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rpasquali

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PS2 and USB keyboard and mouse not working after server 2003 boot up

Dear Experts,

We recently had a problem with our server and its IBM Ultrium backup drive.  In an attempt to fix it one of our IT consultants tried to rectify some of the registry entries as he believed there was a problem with the device driver.  He used some form of a registry cleaning tool to do that but had no success.
I fixed the tape drive problem subsequently as a conflict with SQL was causing it and all it required was for the service to be disabled.

As a result of the registry clean our PS2 keyboard and mouse have not worked since.  My first solution was to try a cold reboot with a USB kbd and mouse which also didn't work.  My second solution was to run the Dell server utility diagnostic with which I was alble to use both PS2 keyboard and mouse or USB kbd and mouse normally suggesting that there is nothing rong with the PS2 port hardware.

As soon as server 2003 boots up no keyboard or mouse (either PS2 or USB) can be used.  This has now become very frustrating as server access is only through RDP; when there is a print queue problem I have no other solution but reboot the server as there is no other way of 'OKing' the print spool queue error messages that normally appear at login.

I would appreciate any form of help or solutions on this matter, I have read some of the other threads on the site relating to this but it seems that everyone that has had PS2 problems was able to resolve them using USB which is not the case here.
The original IT consultant who originally carried out the registry clean has no idea how to fix this problem.

Thank you in advance,
Ric

Unof
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Stephen Manderson
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I would presume this would have the same issue in safe mode.

So if you can access via RDP check the following registry keys.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Kbdclass

Is ImagePath set to System32\DRIVERS\kbdclass.sys ?

Also the other key values should be set to 1(enabled) as 4(disabled)

Regards
Steve
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try running sfc /scannow from the run box :
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310747
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rpasquali

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Hi there MAster and Wizard and thank you for your quick response.

Master:  ImagePath is set to System32\DRIVERS\kbdclass.sys.  However you metion two other entries that need to be (1) and (4) and both enabled.  These are the only entries and settings I see:
(Default)                REG_SZ                 (value not set)
DisplayName         REG_SZ                 Keyboard Class Driver
ErrorControl          REG_DWORD         0x00000001 (1)
Group                   REG_SZ                 Keyboard Class
Start                     REG_DWORD         0x00000001 (1)
Tag                      REG_DWORD         0x00000001 (1)
Type                    REG_DWORD         0x00000001 (1)

Which one of these are supposed to be (1) and (4)?
Wizard,

I have run sfc /scannow command as you suggested.  I have just realised that there were no keyboard or mouse plugged in at the time.  I will run thsi again this evening and get back to you.  Presumable the server will need a reboot after the scan?
not really, but it can be a good idea to refresh everything
If the keyboard is PS2 thenyou will need to have it attached to the server before it is turned on as it gets picked up by bios at that point.

As far a your registery goes your keyboard drivers look fine as they should all be enabled and you have all the keys there.

Also as a suggestion Check your BIOS to make sure both the keyboard and mouse are enabled. And check to see if the USB controller is enabled.

Regards
Steve

Can you boot into safe mode with a functional keyboard?  If so, attach both PS/2 and USB keyboards (and mice), boot into safe mode, and let the drivers load up.  

Also, in the BIOS, look for the 'boot with USB keyboard support' option (it's called various things in different machines).   Make sure that's enabled.  

Hi there,

I have tried the following options several times since the last post.  I apologise for the delay but I have been on assignment abroad for some time.

All seems to be in good order in the BIOS - but the 'boot with USB keyboard support' option is not obvious in the BIOS set up (Poweredge 2800 Server 2003 SP1)

I have tried to un sfc /scannow command several times but this doesn;t work as I have to RDP into the server and throws up a message saying I am not connected directly to the terminal window.

I am at a loss here can anyopne think of anything else?  This is becoming incredibly frustrating.

Thanks
One more thing to try - especially if you can get in through RDP as an administrative user.

Go into the device manager, and delete any and all USB, keyboard, and mouse devices.   That includes the USB stuff at the bottom.

Reboot the machine.  it _should_ then redetect and reinstall all of the various drivers and devices that are attached to it.  I've done this once or twice in the past, with a keyboard or mouse that just refused to do anything.  

Also, be sure to plug the USB keyboard in as well for when you reboot.

That's about all I can suggest at this point - if the devices were disabled in the registry, complete removal of them should then reinitialize the registry settings for the hardware.

If that doesn't do it, whack the consultant's fingers with a hammer - he should be there fixing it for you, without charge.   That's how I work.  I break it, I fix it.

Hi Bibliophage,
Thank you very much for your kind suggestions of last night.  I tried to reboot the system after having deleted everything including the all the USB entries in the device manager but sadly that also didn't work.

Experts had previously suggested to boot in safe mode which I also cannot do as once the boot sequence has stated I am locked out without RDP.

You mentioned in your last suggestion you suggested removing the registry entries for the keyboard and mouse to reinitialize them.  Are you referring to the entries that were mentioned above or other ones?  I have not tried to do that yet and I would like to give it a go as a last resort.  Could you make a more specific suggestion perhaps?

I have also been doing a bit of reading and I see that one of the possibilities is that the PS2 ports themselves on the motherboard are gone.  Is that likely on a 1.5 year old server?  I doesn't explain the ISB not working though!

Thanks in advance for your help

Ric
The PS/2 ports on the machine _could_ be out.  I just worked on a machine today that certainly acted that way.  I turned out that the _mouse_ was bad.   When I connected only a keyboard, then the keyboard functioned correctly.  

As for the registry entries - those were the ones already deleted.  The other thing to try, strange as it may seem, is to change the driver type in the device manager - to their most basic of drivers. (standard ps/2 mouse, rather than intellimouse, etc)

So, as I understand it, you _can_ use the keyboard in the CMOS setup screen?  If so, you _should_ be able to get to the Safe Mode screen itself - the higher level keyboard drivers aren't loaded until later in the sequence.  (The easiest way to find out is to hit F8 as soon as it finishes detecting the hard drives - tapping approximately twice a second)

So, I guess the things to try, in order, at this point, would be

1) Remove the mouse completely from the equation.  Try to boot the machine and see if the keyboard functions.  (If numlock blinks when the key is tapped when you see the boot screen, whether or not the system acknowledges the keyboard, then the underlying keyboard interface is working - and it's an OS problem completely.  If you get no light at all, then it may be hardware - although, a USB keyboard should have functioned.   If the PS/2 port is FUBARed, or has a bad mouse in it, then the USB keyboards (usually) don't work either.  

2) Change keyboard driver to the lowest common denominator (through RDP).

3) Try the safe mode route once or twice.  (These two you can do whichever order)

Hi all apologies for not posting a solution before on this but have had little time to try and fix this problem.  While you have no access to keyboard or mouse on your server you can have full admin access (not RDP) using the following run command:
mstsc /v:SERVERNAME /console

The problem was finally fixed by upgrading the BIOS and refreshing the Server 2003 installation over the top of the old one.  Backup was required and problem solved in 20 minutes.  Its worth noting that prior to the BIOS upgrade this would not work!

Hope this helps someone!
Ric
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