Old, DOA Gateway .. .. need advice .. ..

I did NOT miss the point. You've already changed the battery and diddled with
the motherboard jumpers to get the system to respond to a USB keyboard. If the
system does not respond to key presses from a USB keyboard attached to any of
the USB ports, then its USB ports are hosed, and the motherboard is history.. A
USB legacy BIOS setting has no effect whatsoever on whether the motherboard will
work with a USB keyboard. And I think that is how I responded earlier!

How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a motherboard
when you do not have a schematic of the board? Folly! ... Ben Myers

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:38:28 -0400, "__ Bob __"
wrote:

I think you guys are partly missing my point .. .. this motherboard's
BIOS HAS USB "LEGACY" drivers built into it .. .. only problem is, I
can't get TO them until I can "PRESS F1" to get into the setup mode.

The BIOS has the ability to see a USB keyboard via "LEGACY DRIVERS", but
I need a PS-2 keyboard in order to get into the firmware to enable them,
and this board has no PS-2 ports.

I'm thinking of trying to pull a PS-2 port off of another motherboard
and see if I can solder it onto this beast .. .. if it fails, no big
deal, 'cause she's not gonna give GateWay almost $200 to "fix" it.


Ben Myers wrote:
You could fool me. If Intel is so much behind legacy-free, why do they keep
selling a lot of motherboards with PS/2 connectors? The D975XBX2 is perhaps
the most expensive Intel motherboard, or at least it was when I bought it. It
also has floppy diskette, parallel and serial connectors on it. Oh, maybe the
public does not want the legacy connectors to go away? As long as Intel leads
the way still producing boards with legacy connectors, Microsoft will have to
include support in its operating systems... Ben Myers

Let me try this again .. you DID apparently miss the point .. .. .. the
system DOES NOT RECOGNIZE NOR RESPOND TO the USB Keyboard .. . THAT IS
THE WHOLE PROBLEM !! !! !! And, YES .. there ARE settings within the
CMOS SETUP that you can use to TURN THE USB LEGACY DRIVERS ON or OFF.
These are precisely the settings I can't get to. The USB ports were
working the last time the machine ran, so I doubt they are bad. The
only real problem was that the CMOS was corrupted, and in the process of
clearing it, I lost the use of the USB ports.

If you look carefully, there are only 6 pins on a PS-2 connector .. ..
if the mating port on the motherboard is surface-mounted and not
embedded in a layered configuration, it is not all that difficult for
someone with a steady hand and decent eyesight to remove the port from
one board and attach it to another using short jumper wires to make
things a little easier. I only need the PS-2 keyboard to get into the
configuration/setup page. As for the wiring that you call "folly" ..
... PS-2 is an industry standard, and, as such, I only need to match up
the pins on the port with the solder pads on the motherboard .. . no
schematic necessary.

Ben Myers wrote:

I did NOT miss the point. You've already changed the battery and diddled with
the motherboard jumpers to get the system to respond to a USB keyboard. If the
system does not respond to key presses from a USB keyboard attached to any of
the USB ports, then its USB ports are hosed, and the motherboard is history.. A
USB legacy BIOS setting has no effect whatsoever on whether the motherboard will
work with a USB keyboard. And I think that is how I responded earlier!

How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a motherboard
when you do not have a schematic of the board? Folly! ... Ben Myers

Well, then, if you think the board is still functional, it seems to me that it
is a better approach to try to corrupt the CMOS settings, rather than to attempt
to solder a PS/2 keyboard connector onto a multi-layer circuit board. But, hey,
you're the expert with the soldering iron. You know what you can do, so don't
let me dissuade you. I know damned well how many pins are needed to attach a
PS/2 connector.

