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rrascal33

4 Posts

42278

January 12th, 2008 07:00

USB Keyboard and Mouse not working at login

Here's the skinny.
A Dell Dimension E310 with Windows XP Media Center. Limited to USB keyboard and mouse because the E310 has no PS/2 port or serial port or parallel port. The devices work flawlessly in the BIOS and at initial startup and in DOS and in Linux... ANYTHING but Windows! I know they work cause initially the Microsoft keyboard's Num Lock light and the Microsoft mouse's good-for-nothing-but-show light on the base is on. As soon as Windows starts up, the lights turn off and there is no response. The system is set with 4 users and requires a password. Since the mouse stops working, I cannot click on any user. Since the keyboard stops working, I cannot use any kind of shortcut to bypass that anyway.
The CHKDSK /r worked fine. No problems encountered. The Diagnostics Tests passed. I tried other USB keyboards and other USB mice. I even tried adding on an additional USB PCI card. I have an old serial mouse but no serial port. I did a Repair install of Windows. Now, I am stuck at the 33 minute mark where it prompts me to confirm the Date and Time settings. I can't do that because the mouse went on a writer's strike as soon as it detected that Windows was in the house.
Do I have any options here? Please do not recommend I wipe the drive clean and start over simply because that should not be the solution. You don't restart your life if you sinuses act up. Also, I have the perfectly good Linux option, which is looking better as a permanent fix as my patience wears thin.
Surely, the powers to be that decided to do away with PS/2 and serial and parallel ports had a backup plan of some sort. Oh, wait. This is a Windows environment I'm talking about. How foolish can I be.

dageezerus

1 Rookie

 • 

3.9K Posts

January 12th, 2008 11:00

Well, we had options to resolve this till you started the repair reinstall of windows.  I'm afraid options at this point are limited.
 
Things I would try:
 
  1. Disconnect all external devices, especially USB ones.
  2. If your system has a Media Card reader, turn it off in BIOS or unplug the data cable.
  3. Try booting with only the keyboard (No mouse) or Vice-Versa, see if there is any difference.  (A failing mouse or keyboard may be partially functional, but stop it from working in Windows)
  4. Does the KB work in Safe mode (I doubt that is an option available now that the repair install is in a loop.

DrRSC

3 Posts

January 12th, 2008 14:00

Hi - I had a similar problem.  it is now fixed, but I don't have a good explanaiton.
See my reply to the_kg
 
Good luck

rrascal33

4 Posts

January 26th, 2008 23:00

"we had options to resolve this till you started the repair reinstall of windows. I'm afraid options at this point are limited." To me, that translates to "well, you messed up so it is too late now" even though Microsoft more often than not will advise a repair/reinstall. Well, the keyboard and mouse were still working until Windows asked me to select a Date/Time". So, it appears that the install would not have solved the problem. Here's what I ended up doing. Using Linux, I manually reset the config files (default, sam, system, software and security) to a restore point back a few months. When I restarted the computer, the reinstall process no longer appeared and the keyboard and mouse locked up at the login screen. That confirmed to me that the usb keyboard and mouse lock occurred at the point where Windows took control, regardless of what was being done. I was still able to get full control of the hardware through Linux and DOS. My next option was to completely wipe the disc losing any prior data (thank you MS) and set up a dual-boot to both XP and Fedora. Now I am set for the next option. Should it happen again, XP is gone and Fedora stays. Thanks to all for your suggestions from this forum and others. Many suggested the Ctl-Alt-Del or the Safe mode options. However, when your keyboard locks at the moment that Windows wakes up, those options were not possible. To avoid future problems with a similar "non-PS2 capable" system, I will now focus my attention to finding a PCI card with PS2 plugs, if such a beast exists.

thanks-a-lot

1 Message

January 28th, 2008 01:00

Say, I have the same exact problem except I HAVEN'T YET STARTED A REINSTALL. Instead came here to see what I should do. What I find is someone who KNOWS the answer I need, but seems busy chastising the original poster for actions already taken. You know, if you would have said: " if you had not already started a reinstall, this page might have been helpful (link). I would have been happy and informed! So would the 90plus percent of visitors who read, but don't post. It's Funny. Moderators are always trying to get readers to search and check the faq. I DID and look what it got me... miffed! I'm still without an answer and must solve this this evening. Back to searching and reading.......................

Download_Dave

2 Posts

June 20th, 2008 18:00

Hi there, I know it's been awhile since the original post, but I need resolution to the same problem, but on a E510.  There was originally some virus damage to system files, but the results are the same as the original poster's.  My USB mouse and keyboard (No PS/2 connections on this PC) work fine until WinXP starts.  I can use them in setup, to put in BIOS password and in utility boot software, but as soon as WinXP starts, nothing.  Safe mode and safe mode w/ command prompt have the same problem.  The PC didn't come with a WinXP disk, to reinstall the damaged files from.  Is there a diagnostic or repair partition I can boot to?

Download_Dave

2 Posts

June 21st, 2008 21:00

Ok, I found the partition.  That didn't help.  I also attempted to use the repair console and chkdsk /r command/switch.  that didn't help either.  I have ERD commander and a few other linux based utilities to access the files on the drive.  any ideas?

coppell

2 Posts

August 5th, 2008 19:00

Similar to others I have........

Dell Dimension E520 with Windows XP Home.

Limited to USB keyboard and mouse because no PS/2 port.

The mouse and keyboard work in the BIOS and at initial startup.

All Dell Diagnostics Tests passed. I can type and use mouse.

When Win XP login screen appears keyboard and mouse stop working.  Up until this point i can even see the Num Lock go on and off when i press !

I do not want to repair re problems with date setting above.


Is there anyway I can resolve this or is CTRL + F11 (factory reset) my only option?

rrascal33

4 Posts

August 12th, 2008 04:00

In my case, I had to bite the bullet due to time restraints and ended up reloading the system.

However, before I did that, I came across one very strange behavior.

While trying various keyboard and mouse combinations, I plugged a keyboard into the USB port next to the network port and a laser mouse (USB2 type) into the USB port next to the keyboard. This was as opposed to plugging the devices into the two top USB ports. With that combination, the mouse worked longer before locking again. I tried it again a few times and got some response maybe every 6th or 7th try. I never had the opportunity to solve this mystery but it might be something you can try.

I saw another post that claimed if you press Shift + F10 when Windows first shows up, a command-type window will appear and permit you to carry on. I was not able to do this but apparently others have.

 

Good luck,

rrascal33

coppell

2 Posts

August 18th, 2008 10:00

I gave up too after trying every possible combination of start up modes, keystroke combinations, battery removal, different mouse/kboard etc!

 

But before I did I removed the hard drive and hooked it up to another machine and copied what i needed.  I guess this is a known issue with Dells and one they cannot resolve given that they seem to have reverted to putting PS2 ports back into new pcs.

 

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