Keyboard Failure Dell Inspiron 580

[Jephph]

Hello again,
I've got a customer with what sounds like a memory issue. I want to run Memtest86+ on it, but there is an issue. On bootup, I get "keyboard failure" and I can't enter the BIOS to change the boot device priority so that I can load Memtest86+ from a flash drive or cd. The keyboard works fine once I'm into Windows, but I can't use it before Windows loads.
Things tried:
Reset CMOS.
Unplugged all other usb devices, including card reader internally.
Checked device manager, looks clean.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Jephph]

Couple of other things I forgot to mention... I also tried sfc /scannow, and there are no PS/2 ports on the motherboard. USB only.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Would a clear CMOS work? Hopefully, the BIOS is configured to enable a USB keyboard, when CMOS is clear. It would be pretty darn foolhard to be the opposite, especially if it doesn't have a physical PS/2 keyboard port.

 

[Jephph]

Hello again,
I've got a customer with what sounds like a memory issue. I want to run Memtest86+ on it, but there is an issue. On bootup, I get "keyboard failure" and I can't enter the BIOS to change the boot device priority so that I can load Memtest86+ from a flash drive or cd. The keyboard works fine once I'm into Windows, but I can't use it before Windows loads.
Things tried:
Reset CMOS.
Unplugged all other usb devices, including card reader internally.
Checked device manager, looks clean.

Thanks for any help.

^^

 

[Lanyap]

Are you pressing and holding the F2 during boot up or tapping it? If you press and hold or tap too fast a Dell will generate a keyboard error. I normally tap the F2 key about once a second as soon as I hit the power button.

The boot menu is F12. Try tapping it during boot up. Then you don't have to change the BIOS.

 

[Charlie98]

Are you pressing and holding the F2 during boot up or tapping it? If you press and hold or tap too fast a Dell will generate a keyboard error. I normally tap the F2 key about once a second as soon as I hit the power button.

The boot menu is F12. Try tapping it during boot up. Then you don't have to change the BIOS.

I have to do that with all 3 of my Dells.... It blows through the boot screen so fast, you'll never catch it.

 

[Jephph]

Yes, I've tried all sorts of tapping speeds with both f2 and f12.

 

[Jephph]

As it turns out, I may be barking up the wrong tree anyway. I don't know how reliable MemTest by HCI Design (a Windows-based RAM tester) is, but it came up with 0 memory errors over the course of about an hour of running (over 100% coverage). I'm willing to concede that I'm not going to be able to run MemTest86+ as long as MemTest by HCI Design is reliable. I'll make a different post about this customer's main problem (computer shuts off randomly while running programs or trying to print). Thanks for the tips guys and gals.

 

[Jephph]

Switching to a different keyboard did the trick.