Baffled by this...

[pete1229]

I am working on a friends old Dell Dimension 2400 w/Windows XP Home on it. Was running slow, crahing, BSOD etc. Cleaned it up reinstalled the O/S with all updates and had it running like new again. When I had it at my place all was well. I was using a USB mouse & keyboard I keep on hand when I do repairs. When I took it back to her place, hooked everything up (PS2 mouse/KB) and powered up I got the BSOD everytime immedietly after the Windows XP splash screen. Was fine in safe mode, everything worked.
To make a long story even longer, took it back to my place, was unable to reproduce the BSOD with the USB mouse & KB until I used a USB/PS2 adapter on both mouse and KB and sure enough, I got the BSOD, and narrowed it down even further to the PS2 keyboard port being the culprit. There are no BIOS or chipset updates for this thing, the ones installed are the latest, I'm just wondering if anyone has ever seen this before, I'll probably just pick up a cheap USB KB/mouse combo as a solution, any thoughts?

 

[krnmastersgt]

I've seen boards that have specific ports on the back go bad, and thusly if anything is plugged into them they cause massive system instability. Never seen it happen with a PS2 port though from what I can remember, seen a few USB ports though.

Just getting the USB keyboard should be enough since if more ports fail the motherboard will probably just need to be replaced. You'll probably need to grab the replacement board from another Dimension 2400 since I remember older Dell's using their own internally developed boards. That or if you grab a different board might need a new case + heatsink to go with it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

That's pretty wierd. My experience is, PS/2 ports "just work". The hardware on those ports hasn't changed for ages, and thus is pretty well supported.

Perhaps her PS/2 port got damaged? (Those ports technically do NOT support hot-plugging, and on some motherboards, that can damage them.)

 

[pete1229]

Thanks for the input guys, she's unemployed so I'm just trying to get as much life out of this old Dell for her as I can.

 

[piasabird]

PS2 ports can go bad. They are not plug and play. A mouse can also go bad. Maybe she spilled something on the keybrd and it is bad. Try taking over your keyboard and mouse and testing it. They make PS2 to USB adapters for keyboards. I am still using my IBM Keyboard from my P133.

 

[vailr]

Most likely the PS/2 port was plugged in or unplugged while powered up.
I would suggest: unplug the PC's power cord and removing the onboard battery, hit the power switch to discharge residual charge. Leave overnight, then re-insert the onboard battery.