ps2 keyboards fail during boot, work fine in win2k 1

[smithcferg]

Hi.

I have a IBM Netvista 6794-xx3 minitower computer that has a strange boot up problem. I have no keyboard functionality in the bios, though it works perfectly in win2k.

I am using a ps2 keyboard. No keyboard error messages are reported on bootup. No post errors of any kind, and no beep errors. The three leds on the keyboard flash at the same time twice, which I think is normal for boot.There is startup menu during post that gives the user an opportunity to access the bios or IBM recovery software. Sometimes the keys (F1 or F11) function here, sometimes they don't. If they do, I can get into the bios, I see the first bios page (System info), but none of the keys work there, so I can't access the bios settings. Same for when I can enter the Application Recovery Menu - I can see the menu but can't use the keyboard here. In all other respects, boot is normal. Also, when I boot into win2k, the F8 option key that leads to the safeboot menu never works. However, in Win2k the keyboard works perfectly. This functionality was confirmed with PC Doctor for Windows - every key works right.

Possible additional circumstances:
Just before this problem was observed I discovered my computer had been compromised with a trojan (at least one) and several viruses. I ran a trojan scanner called Tauscan, and have been using Norton Antivirus corporate edition, and adaware software. In addition, around the time this problem started I had installed a new network card.

I have tried 2 other keyboards (both Ps2) and have had exactly the same results with these keyboards also - two of the three keyboards are known to work on other computers, the third was a new one. I don't have a usb keyboard to try. The ps2 keyboard is plugged into the ps2 port closest to the side of the computer, which is the proper ps2 port for keyboards on this computer. The ps2 mouse works fine. I have tried switching the keyboard and the mouse (always careful to shut off computer first!) and I have tried just using the keyboard in either port.

I have also tried removing all usb devices and the networking card that I had installed. I have reflashed the bios two times using a windows bios flashing program designed for this computer. I tried using both the current bios and a backlevel bios just to see if either would cure the problem.

Has anyone heard of a problem like this before? Can this problem be the result of a virus or an altered boot record, etc.? Has anyone heard of a ps2 port that fails in such a way on boot up, but always works perfectly in win2k? What would be a good {hopefully free: )} diagnostic for testing ps2 ports - pc doctor focused on keyboard functionality only.

Any and all ideas are welcome! Thanks in advance.

 

[bcastner]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q257729

 

[edfair]

Since it is having funtion problems in the BIOS it is unlikely that your malware is the culprit.
Don't know the model but would try clearing CMOS to defaults and then reset to what is needed to see if there is something there that affects it. Possibly even reset it via the clear and let it go back to hardware defaults.

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

 

[smithcferg]

It turns out that not only my keyboard had been disabled, but also my a: floppy diskette!

When I have cleared the bios I regained access to the floppy drive, and when I reflashed it from a boot disk, rather than from the operating system, I regained use of the ps/2 keyboard on boot.

It seems these are functions that can be removed in the bios, and there is also a feature in the bios which allows for remote bios configuration/flashing without password. So who knows how it got to the state it was in!

I am still finding trojans popping up on the computer.

Thanks for the good tip, Ed.

Have a good day.

Sincerely,

smithcferg

 

[garebo]

If you are still finding trojans, then do youself a favor and go to trend-micro and do a full scan. They are a reputable, well-known name, will do a great job or removing malware, especially good at trojans and worms that antivirus progs miss!

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[felixc]

I don't know if anyone has tried a PS/2 keyboard, while enabling the "legacy keyboard support for USB" in the BIOS menus. Would it knock off the PS/2 keyboard port? Win2k has its own keyboard driver and may bypass the BIOS calls and still use the PS/2 ports. A DOS diskette would have been the perfect test.

If your system does it again, try an MS-DOS diskette. If you can find one.

 

[electronicsfreak]

No when you enable usb support it should not turn serial ports off. If it does sounds like you either have a bad bios upgrade or a possible bios virus. If you enable it and it changes them my advice is reflash the bios if you know how. If you are unsure dont attempt it. Regardless both should be able to be enabled and work fine without turning the other off.

 

[smithcferg]

Well, turns out there was an option in this bios to turn off legacy support for ps/2 ports/serial ports/parallel port. And the floppy diskette can be (and was disabled.) In addition to this, usb keyboard support needs to be turned on if one desires access with a usb keyboard (which I didn't even have anyway). So with this bios (on the IBM Netvista series of computers) one can (and I did!) reach a state where the only way to access the bios is to completely clear it, then reflash it from a bootable bios flash diskette. Regular reflashing through the windows bios flash program did not alter settings in the bios.

This is the process I followed to clear the bios and reflash :
To clear the bios, move the bios jumper, reboot with a bootable bios flash diskette in drive. During this process there is no video, just a series of beeps and finally one long beep. Do a Power on reset, by unplugging plug, holding start switch in for 10 secs, then plugging computer back in.

Move jumper back to normal position. Reboot, with bootable bios flash floppy in drive. Now the bios is reflashed from a completely cleared state (so you better have your computer serial number handy!)

This process got me back to a bios with default values.

Thanks everyone for your kind suggestions. Thanks ED, for steering me towards the clear bios idea. I thought it was enough just to reflash the bios to bring it back to default settings.

Thanks garebo for the trend-micro website tip. I am using that too!

Good day all,

Smithcferg

 

[garebo]

You're welcome. I use it all the time, its totally safe.

Next time, my bet is the most you have to do is a re-set, not a re-flash. The reason i say that is, somehow, im not sure, but somehow bios settings get changed without our doing so and for no apparent reason that we know of. Its happened to me, many, many times. Best example is when boot sequence gets changed. We dont do it on purpose, yet somehow it happens. A simple re-set will fix it up. And most times all we have to do is go into the bios and set the settings back the way we want them.
And i had an IBM Netvista motherboard for over a year.



Good advice + great people = tek-tips