another USB keyboard; same problem.

I put his keyboard back to the original configuration, and noticed that if I
held the key down for ~1.5 seconds, it would type.

I believe this to be a Windows problem. I was able to enter the BIOS, and
the keyboard worked flawlessly!

So I believe I may need to do a repair installation.

If so, there is no Windows install CD for his system. The computer was built
by his son-in-law some time back, and he did not have a CD.

I have a new XP pro CD, and I am unsure as to whether or not I could use
this to make a repair, or if there would be a conflict due to different key
codes.

Does anyone have any advice / suggestions / answers?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!


ps: If this ends up as a double post, forgive me!! I hit "submit"
previously, and recieved a message that the page was busy.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I am working on a friend's computer. His problem is his keyboard stopped
responding.

Here are the basics of the machine:

White Box Tower
ECS K7S5A MoBo w/ AMI BIOS
Athlon XP Processor, 1.25 GHz
1.024 GB PC3200 Ram (I just upgraded this from 512 MB SDRAM)
Windows XP Pro, SP 2
Logitech Easy Internet USB Keyboard (Connected via P/S 2 adapter)
Generic 2-button Scroll Optical Mouse (P/S 2)

Playing around with it, this is what I observed:

1. I tried a different P/S 2 keyboard,; same problem.
2. I plugged his keyboard straight into USB port; same problem.
3. I switched to another USB keyboard; same problem.

I put his keyboard back to the original configuration, and noticed that if
I
held the key down for ~1.5 seconds, it would type.

I believe this to be a Windows problem. I was able to enter the BIOS, and
the keyboard worked flawlessly!

So I believe I may need to do a repair installation.

If so, there is no Windows install CD for his system. The computer was
built
by his son-in-law some time back, and he did not have a CD.

I have a new XP pro CD, and I am unsure as to whether or not I could use
this to make a repair, or if there would be a conflict due to different
key
codes.

Does anyone have any advice / suggestions / answers?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!


ps: If this ends up as a double post, forgive me!! I hit "submit"
previously, and recieved a message that the page was busy.

Some PCs have an OEM version of Windows and some
have a Retail version. If your CD is the same version as the
one that is installed then you can use it for the repair attempt.
Since there is no product code embedded in the CD itself,
there will be no licensing issue.

A better method would be to lean on the owner's son-in-law.
If he did a proper job then he would have the installation CD.
If he doesn't then you should ask him how exactly he installed
Windows.

Before trying a repair installation, you should check the
following:
- Reboot in Safe Mode. Does the keyboard work?
- Use System Restore to return the machine to a point well
before this problem started.

 

[Dsquared]

I don't believe this to be an OEM version. I ran Belarc Advisor, and there is
a real 25 character keycode.

The son-in-law is in VA, i'm in CA, so leaning on him is not an option. I
don't wish to delve into the semantics of his install.

In Safe Mode the keyboard works fine (just tried that!).

I tried yesterday before posting to restore. I went back about 2 weeks, and
no change. I just tried to go back further while in Safe Mode, but there was
only yesterday available.

Another thing I noticed. I shut down his tower last night after posting, and
went to bed. I got up, the tower was on. I shut-down again, and it is like
hitting restart instead of turning off. I did just turn it off from Safe Mode.

Thoughts?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

If the keyboard works in Safe Mode then you have an agent
running in Normal Mode that causes your problem. Run
msconfig.exe and disable your startup tasks until you can
identify the culprit.

Regardless of the current location of the son-in-law, the
owner of the PC needs to resolve the issue of the missing
installation CD. Sooner or later he will need it again.

 

[Nightowl]

Does anyone have any advice / suggestions / answers?

Hi Dsquared

Have you tried deleting the keyboard from Device Manager, then rebooting
and letting Windows redetect it? I would certainly give it a go before
undertaking a repair install.

 

[Dsquared]

Hi Dsquared

Have you tried deleting the keyboard from Device Manager, then rebooting
and letting Windows redetect it? I would certainly give it a go before
undertaking a repair install.

Yes, didnd't make any difference. I used the same keyboard, different
keyboard, still no luck.


Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:

If the keyboard works in Safe Mode then you have an agent
running in Normal Mode that causes your problem. Run
msconfig.exe and disable your startup tasks until you can
identify the culprit.

 

[Dsquared]

I disabled the start-up tasks, one at a time, and all at once. No help! I
also did "Diagnostic Start-up" with no better resullts.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Did you also disable all non-Microsoft services?

 

[Dsquared]

Unsure what you are asking. I disabled ALL start-ups and ALL services (except
fpr the RPC, which by default do not disable.

Is this what you are asking?

 

[ANONYMOUS]

I disabled the start-up tasks, one at a time, and all at once. No help! I
also did "Diagnostic Start-up" with no better resullts.

The easiest way to fix your problem is to try using another keyboard
which you know works well on some other PC. If you are using a laptop,
then try using an external USB keyboard to verify whether your Windows
Installation is faulty!

If a new keyboard works well as you expect it to then clearly your old
keyboard needs to be disposed off safely so that it doesn't corrupt our
environment!

hth

 

[Dsquared]

If you follow the thread, you will see I have tried that, and I have verified
the original keyboard is good.

Thanks anyway.

 

[Nightowl]

Yes, didnd't make any difference. I used the same keyboard, different
keyboard, still no luck.

Just wondering. . . which driver does Device Manager show it to be
using, a generic Microsoft one or a Logitech one?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

When you look at the items listed under the Services tab
in msconfig.exe then you see a box that lets you hide all
Microsoft services. After hiding those, can easily disable
the rest while leaving the MS services intact.

A completely different question: Does the problem occur
when you log on under an account other than your normal
logon account?

 

[Dsquared]

It is the Logitech driver.

Just wondering. . . which driver does Device Manager show it to be
using, a generic Microsoft one or a Logitech one?

 

[Dsquared]

When I did the diagnostic start-up I checked the services and start-up tabs
under msconfig. All boxes in both tabs were cleared except for the 2
Microsoft lines for Remote Procedure Call.

I have not tried logging on under another user, because there is none. He is
the only one on the computer, and it goes directly to his account upon start.
I will create another user and post back results!

 

[Dsquared]

Okay, I created a new user with administrative priveleges, rebooted, and
logged on under the new account. Keyboard works fine!!

So, I am guessing his original profile has been corrupted. This fix will
allow him to get running again.

Thanks for the question about users, Pegasus!

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Okay, I created a new user with administrative priveleges, rebooted, and
logged on under the new account. Keyboard works fine!!

So, I am guessing his original profile has been corrupted. This fix will
allow him to get running again.

Thanks for the question about users, Pegasus!

"Dsquared" wrote:

I tend to agree with your conclusion - thanks for the feedback.

 

[Xavier]

hello

i am having just the same problem and using actually the MS virtual keyboard.

to help i must mention that no keyboard work at all with my computer since i
have done some antivirus analyses.

look: every keyboard (ps-2 or USB) work fine in BIOS and are normally
reognized at computer start ;
its still not working in safe mode ;
same thing when logging in another user account ;
a start with the last good known configuration changes nothing and
there's no restore point available ;
the keyboard drivers seem to be still available (like "kbdclass"
in "C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers") ;
in MS hardware manager there's a "PIH keyboard" apearing with no
way to update or uninstall, just anerror code nr32 and nothing else in the
keyboard menu (only one KB plugged).

i hope that those complements could help to find an answer for this issue
without being forced to reinstall OS

anyway, many thanks to give help !