PC Hangs when any key pressed

[Martin Ellis]

Following infection with XP Antivirus 2008/9 (and subsequent removal -
hopefully), the PC (HP Advent 2000 - XP Home) I had to recover from a
corrupted registry by using the files in C:\windows\repair, to enable me to
use an earlier snapshot/restore set to get the PC running again.

Ever since then, the PC stops responding when any key whatosever is pressed.

The keyboard and mouse freeze yet the PC keeps working (e.g. If a file copy
procedure has been started, it will carry on after the keyboard and mouse
stop responding).

It then has to be shut down by briefly pressing the PC power button to
initiate the Windows shutdown routine, so it would appear that it's only the
k/b and mouse which stop working.

Both the keyboard and mouse appear to be attempting tp use some of the same
resources - I/O range 0060-0060 and 0064-0064, with the K/B using IRQ 1 and
the mouse IRQ 10. I am unable to alter the I/O settings and Windows say that
it is unable to load a driver for the keyboard.

I have rerun XP setup and tried uninstalling the mouse/keyboard, plus trying
different drivers from Windows' available list.

I really don't want to reformat as the PC has multiple username accounts, so
any help would be gratefully received.

I havwe carried out up to date scans with Malwarebyte's antimalware and v6
of Webroot's A/V.

 

[db.·.. >]

well, if you were infected
and removed the contamination
then you may have reinstalled
it when you did a restore.

and though you may have
reinstalled the o.s. via the
cd, the infection may still
be active.

however, there is the
possibility that you were
simply experiencing issues
with faulty/failing hardware
or corrupted drivers and
misinterpreted the issue
as an infection.

perhaps, you might want
to boot with the cd and
log into the repair/recovery
console.

then at the disk prompt run
a chkdsk /r and fixmbr.

the chkdsk may help with
the file system and the fixboot
may help if the mbr was modified
by an infection or even by the
anti virus program, that is if
you were infected.

then try your o.s. again.

also test run the issue in the
safemode(s).

--------------

if the above still do not help,
then what you might want to
consider is to install windows
from scratch on a "different"
partition or drive/disk and
not overwrite the corrupted
system as it will wipe out
your data.

with a functional o.s. you
will then have the ability
to access the corrupted
system.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

 

[Martin Ellis]

Thanks for the prompt reply...

you may have reinstalled it when you did a restore.

***I carried out scans after the restore opreration too, then deleted the
stored 'restore information' to prevent further incursions. System restore is
currently disabled while I investigate this problem.

however, there is the possibility that you were simply experiencing issues

with faulty/failing hardware
***XP Antivirus is a widely known 'Adware' threat and was detected by the
scans. The fault only appeared after repair attempts wee made.

boot with the cd and log into the repair/recovery console. Then at the disk prompt run a chkdsk /r and fixmbr.

***Already done that at a very early stage in the repair attempt

also test run the issue in the safemode(s).

***Issue persists in safe Mode, even with different hardware. It even
happens when running a repair 'Setup' operation after booting from the XP CD.
The restored system was SP2 so I'm using an SP2 version of the XP 2002 disc.

what you might want to consider is to install windows from scratch on a "different"

partition or drive/disk
***Already tried an alternate hard drive with a basic XP installation. All
is fine in that case, but because of the 'multi-user' arrangement on existing
drive, I don't want to do a clean install on it unless absolutely necessary.
It is looking like I may have to go down that road though if I can't sort it
soon.

you will then have the ability to access the corrupted system.

*** The system is already accessible. It works in all respects other than
not being able to use a keyboard. With a liittle inventiveness I've been able
to insert key strokes in boxes (to load A/V software for example) by creating
text documents on another PC, then transferring the file with a flash drive
and using copy-paste for the required text.

I did neglect to mention that there's a yellow exclamation mark next to the
keyboard in device manager.

Martin

 

[db.·.. >]

well, i give you an A+ as
it seems you did pretty good
with the methods i provided.

however i must give you a
D- because that little
notification that is colored
in "bright yellow with an
exclamation mark" is a big
deal.

further, it is likely that you
would have save a lot of time
and trouble "and" save me
some time as well.

perhaps if windows made
an insufferable crying of
a baby sound in addition to
providing a bright yellow indicator
with the exclamation mark,
windows warnings would not
be neglected.

---------

if the keyboard doesn't work
in safemode, then it is either
an issue with the hardware, like
the keyboard or its cable or
the connector at the end
of the cable or the one
on the mobo.

or the driver is not
compatible or corrupted
or still infected.

it is unclear if after you
reinstalled windows, if
the kb was functional then
and perhaps became dysfunctional
after you began reloading windows
with third party software which is
malware.

another area to review is your
hardware interrupts and if they
conflicting/overlapping
with another device.

you might want to test
your kb on another system.

you might also want to
try a different keyboard on
your system or use the
on-screen keyboard via your
mouse and compare its functionality.

click on start>run>osk.exe

another method to activate
osk is via the accessibility
control panel.

the above are only a few
variables to look into since
the types of keyboards
vary, like wireless, usb,
etc..
----------


db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

 

[Martin Ellis]

it is likely that you
would have save a lot of time
and trouble "and" save me
some time as well.

***No need to get snippy I did say that there were resource conflicts,
and I assumed that this would point to an exclamation mark being present.

another area to review is your
hardware interrupts and if they
conflicting/overlapping
with another device.

***As above. My original question mentioned that the K/B and mouse were both
trying to use the same address range.

Martin

 

[db.·.. >]

at my age, if i'm not
snippy or snappy,
then i might as well
look for my name in
the obituaries

-------

you might try a start>
run>msinfo32

there is a place that
shows the conflicts,
if any.

perhaps, the mouse and
kb would be best not to
share the same irq.

here is some more info
on the subject:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc751418.aspx
--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

 

[Bill in Co.]

Perhaps so.