PS/2 Trouble

[gooberguy]

i recently, (yesterday) built a budget computer using, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135082

it was all working good except when i booted up into windows, and was about to click something when my mouse stopped responding. i tried the keyboard but that would not work either. my ps/2 ports dont seem to work at all. a USB keyboard works though. its not just windows because i cant use the keyboard to enter bios setup. weird thing is that the lights flash on the keyboard a few times before dieing out every time. (num lock etc lights)

any ideas?

[redwudz]

First thing, check that you have the connecctors in the proper sockets. I've done that myself with the KB plugged into the mouse socket. Sometimes the mouse will work, but not the KB.

It that isn't it, you may have a motherboard with a problem.

[gooberguy]

ok i feel what i did to get it work is extremely weird.

i plugged in my usb keyboard and used the keyboard to get into device manager and then "uninstall" my mouse.

upon reboot, my mouse worked.

im doing a few program installs, and randomly my keyboard doesnt work anymore, so i use the working mouse to "uninstall" the keyboard in device manager, and it works again after reboot.

i find this really odd

[aedipuss]

hopefully you remembered that ps/2 ports are not hot swappable. plugging or unplugging a ps/2 device with the power on can fry them. they are not like usb ports.

[gooberguy]

right, i have not done that

[redwudz]

I would take a look at your BIOS settings, though the only ones I can think of that might have any bearing are the PS2/USB ones. But they should have favored PS2 by default. Possibly a corrupted BIOS, though that would be unusual with a new motherboard.

Try booting in safe mode and that should rule out most system drivers.

If you have the same problem there, you could consider flashing the BIOS as a long shot, I would use the same BIOS or slightly newer and stay away from beta versions. There is some risk involved though. Maybe a better first step with a BIOS problem is to unplug the PC, then remove the BIOS battery or jumper the shorting pins for a few minutes and reset it to default.

At least the keyboard driver is in BIOS or it wouldn't work when you are making BIOS selections. If it fails there, then the BIOS your KB or mouse, or the MB likely has a problem.

[gooberguy]

ok this is getting realy irritating. i built this computer for a friend, and i feel terrible that it is not working for him.

the keyboard does load up in bios, i can hit DEL to acsess bios menu.

i can see the lights flash on the keyboard num lock etc but the thing is as the windows xp loading screen comes up with t eblue bar, about 2 cycles of the blue bar in, the lights on the keyboard die, and the keyboard does not work in windows anymore.

i am so confused i have never had this problem before.

edit: also it was working perfectly fine as i installed windows xp on the computer, went throught a few reboots installing nero, word, and aim and such, and on one of the reboots it did not work anymore, i think it might have to do with windows update but im not sure

also when i check device manager or keyboard, it mentions the device is connected and working properly.

[aedipuss]

sounds like a os failure. re-format and try again. it happens. this time install programs one at a time and reboot after each. should be able to tell if it's a specific program disabling the ps/2 ports that way.

[redwudz]

I would also recommend reinstalling the OS to eliminate that as a possibility, but I think it is just as likely that the motherboard may have a problem. If so, consider RMA'ing it soon. I also assume that outside of the KB/Mouse problem, all else on the computer works fine. That's one thing that makes me lean to a motherboard problem.

EDIT: You should be able to use USB for both KB and mouse and still use a USB KB to get into BIOS. Just set your BIOS to favor USB over PS2.

[Bjs]

Had similar problems with a pos setup causing all kinds of problems.

Remove the motherboard and look close at the ps2 connector on the board.

You can flip the cover off the ps2 support, its just a cover plate.

From here, insert mouse or keyboard and check closely if all the pins come into contact with the pins from the board correctly.

Sometimes there not exactly aligned, and simply flicking this cover plate off allows the pins to make proper contact.

The pos system hasn't looked back since I removed that ps2 cover plate, so maybe its worth a shot at your end.

Also try another quality keyboard, cheap units tend to run a muck sooner than later.

And these are prior to considering an os reload.

[gooberguy]

EDIT: You should be able to use USB for both KB and mouse and still use a USB KB to get into BIOS. Just set your BIOS to favor USB over PS2.

yeah i thought of that as well, but the ps/2 keyboard works perfectly in bios, when the black screen with Windows Xp and the blue loading bar show up, thats when the keyboard dies.

[Nelson37]

What speed is your memory? One review states the board does NOT support 400 Mhz RAM, that could account for your problem. Check the mobo specs.

I would also test the KB on another PC, KB are so cheap you might want to get another one for testing. Also, check for stuck key(s), just rapidly tap each key several times looking for mushy or unresponsive keys.

Cheap or inexpensive motherboards are not a good place to economize. If you paid more for the case than the most important piece of the PC, that could be a problem.

Paying yourself anything at all for your troubleshooting time would have paid for a better mobo.

[stiltman]

uninstall the keyboard in device manager

I had the same problem the other day
I wanted my USB to PS/2 mouse to work right but it wouldn't load the the keyboard and mouse after I installed the mouse software, and I have it connected via a KVM...long story short...removed all the software, deleted the mouse and keyboard...rebooted and let it find the stuff by itself.

