My newer computer isn’t working right. I was using it last night and it was fine, but when I came back to it later, the mouse and keyboard were unusable as they apparently weren’t even powered on, let alone not being recognized by the OS (Vista 64). What’s weird is that my son’s PSP was plugged into one of the front ports and the charging light was lit. So, I unplugged the keyboard and the mouse from the back USB ports and plugged them into the front. They would not work there either.
So I tried a hard restart. Nothing. I get to the “Windows was not shut down properly what do you want to do?” error message but I can’t select the option to Start Windows Normally because the keyboard doesn’t work! What is going on and how can I possibly get anywhere if I can’t get past this screen?
Another friend on another board suggested trying that. I need to look and I think I might have a USB adapter for the mouse, but even if that ends up working, will that help? Maybe because I cannot advance beyond the “Select How You Want Windows To Start” screen the USB ports aren’t firing up?
Do you have another keyboard/mouse that you can try with the computer?
Do you have another computer that you can plug them into to see if they work on that it?
Unplug everything from the wall or pull the charger and battery if it’s a laptop. Hold the power on button for a minute and try it again. That could reset everything.
The devices aren’t the issue. I have plugged the mouse into my wife’s laptop and it works just fine. Something is awry. Maybe if I unplug everything (including power cable) from the computer, let it sit and dissipate power for a few minutes then plug everything back in and fire it up and see what happens. Its a weird issue I’ve never experienced before.
I’d borrow an older PS/2 keyboard from someone or pick one up at Goodwill for a few bucks, unless Al Bundy’s suggestion works. You can try using a round-plugged mouse, but oftentimes the bios won’t let you use a mouse before the drivers have loaded and you’re limited to using a keyboard.
Okay, I am really frustrated. It turns out this keyboard here on my old (2005 era) Xp machine is a PS/2 connected device. I take it upstairs, unplug everything USB/power related from the newer machine (with the exception of the ethernet cable and monitor cable) and yes, my newer computer has a place to plug this older keyboard in. So I do it, I see the keyboard light up, I’m thinking “YAY!”, I get to press the enter key to tell Windows to start normally, and then…nothing. Power to the keyboard and mouse stops, monitor goes to sleep…I don’t know what’s going on. I even took the opportunity to spray compressed air and get the dust bunnies out of the newer machine (there wasn’t much, I did this not long ago)…what on earth is going on?
What would the monitor have to do with anything? Its an older 19" HP model, never had a problem with it…it comes on when there’s a reason to…when it gets no input, it goes to sleep, as it should. Something is very wrong here. I’m afraid its my MOBO.
It turns out that the chipset on my mobo that is responsible for the USB, PS2 and other inputs is fried, so I need a new mobo. I’m not certain I can get my exact one as its not in production anymore (AMD 2+/AMD 2 socket) but there’s a couple alternatives on newegg and at Microcenter.
Problem is…I’ve never replaced one of these before and while my computer isn’t all that great, its the best one in our house right now and we don’t have a new computer in the budget as of yet. I have replaced a power supply in one of my older computers as well as added RAM…how much harder is it to replace a motherboard? I’m just worried about screwing something else up. Will I have to reinstall Vista as well? Any advice? Should I just pay someone else to do it?
If your level of expertise is not that great, as it sounds, you either need to buy a new PC or to pay someone to replace the MB. That way when something else goes wrong, as it almost inevitably will, someone else has to do the work.
How old is the PC? Given it has Vista, not very recent I’d guess?
I’ve owned it about 18 months. I already had a copy of Vista 64 so I went with it rather than buying 7, which I’m sure it could run.
Its an AMD Sempron dual-core processor 2.3 ghz, 4GB DDR2 RAM, Nvidia 9600GT vid card…nothing special but far more capable than my older laptop or my older PC. I can at least run games like Crysis on it on medium settings, and I have a fast internet connection, so I’m pleased with its performance for now. I only paid $400 for it a couple years ago and I want to keep using it for a few more years, so replacing an inexpensive mobo makes sense…especially if I can do it myself.
I’m not scared of opening my case or anything, but because I’ve never done this it makes me a little worried that I might mess something up. A friend told me the hardest part is the removal and re-installation of the processor itself due to the device that secures it and all the little pins you have to be careful not to break.
Any truth to that? I think I could do it…I’m not so much worried about damaging the mobo itself (since its a relatively cheap part), but screwing up the processor or something else that would avoid immediately catapuling me into the “its cheaper/better to buy a new computer now” scenario would be ideal…I’m thinking that paying someoneto install it for me would almost reach that point already.
Your friend is lying. The hardest part is the re-installation that little group of jumpers and cables in the bottom left-hand corner that work the case LEDs and switches. Some of them are direction-sensitive.
BTW that forest of pins is one reason I prefer Intel CPUs.
The hardest part is the re-installation that little group of jumpers and cables in the bottom left-hand corner that work the case LEDs and switches. Some of them are direction-sensitive.