So if you want to try again to do it without soldering, remove the C2032 3v CMOS
battery and let the board sit for a few hours. Give the CMOS settings plenty
of time to become corrupted for lack of battery juice AND external wall power to
keep them properly charged. Then power up the computer after putting the CMOS
battery back in. When the CMOS settings become corrupted, the motherboard BIOS
reverts back to its default settings, which jolly well should allow a USB
keyboard to function again. If that doesn't do it, good luck with the
soldering iron. If it were my choice, I would scrap the computer or
motherboard, rather than solder. Unless the board has an absolutely unusual
form factor like mini-ITX, microATX Socket 370 boards with PS/2 connectors are a
dime a dozen, even ones with a Gateway BIOS. I found some in my old old
inventory today. They'll either go to the board scrapper or get sold on eBay
for chump change... Ben Myers

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:42:05 -0400, "__ Bob __"
wrote:

Let me try this again .. you DID apparently miss the point .. .. .. the
system DOES NOT RECOGNIZE NOR RESPOND TO the USB Keyboard .. . THAT IS
THE WHOLE PROBLEM !! !! !! And, YES .. there ARE settings within the
CMOS SETUP that you can use to TURN THE USB LEGACY DRIVERS ON or OFF.
These are precisely the settings I can't get to. The USB ports were
working the last time the machine ran, so I doubt they are bad. The
only real problem was that the CMOS was corrupted, and in the process of
clearing it, I lost the use of the USB ports.

If you look carefully, there are only 6 pins on a PS-2 connector .. ..
if the mating port on the motherboard is surface-mounted and not
embedded in a layered configuration, it is not all that difficult for
someone with a steady hand and decent eyesight to remove the port from
one board and attach it to another using short jumper wires to make
things a little easier. I only need the PS-2 keyboard to get into the
configuration/setup page. As for the wiring that you call "folly" ..
.. PS-2 is an industry standard, and, as such, I only need to match up
the pins on the port with the solder pads on the motherboard .. . no
schematic necessary.

Ben Myers wrote:

I did NOT miss the point. You've already changed the battery and diddled with
the motherboard jumpers to get the system to respond to a USB keyboard. If the
system does not respond to key presses from a USB keyboard attached to any of
the USB ports, then its USB ports are hosed, and the motherboard is history.. A
USB legacy BIOS setting has no effect whatsoever on whether the motherboard will
work with a USB keyboard. And I think that is how I responded earlier!

How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a motherboard
when you do not have a schematic of the board? Folly! ... Ben Myers

If the motherboard has only USB and no PS/2, the BIOS should support a
USB legacy keyboard and mouse unconditionally. Period.


__ Bob __ wrote:
I think you guys are partly missing my point .. .. this motherboard's
BIOS HAS USB "LEGACY" drivers built into it .. .. only problem is, I
can't get TO them until I can "PRESS F1" to get into the setup mode.

The BIOS has the ability to see a USB keyboard via "LEGACY DRIVERS", but
I need a PS-2 keyboard in order to get into the firmware to enable them,
and this board has no PS-2 ports.

I'm thinking of trying to pull a PS-2 port off of another motherboard
and see if I can solder it onto this beast .. .. if it fails, no big
deal, 'cause she's not gonna give GateWay almost $200 to "fix" it.


Ben Myers wrote:
You could fool me. If Intel is so much behind legacy-free, why do
they keep
selling a lot of motherboards with PS/2 connectors? The D975XBX2 is
perhaps
the most expensive Intel motherboard, or at least it was when I bought
it. It
also has floppy diskette, parallel and serial connectors on it. Oh,
maybe the
public does not want the legacy connectors to go away? As long as
Intel leads
the way still producing boards with legacy connectors, Microsoft will
have to
include support in its operating systems... Ben Myers

"How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a
motherboard when you do not have a schematic of the board?"

There MIGHT be pads for a PS/2 connector that are simply not populated
with an actual connector.

First, we do understand what you are saying.

Second, the "legacy USB" settings in the BIOS have to do with setting up
an Emulation of a PS/2 keyboard by a USB keyboard for DOS-level command
line operating systems. It doesn't apply to Windows (which directly
detects USB keyboards and mice itself without using the BIOS), and it
may or may not apply to the BIOS itself (in that regard, I've seen it
done both ways). However, if the motherboard has only USB and no PS/2
keyboard or mouse ports, then the BIOS should always and unconditionally
detect and work with a USB port keyboard, to prevent exactly the
situation that you are hypothesizing has occurred. But I am skeptical
that the actual situation is what you think it to be.

