need help diagnosing!

[rezzij]

Problem started several months ago, no immediate hardware changes prior ...

POST screen gives me a "keyboard error or no keyboard present" error ... Usually, all 3 LEDs on the keyboard would be locked on. Power system down, unplug keyboard from PS2 port, wait until LEDs went off, plug in again - system boots fine ...
Over a couple of months, frequency of problem increased, and sometimes this process would have to be repeated 4-6 times before system would boot. Tried several other PS2 keyboards - all would work fine for a day, then replicate problem. All the keyboards would work fine on other systems afterward.
After a couple of months, problem was very severe, system would rarely come on, and then finally, could not get a BIOS screen. Replaced motherboard at that point. Problem started up shortly after, but not as severe. When the problem became more severe, I replaced the keyboard with a USB model, system worked perfectly for exactly a week, now system will not come on at all, hangs up on "keyboard error or no keyboard present". Halt on all errors is enabled in BIOS.

System is home built with the following parts:
mobo:
FIC AN19c (old)
GIGABYTE 7VT600-RZ(-C) (new)
graphics:
eVga mx440, 64meg ram, 8x AGP
ram:
(2)256meg pc2700
HD:
caviar 160gig
OS:
winXP pro

I really do not think it is a problem with the keyboards, but am at wit's end.
If there is anything more anyone would like to know - please ask!
thanks a ton!

 

[paparazi]

rezzij
Your symptoms are totally illogical, they don't make any sense.
Did you reinstall Windows after you swapped the motherboards?
Have you scanned for virus's?
Have you tried another mouse? yes illogical.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[rezzij]

I did not re-install XP as the new motherboard used the same VIA chipset as the old - after installation, I did up grade the drivers. System is both virus and ad/spyware free. Somewhere in there I did change to a new mouse. Went from a PS2 Logictech Mouseman to a HI-VAL PS2 optical. Truly do not remember where in the last 6 months I did this - before, after, or during. I have a few extra lying around - will try another one.
I agree on the illogical - darn thing sucks, but I have been messing with it for several months, and now I can't get past the BIOS screen. Was sure it had to be motherboard or keyboard, but doesn't seem to be.

 

[micker377]

Can you "beg, borrow, or steal" another hard drive, and install Win 98? Drastic - yes! But have you turned to drinking yet? Seriously, this would eliminate everything but hard drive, or Win XP incompatibility with your hardware, it's a starting point. Frustration can drive us to extremes.

 

[stduc]

It can't be the O/S because the O/S has not even started to load. To me, this looks like a power supply or poorly seated CPU issue.

Try removing everything except video card, 1 stick of RAM, and the keyboard. The system should boot to the BIOS screen. If it doesn't. re-seat the video card, try again. If it still won't boot, re-seat the CPU. If that doesn't work, remove the video card and re-boot, note the beep codes. They should give a clue.

Consider changing the power supply. What is the current power suplly? How many watts?

If the minimum system above boots to the BIOS screen. Add components one at a time, re-booting each time. You should find the problem that way.

You could also run some diagnostics like memtest86, amidiag and checkit. Once you have the system booting that is!

Best of luck!

 

[rotaman]

Hello,

I tend to believe this would be a power supply issue, as I don't see how it could be anything else. Thinking logically, it's not the motherboard, as that's been changed already (unless you're really unlucky and got a second defective mobo, but that's improbable.) It's most likely not the windows install, as these problems occur before the OS has a chance to load up. If you bought the same motherboard as the first one, you should try to update the BIOS to the latest version, and make sure your motherboard accepts all components you have installed on your pc. Obviously the BIOS is locking up for some reason, so strip your pc down to bare minimum components, rip out everything except the essential parts (mobo, cpu, power, harddrive, etc) and try to load it again.

Keep us posted!

 

[rezzij]

Well, based on paprazi's remark above, I tried the following:
Unplugged new USB keyboard, re-plugged in old Logitech PS@ board.
Unplugged new PS2 Hi-Val optical mouse, plugged in old microsoft PST intellimouse ...

Computer cold booted perfectly 4 times in a row ....
Will try many more times before I get tooo excited ...

Thanks to all!