VanguardLH wrote:

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.

I have windows update configured to notify me of updates and install
them manually.

I've been using the k/b so long that I don't remember exactly When I
bought it. I want to say 5 years or so; at least 2013, maybe older.
IIRC, I used the Windows drivers loaded when I installed the OS and
used the k/b as is with no additional k/b drivers having to be
installed. The labeling on the back simply says "Microsoft Natural
Keyboard Elite".

The mouse is USB wired. No special driver was installed, so I assume
it, like the k/b, is using the drivers that came with Win 8.1 when I
installed the OS.

I haven't tried recovery mode. After the first few days when I
originally installed the OS, I've been fortunate not to have problems
crop up that I needed to recovery mode (knock on wood now). That would
have been the first year after MC released Win 8.1.

In Device Manager, I used the uninstall option to 'remove' the driver.
Then I had DM scan for new hardware. DM did not detect the k/b. I am
using "show hidden devices".

I've pretty much decided I'll buy a new USB k/b. Troubleshooting is
interesting, but given that it may be a hit and miss thing with an
adapter, I'm almost at the point of diminishing returns. I'll try
Paul's suggestion to boot into a different OS (WinXP)and see what
happens then.

John