31-01-2005 20:25									#1
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Feels weird to be posting one of these... absolutely don't have the time or energy to investigate the cause of the problem for the entire evening, so I need your help.

The problem: I boot Windows XP, it boots to the welcome/login screen, and keyboard does not respond. Numlock light won't work, no key at all will work. Consequently, I can't input my password and get on with it. Also, if I wait for some 5 seconds, a message box appears that ups.exe (I got the UPS service running) has performed an invalid memory operation, OK to shutdown it, Cancel to debug, neither helps. Gah I hate Windows for that. The keyboard is unresponsive before that message, too.

Yes, my keyboard works. I can hit F8 and boot into safe mode (with the same result), and I can boot into Linux, as I just did. So it's just Windows that won't work, and exactly when I happen to want to run it.

Ideas about what causes it, what to do, etc., are very much welcome. I don't want to resintall the darn thing.

	31-01-2005 20:27									#2
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Are you sure the keyboard works? All keys work under Linux?

It probably does but I just thought I'd check... sometimes they "partially" fail.

	31-01-2005 20:44									#3
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Yes, it works perfectly. All keys work under Linux, and if I hut numlock while windows is loading, the light does also flash on and off... I'm sure it's not a keyboard fault.

	31-01-2005 20:50									#4
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Boot into safemode and disable UPS.exe, see if that changes anything.

	31-01-2005 21:09									#5
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If I boot into safemode, I still can't enter my password because the keyboard still gives me the finger.

	31-01-2005 21:25									#6
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Go back to the basics,

Take the UPS out of the circuit.
Pull the network cable.
Etc. until it will run again.

	31-01-2005 21:26									#7
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Hang on... even theoretically, can the UPS be to blame for the problem?

	31-01-2005 21:36									#8
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Yes, if the UPS service is crashing with a memory error, it's screwing with your system's memory...which can make things act unexpectedly and undesirably.

	31-01-2005 22:01									#9
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I know this isnt my thread, but can I ask a computer question in here to. I dont want to start a new thread on a simple issue.

	31-01-2005 22:58									#10
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Yes.

	31-01-2005 23:29									#11
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Thank you I have a laptop i bought 3 months ago. before The computer after about 3 weeks started to freeze up. I recently sent it to HP to fix because the computer just shut off and i couldnt get it to turn on. They did what they did and returned it and so far its been fine. However The only thing they keep telling me is that they reflashed the bios. The did state something about the csmos chip is the reason for the reflash of bios. Can somebody tell me what this meansin english please. I know what the Bios is but have no clue to why it would not let the notebook recieve power.

	31-01-2005 23:39									#12
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The BIOS is the Basic Input/Output System. It's very low-level code specific to your machine, and basically sets up and configures the hardware for the Operating System, including the power system.

Flashing the BIOS means loading new code to it, usually updated code. It sounds like there was a bug in the BIOS, and upgrading the version fixed that bug.

	31-01-2005 23:42									#13
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My main concern is that the thing is only 3 months old what are the chances of this happening again considering i still owe like 1300.00 us dollars on the thing. They told me laptops over heat alot and that if you use it alot this could cause this need to reflash the bios. Is that true?

	01-02-2005 00:10									#14
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quote: Originally posted by Mrs. Tuberski My main concern is that the thing is only 3 months old what are the chances of this happening again considering i still owe like 1300.00 us dollars on the thing. They told me laptops over heat alot and that if you use it alot this could cause this need to reflash the bios. Is that true?

No, that doesn't make sense to me at all.

The BIOS may control things like dynamic clocking to make the chip run cooler, or adjust voltages, but I don't think it has any truth to it.

In all honesty, HP Laptops have a bad reputation for quality.

	01-02-2005 00:11									#15
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hihihi

	01-02-2005 00:16									#16
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Solver, have you tried changing the connection of the keyboard PS/2<->USB?

	01-02-2005 00:25									#17
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Not an option. It's PS/2 only.

