# PS/2 & USB keyboards stop working once Windows XP loads



## tiffofdoom (Jan 8, 2008)

The problem:
Our three year old son spilled an unknown (but likely large) amount of water on our keyboard and mouse. The keyboard was a PS/2, and the mouse was a USB wireless, with an adapter that allowed it to plug into the PS/2 mouse port. once both devices were dried out, we tried hooking them back up. At first, neither worked, but once we moved the mouse to a USB port, both the keyboard and mouse began working, in DOS. However, once the Windows XP login screen came up, the keyboard stopped working. I restarted the computer a few times, but got the same result, each time: keyboard works in DOS, turns into a paperweight once Windows loads.

That was last night. This evening, my husband brought home a wireless USB keyboard and mouse set - that being the cheapest USB keyboard option he'd found at Walmart. I plugged in the little USB connector, and started up the computer. This time, the new mouse never worked at all (though our old USB mouse would still work), and again...the new USB keyboard would work in DOS, but not once it hit the Windows login screen.
We're out of ideas, and locked out of our own computer, as we can't imput the Windows password. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated, as I'm shamelessly dependant on that computer, and currently having to post this via our Wii.


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

welcome
check if you are able to enter via safe mode, go into the device manager and remove the old mice/keyboard.
enter bios, if possible, and enable pnp, usb, ps2 and anything else that might help out.


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## tiffofdoom (Jan 8, 2008)

Thanks for the reply!

I've tried going in under Safe Mode, but met with the same results - both keyboards will work fine, until Windows loads, and then stop working, so I cannot input a password at the login screen. All of our accounts with admin priviledges require a password, something I will NEVER do again, lol. 

Both keyboards work fine BEFORE Windows loads, so I've tried going into the BIOS and fiddling with what I could understand. PnP and USB were already enabled, and I never saw anything about PS/2, so I assume it's automatically enabled. I even tried disabling USB support, then going back in and enabling it again, but that had no effect. Oh, and I also tried using "Last Known Good Configuration," but it seemed to make no difference.

Our son's water attack on the keyboard is the obvious catalyst for this, but do you think it has now become a Windows XP issue, or is it more likely to be some sort of damage to the motherboard (beyond damage to just the PS/2 ports, which I already expected)? If it's just something simple like Windows now needing the drivers for the new USB keyboard (which we have on a cd, but obviously can't load, without being able to get into Windows), is there perhaps any way to load the drivers WITHOUT getting into Windows? 

Apologies in advance, for any stupid questions/mistakes; my computer knowledge is pretty much limited only to what I've had hands-on experience with.

Thanks again for the help!


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

do you have an xp disk with your number?
you might need a repair install
print this out
http://www.techsupportforum.com/f249/xp-wont-boot-how-to-make-a-repair-install-141197.html


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## tiffofdoom (Jan 8, 2008)

No, we don't; that's another problem. We DID have an XP disc, but sometime in the last four years, it seems to have disappeared. I had already considered trying a repair install (which is why I know the disc is nowhere to be found, lol), and a friend of ours offered to loan us their Windows XP disc, to do it. But do you know if that would work - using one copy of XP to repair another?

Thanks for the link; I can't print, since I'm only able to get online through the Wii, but if you think a repair install might work, with our friend's disc, I'll just pull up the link on the Wii, and leave it up as a guide.


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## yugpmoc (Mar 13, 2008)

Have a look at your accessibility options in the control panel. Took me a few hours of tinkering to find it on the one that came in the shop yesterday... If you system just beeps or clicks when you hit a normal keyboard key in XP and works in BIOS and other OSes... It's likely the sticky keys option or something like that turned on there. For emergencies, you can navigate to \windows\system32\osk.exe and run the On Screen Keyboard and type with your mouse. (great fun for all of 30 seconds)

-yug-


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