Question

Laptop keyboard/touchpad not functioning in WinVistax32 - how do I unlock?

Asked by: jasfout

Hello Fellow Experts.
I have no idea what the user did prior to my getting this laptop.  They did mention that they saw a few BSOD's  when trying to fix it.
 I dont know if it has been locked in Windows or drivers corrupted or what.  I have tried all of the keystrokes that I know of & googled for - nothin has worked.
Internal keyboard/mouse are not showing in device manager
External USB keyboard/mouse shows up and works fine.
Internal keyboard/mouse works fine prior to Windows loading...I can get into the BIOS or use Knoppix with them.
Malware scans turned up nothing more than a couple tracking cookies which have now been removed.
Any ideas?
I have several fires I am fighting right and would love some help on this one.

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Asked On
2009-10-12 at 18:30:33ID24806457
Topics

Windows Vista

,

PC Laptops

,

Peripherals

Participating Experts
3
Points
500
Comments
9

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Answers

 

by: manny_lenisPosted on 2009-10-12 at 18:44:49ID: 25556422

what kinda laptop?

 

by: jasfoutPosted on 2009-10-12 at 18:57:01ID: 25556455

laptop is Dell XPS M1530

Also I failed to mention that the numlock light is always lit, even after I turn off numlock with my external USB keyboard

 

by: manny_lenisPosted on 2009-10-12 at 18:58:55ID: 25556460

if there is nothing worth saving on there i would recommend doing a dell restore.  

 

by: BitsBytesandMorePosted on 2009-10-12 at 19:01:36ID: 25556468

The fact that it is working fine prior to windows loading tells you that the problem is with the software and not the hardware.

If you do not have much information as to what was done to it before, I would first suggest that you scan for Malware. If you need more info on how to scan for Malware efficiently ask me and I will give you more advice.

Also,  you might want to run the verifier.exe to make sure the drivers are in place and not corrupt.

If it still fails, from the command prompt and with administrator privileges run:

sfc /scannow

This will let us know if any of the Critical OS files is missing or damaged.

Lastly, if all else fails, You  can do a repair install for Vista. See attached pdf.

 

by: nobusPosted on 2009-10-13 at 00:33:58ID: 25557676

try a system restore to a prior date

 

by: jasfoutPosted on 2009-10-13 at 19:42:04ID: 25566832

manny,
Dell Restore is premature and yes there are things worth saving.

nobus,
For whatever reason System Restore was disabled when I got the machine.

BB&M,
verifier & sfc revealed nothing
which took me to a WinVista 'Upgrade' (not 'repair' as in XP) install which did the trick BUT....
future visitors beware...make sure requirements and expectations are met prior to attempting an upgrade installation.
This site is very helpful:
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/88236-repair-install-vista.html

 

by: BitsBytesandMorePosted on 2009-10-13 at 19:57:32ID: 25566877

jasfout..... the link you posted is the link from which I made the pdf I attached to the CommentId: 25556468. This link is clearly visible at the bottom of each page of the pdf.

I converted the link to a pdf (rather than just posting the link which would have been faster and easier for me) for the express purpose in case someone needed the information at a future date and the link had either disappeared or moved.

Are you saying that something else ".. did the trick.."? I'm confused.

The pdf is a pdf made of the page the link points to. It is so well explained and thoughtful that they enclosed the important things to be aware of in either a green, blue, yellow or red box to make sure that no one who was attempting a repair install (called Upgrade Install in Vista) missed any detail without being fully warned of the consequences or implications......

Can you clarify...did this solution work for you?

 

by: jasfoutPosted on 2009-10-14 at 08:31:44ID: 25571709

The solution worked fine.  
I just wanted to clarify that it is not the typical XP 'repair' install which is ran after booting from the Windows CD.  It is ran from within Windows.

 

by: BitsBytesandMorePosted on 2009-10-14 at 08:51:09ID: 25571929

Oh....ok..... It is one of those Microsoft things where in Vista and now in Windows 7 .... you can only do the old "Repair Install" if you are running it from within Windows and now it's been renamed to an "Upgrade Install" .... go figure how the average user will know how to repair his computer with the rules and wording changing every day..

Thank you for the feedback...I'm glad it worked for you.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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