Gotta run Windows in debugging mode, and try to see which driver is loaded at the moment the keyboard stops responding.

	01-02-2005 00:33									#18
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quote: Originally posted by Asher No, that doesn't make sense to me at all. The BIOS may control things like dynamic clocking to make the chip run cooler, or adjust voltages, but I don't think it has any truth to it. In all honesty, HP Laptops have a bad reputation for quality.

Im starting to see that my self. Thanks for your help. I guess Ill just have to keep paying for warrnties till i get the darn thing paid for. Thanks again.

	01-02-2005 00:35									#19
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Maybe, you could disconnect the keyboard after the BIOS has identified it and wait after the ups.exe to fail and connect it again.
I know PS/2 isn't hot pluggable, but maybe it works.

Here is a warning though, if the motherboard is older:

quote: Vcc/Ground provide power to the keyboard/mouse. The keyboard or mouse should not draw more than 100 mA from the host and care must be taken to avoid transient surges. Such surges can be caused by "hot-plugging" a keyboard/mouse (ie, connect/disconnect the device while the computer's power is on.) Older motherboards had a surface-mounted fuse protecting the keyboard and mouse ports. When this fuse blew, the motherboard was useless to the consumer, and non-fixable to the average technician. Most newer motherboards use auto-reset "Poly" fuses that go a long way to remedy this problem. However, this is not a standard and there's still plenty of older motherboards in use. Therefore, I recommend against hot-plugging a PS/2 mouse or keyboard.

http://panda.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/~ach...cro/PS2/ps2.htm

	01-02-2005 00:38									#20
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reformat, reinstall.

yes that's pretty much my answer to everything.

	01-02-2005 01:19									#21
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Thanks Atahualpa, I'll try that... my motherboard is new enough, so that should not be a concern. Failing that, I'll give my computer a good kick - that always seems to work. Or failing that, I'll buy a USB keyboard, although most keyboards that are sold are really crap, I love mine.

	01-02-2005 01:57									#22
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FY http://www.usbwholesale.com/ps2%20usb%20converter.htm

	01-02-2005 07:35									#23
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Don't you have USB ports for your computer, Solver?

	01-02-2005 19:52									#24
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Yup, trying that with a PS/2-USB converter in a moment.

The problem is, it's impossible to buy a keyboard now. All keyboards either have funky key layouts, that "ergonomy" BS, or at the very least, extra buttons for power on/off/sleep/whatever. I want my old-style, 1997 keyboards! Which also is what I'm working on, but these are harder and harder to get...

	01-02-2005 20:09									#25
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quote: Originally posted by Solver Yup, trying that with a PS/2-USB converter in a moment. The problem is, it's impossible to buy a keyboard now. All keyboards either have funky key layouts, that "ergonomy" BS, or at the very least, extra buttons for power on/off/sleep/whatever. I want my old-style, 1997 keyboards! Which also is what I'm working on, but these are harder and harder to get...

The BF's the same way, so I got him a standard beige IBM keyboard. The design's been unchanged for I don't know how long, and it's designed to withstand at least a million keystrokes.

$9 CDN, too.

	01-02-2005 20:53									#26
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Get a slim key keyboard, such as those in notebooks. I like them very much.

	01-02-2005 21:23									#27
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Yuck. They are impossible for touch typing.

	01-02-2005 21:43									#28
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quote: Originally posted by Asher The BF's the same way, so I got him a standard beige IBM keyboard. The design's been unchanged for I don't know how long, and it's designed to withstand at least a million keystrokes.

Exactly, only to get what I want, I had to go and see where no longer needed keyboards are.

	07-02-2005 01:50									#29
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Ok I know nobody wants to deal with computers on superbowl sunday but rather then call Hp back and start yelling I thought id come back to this thread and see if i can get an answer. I sent my laptop back and the said they reflashed the bios. One of the reason i sent it in was because every time you turn it off and then back on the time doesnt keep any ideas?

	07-02-2005 01:54									#30
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dead battery