Other possibilities: You could have a bad USB keyboard(s), you could
have bad USB ports on the motherboard. Even if the USB legacy setting
matters to the BIOS, the default on a motherboard without PS/2 ports
would undoubtedly be enabled. And the default would be restored by
clearing CMOS (which, I think, you have done).


__ Bob __ wrote:
Let me try this again .. you DID apparently miss the point .. .. .. the
system DOES NOT RECOGNIZE NOR RESPOND TO the USB Keyboard .. . THAT IS
THE WHOLE PROBLEM !! !! !! And, YES .. there ARE settings within the
CMOS SETUP that you can use to TURN THE USB LEGACY DRIVERS ON or OFF.
These are precisely the settings I can't get to. The USB ports were
working the last time the machine ran, so I doubt they are bad. The
only real problem was that the CMOS was corrupted, and in the process of
clearing it, I lost the use of the USB ports.

If you look carefully, there are only 6 pins on a PS-2 connector .. ..
if the mating port on the motherboard is surface-mounted and not
embedded in a layered configuration, it is not all that difficult for
someone with a steady hand and decent eyesight to remove the port from
one board and attach it to another using short jumper wires to make
things a little easier. I only need the PS-2 keyboard to get into the
configuration/setup page. As for the wiring that you call "folly" ..
.. PS-2 is an industry standard, and, as such, I only need to match up
the pins on the port with the solder pads on the motherboard .. . no
schematic necessary.

Ben Myers wrote:

I did NOT miss the point. You've already changed the battery and
diddled with
the motherboard jumpers to get the system to respond to a USB
keyboard. If the
system does not respond to key presses from a USB keyboard attached to
any of
the USB ports, then its USB ports are hosed, and the motherboard is
history.. A
USB legacy BIOS setting has no effect whatsoever on whether the
motherboard will
work with a USB keyboard. And I think that is how I responded earlier!
How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a
motherboard
when you do not have a schematic of the board? Folly! ... Ben Myers

"if you want to try again to do it without soldering, remove the
C2032 3v CMOS battery and let the board sit for a few hours"

On most motherboards, the procedure is to remove the battery and short a
pair of "clear CMOS" jumpers (with power off (TOTALLY OFF) and battery
removed).


Ben Myers wrote:
Well, then, if you think the board is still functional, it seems to me that it
is a better approach to try to corrupt the CMOS settings, rather than to attempt
to solder a PS/2 keyboard connector onto a multi-layer circuit board. But, hey,
you're the expert with the soldering iron. You know what you can do, so don't
let me dissuade you. I know damned well how many pins are needed to attach a
PS/2 connector.

So if you want to try again to do it without soldering, remove the C2032 3v CMOS
battery and let the board sit for a few hours. Give the CMOS settings plenty
of time to become corrupted for lack of battery juice AND external wall power to
keep them properly charged. Then power up the computer after putting the CMOS
battery back in. When the CMOS settings become corrupted, the motherboard BIOS
reverts back to its default settings, which jolly well should allow a USB
keyboard to function again. If that doesn't do it, good luck with the
soldering iron. If it were my choice, I would scrap the computer or
motherboard, rather than solder. Unless the board has an absolutely unusual
form factor like mini-ITX, microATX Socket 370 boards with PS/2 connectors are a
dime a dozen, even ones with a Gateway BIOS. I found some in my old old
inventory today. They'll either go to the board scrapper or get sold on eBay
for chump change... Ben Myers

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:42:05 -0400, "__ Bob __"
wrote:

Let me try this again .. you DID apparently miss the point .. .. .. the
system DOES NOT RECOGNIZE NOR RESPOND TO the USB Keyboard .. . THAT IS
THE WHOLE PROBLEM !! !! !! And, YES .. there ARE settings within the
CMOS SETUP that you can use to TURN THE USB LEGACY DRIVERS ON or OFF.
These are precisely the settings I can't get to. The USB ports were
working the last time the machine ran, so I doubt they are bad. The
only real problem was that the CMOS was corrupted, and in the process of
clearing it, I lost the use of the USB ports.

