# Update BIOS without keyboard?



## natetheros (Jan 28, 2005)

Is there any way to update the BIOS of a motherboard without having a keyboard installed or available?

It sounds odd, but I'm struggling with a seemingly software-based problem with a Gigabyte K7 Triton board not recognizing input from any PS2 or USB keyboard.

The board has BIOS revision F4, and revision F7 includes a keyboard fix (possibly unrelated to my issue, but I'm at my wits end otherwise).

http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-7VT600 1394.htm


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

At this point it's just a guess, but there may be a fuse blown on the board and that may have left your PS2 and USB inoperative. The fuse would be a flat device that looks similar to a surface mount resistor or capacitor, and it's nomenclature on the board will be F and a number greater than zero. Checking it for continuity with a digital multimeter is a good idea.


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## natetheros (Jan 28, 2005)

I do have a multimeter and can look into that.

However, my optical mouse appears to work (lights up and responds during boot, whereas the keyboard does not) when plugged into either the PS2 or USB ports. Could this rule out the fuse issue?


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

Yes that does rule out the fuse. I'll be back.


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## natetheros (Jan 28, 2005)

Thanks! 

There's more info on the actual problem here: http://www.techsupportforum.com/showthread.php?t=36360

Based on the things I've tried, the problem seems BIOS-related. It's possible that it's a hardware problem, but that doesn't explain the behaviors noted here and in the link above. It's also worth noting that I don't get any "keyboard errors" at startup... it's as if it's not even looking for a keyboard, or it thinks some other keyboard is plugged in (which there isn't).

I'm curious if there's a way to flash the bios without a keyboard, or if there's a boot utility that will help me troubleshoot input devices.


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

have you tried booting from like a 98 floppy? The command set contained within will seek a keyboard, and also prove/disprove it's function.

BTW if this works, then a flash is possible since the same basic DOS command set is used on the bios update floppy.


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## natetheros (Jan 28, 2005)

Haven't tried a Win98 floppy per se, but I did try the following:

Windows 98 Boot CD
Windows 2000 Pro Boot CD
Windows XP Pro Boot CD
Redhat 9 Boot CD
Ultimate Boot CD (http://www.ultimatebootcd.com)

All booted, but none of them indicated there was a keyboard problem (regardless of whether the keyboard was actually plugged in or not), and none of them recognized any input from any keyboard.

Strange. It's still as if it's not even looking for a keyboard, or it thinks some other keyboard is plugged in.


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

Ok, default the bios, (move the cmos jumper from norm to clr. for 30 sec's or so, and back to norm.) see if that helps.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

natetheros said:


> I do have a multimeter and can look into that.
> 
> However, my optical mouse appears to work (lights up and responds during boot, whereas the keyboard does not) when plugged into either the PS2 or USB ports. Could this rule out the fuse issue?


If the PS/2 port keyboard does not ever get power, I suspect the PS/2 fuse is probably bad. I'd attempt to fix that, since some BIOS versions don't support USB keyboard/mouse by default.


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

Sometimes a little backtracking is necessary. Like to ask when was the last time the keyboard was functional, and is there any particular event you can associate the failure with?


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## natetheros (Jan 28, 2005)

I reset the BIOS, but still the same problem. 

I also did a continuity test on the PS2 fuse, and it checks out. Plus the PS2 mouse responds. The PS2 keyboard gets power when the power-supply is turned on... it's just that the BIOS (and subsequently nothing else) recognizes any input from the keyboards.

All keyboards tested work with other computers, and it's a new motherboard so there was never a time when any keyboard worked with it.

I'm beginning to think that maybe it's a defective PS2 keyboard circuit... or some hardware problem that's less obvious than a bad connector or fuse. There appears to be power continuity, but data isn't getting through.

???

I've contacted Gigibyte tech support and tabled the motherboard for the time being.

Thanks for your help!


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