keyboard failure

[zigzag03]

can anyone suggest a bios or software reason why a keyboard should stop working? the computer otherwise performs normally, gives no "no keyboard" warning on bootup, the lights on the keyboard come on, numlock sets. but there is no keyboard input. i've swapped in a known good keyboard, of course. doubtless the mobo has just taken a dump at the point of connection on this several-year-old gateway, but i wonder if i'm missing something... thanks zz03

 

[corkyg]

USB or PS/2? Unclear - did the swapped keyboard work? If so, the bad keyboard should be replaced. They do have a life and can fail. You can always try uninstalling it completelym and reinstalling. I suspect it is salvage.

 

[zigzag03]

sorry, ps2 keyboard, and no, the swap did not work.

 

[zigzag03]

an update: i did try deleting the keyboard in device manager and it does not find it and reinstall it. in fact, i tried to do a generic keyboard reinstall and can't even find a place to do it; not in new hardware, not in device manager, not under keyboards in control panel. no where do i see a place to install a ps-2 keyboard.

also, i've tried a known working usb keyboard, and it does not recognize or install that either; simply a malfunctioning usb device warning. i don't believe usb keyboards require any special drivers, so i don't understand what's going on with that either.

curiouser and curiouser.... anyone got any ideas?

 

[Lemon law]

I have found that dirt, crap, and dust tend to get under the keys of keyboards, and sooner or later keyboards will fail as these containment will short the keyboards out.

 

[nerp]

If swapping in a keyboard doesn't solve the problem, your HAL might be corrupted or you have a problem with a keyboard driver. I don't know what file you'd want to replace in the windows system folders, but I'd wager that file is corrupted.

The long way is by doing a repair install. You won't lose installed apps or data. It will rebuild your stack and the keyboard should work.

Do KBs work in the BIOS?

Are you OCing? I'd check for memory errors with a memtest86+ boot CD to be sure. The file corruption could be due to system instability.

 

[zigzag03]

i have taken the keyboard that does not work with this particular machine and used it on another, it works fine. i've taken a known good keyboard and it does not work on this machine. its not the keyboard. thanks

 

[MedicBob]

Can you try a USB keyboard plugged into a USB port?

 

[corkyg]

". . . also, i've tried a known working usb keyboard, and it does not recognize or install that either; simply a malfunctioning usb device warning."

That does sort of eliminate the keyboard, and suggests a more serious problem, perhaps a power problem that affects both the PS2 and USB ports. If you can, try a USB powered hub and connect to the computer through the hub.

 

[zigzag03]

Thanks EVERYONE for the input. you know, to this point i've been doing this mercy mission over the phone and instructing what to try. So i havent broached entering the bios, but it is certainly a perfect way to seperate the issue between the hardware and windows. I'll get hands on with this later today and check this out. As to overclocking, i can't imagine that it is, just a couple year old p4 gateway used by a young lady for her work. I'll also bring a hub and a usb mouse and a cam and see if they work. Once again, much appreciated all...

 

[Lemon law]

On some mother boards, the keyboard controller that governs the PS2 keyboard port can crap out, in which case a usb type keyboard can save your butt. The same thing can happen to the PS2 mouse, again a usb mouse plugged into USB can save your butt. But in some OS's, XP especially, that usb mouse plugged into the usb port only works if its already been enabled in the OS. As a been there done that, its no fun trying to do anything to enable a USB mouse using a dead ps2 mouse. Can't remember how I finally did it, but there was a big pile of torn out hair on the floor when I finally got it done. There is a way to use the keyboard to control the cursor, but its really really slooooooooooooooooow.

To the OP, if you have a working mouse, and you need to enable a USB keyboard for the OS, you are in far better shape.