I have a Dell Windows 98 SE machine that uses a PS 2 keyboard.

I unplugged the keyboard and tried to use it on an XP machine. When I plugged it back into my 98 machine it no longer lights up or works!

However Windows Device Manager says it is working correctly even when it isn't even plugged in to it!

It doesn't even work with a boot disk, but it NEVER gives an error when the keyboard is NOT plugged in either. Could it be a BIOS or PS 2 problem?

Thanks,

Ted Weissgerber
 

More likely a CMOS error.  Pull the battery overnight and see what happens when you put it back in tomorrow.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

Did it work in the XP machine?

Not suggesting any cack-handedness here, but if you're fumbling in the dark trying to plug in a PS/2, pins can easily get bent.

The reason the WIN98 machine booted without the keyboard plugged in could be that the BIOS was set NOT to halt on keyboard error(s).  Do as Edfair suggests...

ROGER - G0AOZ.
 

Does the keyboard still work in the XP machine?
I agree the reason it no longer works does sound like pin or cable damage.

And yes, check the BIOS to see if 'halt on no errors' or similar has been selected - I use this setting on a small file server here to enable the thing to boot with no mouse, keyboard or monitor attached. :)

Regards, Andy.
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Also, you should make sure the PC is powered off when you plug and unplug the keyboard and mouse.

Jim

 

ANFPS26,

correct, with PS/2 keyboards and mice, this needs to be done... not so with USB...

Quote:

It doesn't even work with a boot disk, but it NEVER gives an error when the keyboard is NOT plugged in either. Could it be a BIOS or PS 2 problem?

this can really only be answered if you try another known working PS/2 keyboard...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

Thanks for all of your responses! Here is some more detail:

The XP machine I plugged the keyboard into never fired up. Only the light on the front lit up. The CD's never lit up and only the power supply fan can be heard. I could not get either CD drawer to open either. Nothing appeared on the monitor as it stayed in standby mode!

So I think that the power supply is not working correctly. The XP was given to me by a friend to check out when he said it just kept rebooting. I never got it to boot. Perhaps that did something to the keyboard. My friend is going to give me the PS 2 keyboard for it soon. So I will try it and see what happens.

I tried to check the PS 2 cord continuity, but the resistance levels were too low to be of value. Thanks to all. I will try your ideas. Thanks!

Ted

Also the BIOS was never set to ignore post errors. Could a bad battery cause it to change? It is the original battery and I have no idea where to get a new one.

Ted

If the battery is duff, you'll get a 'Checksum Error' or CMOS Error' at the BIOS screen, with maybe a prompt to enter the BIOS to adjust the settings.

In any case, if the battery had run down, the BIOS would default to a set of... well... defualt settings, and 'Halt On All Errors' would have been one of these, I'd have thought.

Regards, Andy.
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The CMOS battery is usually a CR2032 round flat Battery, similar to a watch battery. You can buy them at Radio Shack, Walmart, Walgreens, etc; just about any place that sells watch batteries.

Jim

 

Well the other keyboard worked! I guess I'll just leave the BIOS alone so long as it works OK.

I never heard of a computer burning up a keyboard, but I gather that was what happened. Darn E-machines!

Thanks

Ted

Oh dear...  Now the truth dawns.  An E-MACHINE!  They will chew up just about anything.  Seriously, the PSU often goes first and then takes the motherboard with it together with other peripherals, so it could in theory kill a keyboard as well.

ROGER - G0AOZ.
 

The Emachine was rebooting all of the time when my friend gave it to me to fix. When I tried it, nothing happened. It didn't seem to even try to boot. All I heard was the power supply fan and the front panel light was on. Both CD's never lit up.

I'm wondering if the CD's are any good. It also has 2 hard drives and a graphics board. I hope they aren't fried too! I'm gonna check the power supply first to see what kind of voltages are involved.

Do you think I can salvage them?

Ted

Burger,

unplug the darn drives (CD ROMS and HDD) from the mainboard and the PSU, first, then power on the PC...

sometimes when one or more drives die, they prevent the mainboard from going into POST (the description you are giving is exact this type of symptom)...

if it then goes through POST, hook up the HDD, and then see if the PC powers up, add one drive at a time until it does not POST anymore... then you have found your culprit...

if it does not POST, after having removed all the drives, then check with a known working PSU, before going out purchasing one... and if that known working PSU does not bring the eMachine to POST, go to the local recycling center and toss it (keep the HDDs though)...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

OK, thanks for the advise. I haven't done anything with it since my keyboard was knocked out.

Ted

If I had the eMachine, I would check power supply outputs before doing any more testing. You may save the motherboard from getting cooked. The eMachines are also noted for the capacitors on the Mobo bulging their tops. If you inspect them and find bulged capacitors, you should replace them if you want a chance at having a working system.
That said, NEVER plug or unplug PS2 connectors with the machine powered up. By the way, if you plug the mouse into the keyboard port or vice versa, you can cook the motherboard. Instantly.
Of course, the maker never makes note of that fact.
tom

The power supply voltages are correct. It just sits there with the power supply fan blowing. Neither HD or CD does anything. CPU fan runs briefly when unplugged. I guess it is just parts now. I took the PCI video board out and now have 60 and 80 Gig hard drives.

Neither HD has a jumper on it. The owner said he didn't need to use them. I gather that they are set as the primary being the one on the end of the ribbon with the other as slave. I'm not sure how that is done in XP or the BIOS.

Ted

Ted,

some drives are automatically MASTER when no jumper is set, others are automatically CS (cable select), which means the BIOS determines which drive is at the end of the cable and makes that one MASTER...

even if the PSU is outputting power, this does not preclude it from being bad... I've seen PSU's that would seem to work, but when under load would just die...

I am wondering if you tested just the mainboard and PSU attached, nothing else before you yanked everything...

 

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

I tried it with all drives disconnected and got nothing.

Ted

I have forgotten if someone said to disconnect the battery to zero out the CMOS, but if you haven't, it's worth a try. Remove the battery and let it sit for 20 mihutes or so, then try to power up. I still think the eMachines power supplies are nicht ver gut. But that is an opinion, not fact. Check for a jumper on the Mobo to see if there is a CMOS protect or 'clear' selection.
Depending on who made the BIOS, there is a group[person?] that made a bootable floppy that works with a messed up CMOS. Check the HEXUS forums for more info or the askh;aslhgs BRAIN FADE due to old age. There's a site that has patched BIOS to handle larger disks, etc, and there was a post there about getting around a messed BIOS/CMOS using a program loaded 'by mistake' by the CMOS[it was labeled the same as something else...] that allowed one to get back their dead system. Search.
tom

I got the original 60 GB hard drive to work in my XP. I didn't even need to tell the BIOS about it. Windows made it drive F.

The Western digital 80 GB drive would not work on mine at all. BIOS said it was not found or recognized after setup.

I'll try the battery removal.

Ted

 

Removed and replaced the battery. Now the power supply comes on after it is plugged in. Before I had to press front button...

Again, a BIOS setting is sometimes supplied to enable you to choose  what action you want the computer to take after a power outage - whether to remain off or to resume operation.

You may have to dig a bit...

Regards, Andy.
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