# [SOLVED] Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows



## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

So I got this Dell Latitude Mini 10v (1011) from a coworker who said the keyboard and mouse stopped working.

First thing I noticed when I turned it on was a message stating that the battery couldn't be identified and that the system wouldn't be able to charge it. And to press F1 to continue. Also, the netbook only works with the cord connected to wall outlet. The battery is dead. My coworker did mention this.

When it gets to the Windows XP login screen, the keyboard and mouse pad are non responsive. So I turned it off and turned it back on and pressed the F2 button to get to Setup. While in the BIOS the keyboard works perfectly. I reset all the settings to default to see if this would help any.

Saved the changes and exited. When it got to the Windows login screen, same thing. Keyboard and mouse still don't work. So I turned it off, and back on, and this time I pressed the F8 key and selected Safe Mode. Same thing still happened. Keyboard and mouse not working.

Thinking that the battery maybe has something to do with it, I removed the battery and tried, but still the same problem. 

I tried an external USB keyboard, and this external keyboard would also work in the BIOS but not in at the Windows login screen. 

Took it a step further and completely took the laptop apart in order to get to the RAM, removed the RAM and reinserted it, making sure it was in all the way and seated properly. While having the thing open, I cleaned it out pretty good with a can of air duster. Put it all back together, and turn it on, and still the same problem. 

I noticed that the netbook had some broken pieces of plastic, very little pieces, when I opened it up to get to the mobo/RAM. And also the screen hinge cover on the left side was broken too. So I'm assuming he dropped it at one point or another. 

So I'm out of ideas. Hoping some of you guys here can help with this problem. Thanks.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

Sorry, listed the above as Dell Latitude when in fact its a Dell Inspiron.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

Boot to a DOS or Linux disc and test the keyboard for full functionality.

If all key's work properly then the issue is with Windows itself.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

This netbook doesn't have an optical drive to boot a Linux disc from. I don't think netbooks have optical drives built in. Only external ones. 

Before seeing your post I decided to check the hard drive, just to see if that could be the problem. So I connected the hard drive to an external enclosure and hooked it up to my PC. As soon as it is connected a message on my screen comes up stating "Do you want to Scan and Fix this disc" or something like that. I tried running error-checking on the drive, and it gets stuck after about 1 minute. I mean stuck in the sense that the progress bar doesn't move. Also tried running a virus scan with MSE and it gets stuck also after about 5 minutes of scanning. 

So I'm thinking its the hard drive the problem. I'm able to boot the netbook up into the Dell Restore by pressing Ctrl + F11. So I'm going to ask my coworker if he wants me to try to restore it to when he first got it from Dell. At this point I'm thinking its the only solution.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

You can use PenDriveLinux (second link in my sig) or Unetbootin to put most Linux Distro's on a thumb drive.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

Thanks for the info.

Was able to get MSE to complete the scan after a second try and it found a whole bunch of Trojans and Java exploits. I removed them and I'm gonna put the HD back on the netbook and try to see if that helped any.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

So I sang victory too soon. Either the hard drive is dead, or its very infected. When I was going to remove the infections that MSE found, the hard drive stopped responding. Ive tried reconnecting it to my system via the USB external enclosure, and the system picks it up as before, but when I try to run the scan again with MSE, it gets to a certain point, past the 70% mark, and then MSE stops responding. 

Now I'm also kinda freaking out that this hard drive has maybe now infected my PC. Maybe it wasn't a smart idea to connect this HD to my PC to test it.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

Test the HDD in it's notebook.


Download UBCD (Ultimate Boot CD - Download the UBCD)
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and choose a mirror site.

Create a CD from the image file (.iso)
Windows 7 - Double click on the image file to launch Windows Image Burner
Vista/XP - Download/install ImgBurn (The Official ImgBurn Website) then use it to create the CD.

Boot the computer to the CD.
From the menu... Select HDD > Diagnosis > Drive Fitness Test.
When prompted, select ATA only.
Run the quick test and note the result and code.
Run the extended test and note the result and code.
Post the results in your next reply.

