Keyboard stopped working computer locked

oh.. and yes i have unhooked and rebooted several times..  

WHOA!! Before even considering a reinstall, there are other options to try that aren't so "invasive" as what's been suggested.

Hi dritchie30,

It seems to be issue with Operating System of your computer. You can try couple of steps to resolve this issue.

You can load the BIOS defaults following the steps below:

• To access the BIOS mode we need to restart the computer.
• As soon as you see the blue Dell logo start tapping the ‘F2’ key which is at the top of the keyboard.

Note: If you wait too long and the Microsoft Windows appears, then continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop. Now shutdown your computer and try again.

• After this a new window will appear which is the BIOS. You can only use the arrow keys of the keyboard to navigate between the options as the mouse is not functional in this mode.
• Press F9 then press F10 key on keyboard
• Press Esc and restart your computer to see if the issue is fixed or not.

If this does not fix this issue, it is an issue with the Operating System and you may need to reinstall it. 

Note: Before you proceed with that, I will advise you to take a complete backup of your data (pictures, music, applications, videos, documents) as this step leads to complete data loss. Remove all the external peripherals (like printers, scanners, any USB device except keyboard and mouse) connected to your computer.

You can reinstall Operating system for your computer from the steps below:

• Insert the Windows CD in the CD/DVD drive and restart the computer.
• Tap the F12 at Dell logo to access the ‘One Time Boot Menu’.
• Use the ‘Down’ arrow key to highlight CD/DVD drive and press ‘Enter’.
• When the message ‘Press any key to boot from CD’ appears, immediately press any key on keyboard.
• In the Windows XP Setup screen, press ‘Enter’ to set up Windows XP.
• In the Windows XP Licensing Agreement window, read the license agreement. Press ‘Page Down’ to scroll through the agreement.
• Press ‘F8’ to accept the terms and conditions specified in the license agreement.
• The partition screen is displayed. Highlight the existing partitions one by one and press "D" (or press ENTER, and then press L if it is the System partition) to delete all of them. This would leave only unallocated space.
• If you are prompted to format the partition, use the up or down arrow keys to highlight 'Format the partition using the NTFS file system (Quick)'. Press ‘Enter’ or ‘F’ to format the partition.
• Setup will format the drive, if necessary, then copy the files needed for installation. This process can take several minutes. Once done, Windows will restart the computer to continue setup from the hard drive.

 
Note: Do not press any keys if the message Press any key to boot from the CD appears. The amount of time it takes to complete the above process varies, depending on the speed and size of the computer.

• After the computer restarts, Setup continues with a graphical user interface (GUI) in the classic Windows theme. In this stage, you are asked to input information to personalize your installation. Your screen may blink several times during this process, which is normal. The information to input, and the order in which it is listed, is shown below:
• Click ‘Next’ on the Regional and Language Options window.
• In the Personalize Your Software screen, type your name in the ‘Name’ field and your organization's name in the ‘Organization’ field, if applicable, and click ‘Next’.
• In the ‘Computer Name’ screen, type the computer name in the ‘Computer Name’ field if you want to change it from the name provided. For Windows XP Professional Edition users, type a password in the ‘Administrator Password’ field and then type the same password in the ‘Confirm Password’ field.
• Click ‘Next’.
• In the ‘Date and Time Settings’ screen, verify that the correct Date, Time, and Time Zone appear, and click ‘Next’.
• In the ‘Networking Settings’ screen, select ‘Typical’ and click ‘Next’. If available, click ‘Skip’ to skip the networking setup section. For Windows XP Professional users, select ‘No, this computer is not on a network’ and click ‘Next’.
• Setup will finalize the installation and should complete within 30 minutes of this point. Once complete, the computer will restart.

