Yes wrote:
I have a MS ergonomic keyboard (PS/2) I've been using for quite a few
years now. Until a few days ago, it worked as expected. However, now
the OS (Win 8.1 Pro 64-bit) does not recognize it. I have not changed
my hardware nor have I added/removed any software. My USB mouse works.
How is Windows Update configured for updates? Automatic or or notify
only?
You've been using the keyboard for years. You did not say how long you
have been using that keyboard with Windows 8.1 x64.
When I enter BIOS during the boot up procedures, the keyboard works. I
can move around BIOS. I searched my BIOS settings looking for legacy
devices and did not find anything.
Can you hit F8 *before* the OS loads to have the OS go into its recovery
boot menu?
Once my OS starts, the keyboard is not seen. For example, I've tried
typing, function keys, using Ctrl+, and so on. Nothing happens.
What happens if you use the boot menu to go into Window's safe mode?
What I've done so far:
1. use Device Manager to remove and then re-install the driver
2. unplugged the keyboard, turned off the pc, booted up, shut down,
plug the keyboard back in and boot up
3. scavenge a PS/2 keyboard from another computer to see if that
would work. It did not.
Is the problem hardware related? If so, the mobo or the keyboard?
Since the mouse still works and you can still get into Device Manager,
have you tried uninstalling the old PS/2 device and running a new
hardware scan to redetect the PS/2 mouse and reinstall the driver (well,
the driver or INF file is still there so "installing" just adds the .inf
defintion for the "new" device).
I don't think "remove" is the same as "uninstall" in Device Manager. In
Windows 7, there is no "remove" option when right-clicking on a device,
just "uninstall". Did your "remove" mean "uninstall"?
After uninstalling the device (which doesn't remove the driver, just the
definition of the device), did you either perform a rescan (to detect
new hardware) or reboot Windows?
Since you removed/uninstalled the PS/2 pointing device in Device Manager
means you could see it. When it reappears after uninstalling and
scanning for new hardware, whose driver is listed for that device? Did
you install any Microsoft-specific software for that keyboard, like
Intellipoint, Setpoint, or Mouse and Keyboard Center, or something else?
Get rid (uninstall) the ancilliary software that came with the keyboard
as it is not required for basic functionality, only to add more
features, like macros to assign to function keys or special buttons.
You want to use the PS/2 driver (well, INF file) that comes with Windows
to first see that the keyboard works as a basic PS/2 keyboard, not with
a bunch of glitz atop of PS/2 functionality.
From what I see at:
https://www.microsoft.com/accessorie...hspecs-connect
and for Windows 8.1 x64, the "Mouse and Keyboard Center" (MKC)
ancilliary software package is at version 3.2. Is that what you have?
If not, first revert to just a basic PS/2 device using the embedded
driver in Windows and after that works then install 3.2 of the MKC
software (if you really need it). You don't need that software to get
the keyboard to function as a PS/2 device.
The device that I found is for the USB ergonomic 4000 keyboard. It's
the only ergonomic model they currently list on their site. I found an
circa 2007 model being sold online that says it supports USB and PS/2
(it has the inbuilt detect and hardware protocol circuitry). You didn't
give a model number for yours.
I've thought about buying a PS/2 to USB adapter to use for the
keyboard, but I don't know if that would work. I'd like to keep using
the existing keyboard (the ergonomic design does make a difference to
me) if the problem is with the PS/2 connector on the mobo. But if the
pc recognizes the keyboard (when I'm in BIOS), it doesn't seem like
it's the mobo PS/2 connector.
USB to PS/2 or (PS/2 to USB) requires a hardware protocol conversion.
Either the logic must be built into the keyboard (it says it supports
both PS/2 and USB) to use a passive adapter dongle or the dongle must be
an *active* converter. There is no simple rewiring of the cable to get
the USB protocol to convert to the PS/2 protocol. Passive dongles do
not perform hardware protocol conversion. Easiest is to get a USB+PS2
keyboard that already detects the hardware protocol to select which
logic it uses from the keyboard's PCB.