Download and install Malwarebytes Anti Malware (MBAM) Free, update it and run a scan on your system to be sure. When prompted, decline "Start Trial" it upgrades it to a trial Pro version that deactivates after a certain period of time.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*



gavinzach said:


> Test the HDD in it's notebook.
> 
> 
> Download UBCD (Ultimate Boot CD - Download the UBCD)
> ...


Reason I cant test the HD on the netbook is because of the problem with the keyboard and mousepad not working. And because of the this, cant get into windows. It boots to the Windows login screen, but cant enter password because of the keyboard not resposding. 

I appreciate the advice though. 

I finally got MSE to complete the scan and remove the infections while connected to my PC via the external USB enclosure. Tried also running a scan with MBAM but having the same problem I was having before when I originally tried to run a scan with MSE, where it would get stuck after about 70% or so. 

Now I'm a little more confident though being that MSE was able to detect the infections, and remove them as well. I put the HD back into the netbook and when I booted up the computer it started a disk check. I had to leave for work and it wasnt complete yet. When left it was at stage 5 of 5, and at about 63%. 

When I get home from work I'll check to see what happened and post back.

Thanks again for the help so far.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*



gavinzach said:


> Test the HDD in it's notebook.
> 
> 
> Download UBCD (Ultimate Boot CD - Download the UBCD)
> ...





Remember its a netbook, no optical drive.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

Sorry about that... I forgot to put this link in there...

Easily Boot Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) from a USB flash drive | USB Pen Drive Linux


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

No need to apologize :smile:

Thanks for the link, I will check it out when I get home.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

So here's the scoop. Still having the same problem. It gets to the Windows XP login screen and the keyboard and mousepad still don't work. I went ahead and used UNetbootin to get Linux Mint Live on a flash drive. Used the flash drive to boot the netbook, and the keyboard and mousepad both work in Linux Mint Live. 

So I'm coming tho the conclusion that the problem is with Windows itself. And since I cant get past the login screen, I can't test the OS. 

Last thing I'm going to do is try Easily Boot Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) from a USB flash drive | USB Pen Drive Linux as recommended by gavinzach to test the HD.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

Report the results and we will go from there! Thanks for the update.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

Followed your instructions and this is what I got.

Quick test:
Operation completed successfully, disposition code = 0x00

Advanced test:
Problem detected on a non Hitachi disk drive. Please contact your HHD supplier for additional support. Disposition code = 0x70

The HD is a Toshiba MK1655GSX


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

0x70 is corrupted sectors.

Enter the repair options from the advanced boot menu and select advanced repair options. 

Select Command Prompt and run chkdsk c: /f/r

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/dft32_userguide.pdf


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*



gavinzach said:


> 0x70 is corrupted sectors.
> 
> Enter the repair options from the advanced boot menu and select advanced repair options.
> 
> ...


Sorry, but I'm a bit confused. Do you mean pressing F8 when rebooting the computer. And picking safe mode with command prompt?


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

I am sorry... I looked at your panel and saw Windows 7... I forgot this machine is using XP.

This is complicated, especially due to the fact the computer has no optical drive... so that means no way to load the XP install disc...

Is there information on the drive that is imperative to save???


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

No important data really according to my coworker. So I went ahead and used the built in recovery partition to boot into the Dell PC Restore. Restored the computer and the keyboard and the mousepad are responding. 

Just thought I'd mention that I did another HD scan using another of the UBCD HD diagnosis tools, I think it was using the maxtor one, and it passed the basic/quick scan, but failed the Advanced scan. Came back as failing the SMART part of the scan and with an error of: 4000FFFFFFF4FFFFFFB6100

Just thought I would share that. So looks like the problem was the HD all along. gavinzach, just want to say thank you for all the help.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

No problem... One thing you may want to do, or suggest doing... 

Make a sector-by-sector copy of the original drive to a new drive of the same size before the drive fails. 

This should preserve the factory restore partition.


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Dell Latitude: Keyboard works in BIOS, but not in Windows*

Great suggestion. Thx.


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