 After the computer reboots, the operating system will attempt to configure itself for your detected devices. Please insert the drivers and utilities disc to install the drivers for your computer in following sequence:

1. Chipset
2. Communication
3. Input Device Drivers
4. Network
5. Audio
6. Video

You can also download the drivers for your computer from the link below:

http:/dell.to/TE7Rgx
">http://dell.to/TE7Rgx

Enter the system Service Tag or Select the system model.
Select the Operating system and install drivers for your computer.

Please reply in case you have any further questions.

please do tell of those options!!!   I do not want to reinstall cause i will have to loose info and pay to have it done..

I tried the first steps (F9-F10) and it didnt work either.. I cant get past the lock screen to do a back up and I have a slave drive that i can unhook before i was to reformat that has most of my stuff on but I dont have the disk to do a reinstall with..  and i have some things that wernt moved over that i would not be able to part with. is it possible to hook up the main hard drive to the slave drive connection and then choose to book from the slave drive?  Would this work to get the password removed..and maybe see whats going on with it?

could this be a virus or what.. i have not had any problems what so ever from this computer or operating system.. not done an update or anything.. I am confused on how this could have happened.. how to prevent it in the future..

Was old keyboard USB?

Would help if we knew exactly which PC you have. Isn't it marked on the front, around the power button?

Or use your Service Tag number at Dell's support site (link at very top of this page). Click Drivers/Downloads on that page and enter your Service Tag on left side and click Submit. It should show you the model number along with a list of drivers. Do NOT post your Service Tag number here.

And which Windows XP Service Pack? SP1, SP2, SP3?

Try this:

Reboot and press F8. Pick "last known good' from the menu instead of safe mode. If that works, shut down normally and reboot normally.

the old keyboard was the factory type with the round pink end.. the new one is a usb.. both work in bios..

my computer is a dell dimension 8110 with xp home edition.. unsure about the service pack..

and i have tried to reboot with F8 and last known and it wouldnt go through.. gave me an error message.. I know this isnt much help but i couldnt find my service sticker anywhere even took the cover off.

yes sorry it is the B110. and yes the PS/2 (wasnt sure what it was called)

error message is given when i press F8 and then choose to boot from the last good boot {error message : couldnt start missing or corrupt  \windows\config\system\ }  

this was with the new keyboard that was plugged into the back usb port.  I have not tried F8 reboot with the old keyboard.. and the service sticker must have been removed all i have is the one with the product key.

First try the old keyboard, but I suspect it still won't work either. Disconnect USB keyboard and be sure to power off before connecting the PS/2 keyboard. Then reboot and try F8 - Last Known Good.

The message you're getting means you'll probably have to run a Repair/Reinstall of Windows. Personal files should be ok, but you will have to reinstall a bunch of Microsoft updates. But at least the Repair shouldn't delete your personsal files or other installed software.

To run the Repair/Reinstall, you're going to need a Dell Windows CD with the same version (eg, XP home) and at least the same Service Pack (or newer) as is on the hard drive. Eg, XP home SP2 CD with home SP2 on hard drive, or XP home SP3 CD with either home SP2 or home SP3 on hard drive. If you don't have the disk, and you're in the US, you can order it from Dell here.  I presume XP disks are still available, and Dell may charge you for it. 

you were correct.. the old keyboard didnt work either... I will just have to contact my repair guy and pay him to work on it.. thank you so very much for trying to help me with this issue..

You can do this yourself as long as you have the Windows CD. It's not difficult and we can walk you through the procedure.

And we won't charge you anything!  :emotion-1:

Good luck.

Many systems do not work in safe mode with USB Keyboards.  If you can get to F2 then you can figure out which model Dell you have.  

Perhaps Dimension B110 DE051

Identify the Computer Model Using the Model Code

On Sept 26, 2005 the System Setup program on certain Dell Dimension™, Inspiron™, and XPS™ computers was changed to display a model code instead of the computer model name. The Resource and Driver CD also lists the computer by this code. This may cause confusion when identifying which device drivers to install. If you are unable to identify your computer using the model code, refer to Table 1 below to determine the model name of your computer.

Table 1: Model Names and Codes

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