[gooberguy]

stiltman, good idea, but i have done that and then i restart the computer, which doesn't really work too well, shuts down, but stays at a black screen and never reboots, i can hear the HD spin...

and it still doesnt work. i also tried this earlier with an install, but it works for a bit, but then it stops randomly again.

idk, really frustrating.

[gooberguy]

okay, i reinstalled windows, this time the keyboard stopped working after i installed RAID and network drivers, but in the last xp install, the keyboard worked fine after this step. this is just so confusing becuase i refuse to believe it is the MB's fault because the KB works fine doing bootup cd xp installs, and for working bios. but fails in Windows.

[stiltman]

What order are you installing the drivers in?
Did you check for a bios update?

Here's how I install stuff (I always get the latest drivers from the web)
BIOS updates
XP SP2 CD
RAID driver if needed during XP install F6
Chipset
Video Card
NIC
Sound Card
Modem
Wireless NIC
Bluetooth® Module
PCMCIA/SmartCard controller
Touch Pad/Track Stick/Pointer
Other - Other devices and peripherals
Windows updates

[gooberguy]

ok i reinstalled windows.

the keyboard has stopped working again after an install of nvidia video drivers

the keyboard works in safe mode, and in bios

i went into windows, device manager, and uninstalled my keyboard drivers, and it said i must restart windows for it to take effect. so i do. after windows blue screen of shut down, the computer hangs at a black screen and the computer does not start. i must shut down the computer via the power button and start it up again, to end up where i was in the first place.

[aedipuss]

the only way i can think that video drivers might cause problem is if you have installed the wrong low level motherboard drivers or the bios on the motherboard is screwed.

[Nelson37]

Works in safe mode, fantastic. This completely eliminates standard keyboard and mouse drivers, as well as a basic mobo problem. It almost has to be drivers or software. Video driver a possibility.

Use MSconfig to eliminate all startup progs, then add them back one-by-one.

Repeat the question about the RAM. What speed is it, and did your mobo have the single-sheet warning about supporting a max of 333 speed as reported by another user? The RAM shipped with it is apparently 400 MHZ. PS2 ports are more timing-related than USB, incompatible RAM timing could be the issue.

Safe mode works, standard mode does not. Not too many differences to investigate there.

At one point you seem to indicate the KB fails on every boot, but also state it fails randomly.. You also state this is the only problem, but also state the PC is not really working well. More precise descriptions are required to eliminate some possibilities. Has the mouse ever failed again after the initial failure?

[gooberguy]

Works in safe mode, fantastic. This completely eliminates standard keyboard and mouse drivers, as well as a basic mobo problem. It almost has to be drivers or software. Video driver a possibility.

Use MSconfig to eliminate all startup progs, then add them back one-by-one.

Repeat the question about the RAM. What speed is it, and did your mobo have the single-sheet warning about supporting a max of 333 speed as reported by another user? The RAM shipped with it is apparently 400 MHZ. PS2 ports are more timing-related than USB, incompatible RAM timing could be the issue.

Safe mode works, standard mode does not. Not too many differences to investigate there.

At one point you seem to indicate the KB fails on every boot, but also state it fails randomly.. You also state this is the only problem, but also state the PC is not really working well. More precise descriptions are required to eliminate some possibilities. Has the mouse ever failed again after the initial failure?

i did use the ram that came with the board

when i meant randomally, i meant when it first fails after XP install. i've rebooted XP installs about 4 times and each time it seems to fail at a random point during my computer setup process. also it seems after the keyboard dies, and i try to uninstall it in device manager, i would restart due to windows instructions, but it will shutdown and hang at a black screen, never starting back up again. i can hear the HD run. other than that the computer works OK.

even after unplugging the kb, and using the usb kb, the restarting problem stays.

while im here i want to thank all of you for helping me out with this

[Nelson37]

If possible, exchange the RAM for 333MHZ stick.

Something you might want to try is a Linux boot CD, no install needed and this will verify basic hardware functionality, or the lack thereof.

You have sufficient evidence to RMA the board. I would rip it out and send it back for a replacement. If possible, strongly consider a better board.

For $65.00, it ain't worth the hassle.

[gooberguy]

ok when i did the uninstall a few reboots ago of the keyboard, the computer would not fully restart.

i went on this morning and started it up, and it said restart windows to finish installing hardware (KB)

i knew restart wouldn't work so i shut down then manually started it back up, and now the keyboard works. I don't know for how long though, so i just bought my friend a USB keyboard, because i feel like RMA'ing the board would take too much effort.

edit: something else I've just noticed, after i get the keyboard working this way, if i restart the computer, the keyboard works. if i shut down the computer, the keyboard fails once again.

[Nelson37]

Too Much Effort??? Are you freakin kidding me!!!!

It will take one HELL of a lot less time, effort, and energy than you have ALREADY wasted. Mayber another four or five hours of screwing around with flaky hardware will do it for you.

Let me give you the distilled essence of 20 years of professional hardware repair. Once you have determined that you have a flaky piece of hardware, or even a strong suspicion, AND you have the ability to replace the part for free, YOU STOP SCREWING WITH IT and replace the friggin' hardware!

KB off and on in the circumstances you have described is not just flaky, but downright broken. Chuck it.