If you look carefully, there are only 6 pins on a PS-2 connector .. ..
if the mating port on the motherboard is surface-mounted and not
embedded in a layered configuration, it is not all that difficult for
someone with a steady hand and decent eyesight to remove the port from
one board and attach it to another using short jumper wires to make
things a little easier. I only need the PS-2 keyboard to get into the
configuration/setup page. As for the wiring that you call "folly" ..
.. PS-2 is an industry standard, and, as such, I only need to match up
the pins on the port with the solder pads on the motherboard .. . no
schematic necessary.

Ben Myers wrote:

I did NOT miss the point. You've already changed the battery and diddled with
the motherboard jumpers to get the system to respond to a USB keyboard. If the
system does not respond to key presses from a USB keyboard attached to any of
the USB ports, then its USB ports are hosed, and the motherboard is history.. A
USB legacy BIOS setting has no effect whatsoever on whether the motherboard will
work with a USB keyboard. And I think that is how I responded earlier!

How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a motherboard
when you do not have a schematic of the board? Folly! ... Ben Myers

Yep .. . the pads are there .. . just nothing soldered to them

The generic versions of this board ALL have the ports on them.


Barry Watzman wrote:
"How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a
motherboard when you do not have a schematic of the board?"

There MIGHT be pads for a PS/2 connector that are simply not populated
with an actual connector.

Well, if you want to split hairs, shorting the "Clear CMOS" jumper pair has
EXACTLY the same effect as removing the CMOS battery for a while. It's just
that "Clear CMOS" is (or should be) instantaneous, whereas removal of the
battery depends on a variable time for the CMOS content to degrade. All with
the power cord removed from the wall, of course. No need to do both battery
removal and "Clear CMOS". Doing only one of them is sufficient... Ben Myers

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:28:25 -0400, Barry Watzman
wrote:

"if you want to try again to do it without soldering, remove the
C2032 3v CMOS battery and let the board sit for a few hours"

On most motherboards, the procedure is to remove the battery and short a
pair of "clear CMOS" jumpers (with power off (TOTALLY OFF) and battery
removed).


Ben Myers wrote:
Well, then, if you think the board is still functional, it seems to me that it
is a better approach to try to corrupt the CMOS settings, rather than to attempt
to solder a PS/2 keyboard connector onto a multi-layer circuit board. But, hey,
you're the expert with the soldering iron. You know what you can do, so don't
let me dissuade you. I know damned well how many pins are needed to attach a
PS/2 connector.

So if you want to try again to do it without soldering, remove the C2032 3v CMOS
battery and let the board sit for a few hours. Give the CMOS settings plenty
of time to become corrupted for lack of battery juice AND external wall power to
keep them properly charged. Then power up the computer after putting the CMOS
battery back in. When the CMOS settings become corrupted, the motherboard BIOS
reverts back to its default settings, which jolly well should allow a USB
keyboard to function again. If that doesn't do it, good luck with the
soldering iron. If it were my choice, I would scrap the computer or
motherboard, rather than solder. Unless the board has an absolutely unusual
form factor like mini-ITX, microATX Socket 370 boards with PS/2 connectors are a
dime a dozen, even ones with a Gateway BIOS. I found some in my old old
inventory today. They'll either go to the board scrapper or get sold on eBay
for chump change... Ben Myers

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:42:05 -0400, "__ Bob __"
wrote:

Let me try this again .. you DID apparently miss the point .. .. .. the
system DOES NOT RECOGNIZE NOR RESPOND TO the USB Keyboard .. . THAT IS
THE WHOLE PROBLEM !! !! !! And, YES .. there ARE settings within the
CMOS SETUP that you can use to TURN THE USB LEGACY DRIVERS ON or OFF.
These are precisely the settings I can't get to. The USB ports were
working the last time the machine ran, so I doubt they are bad. The
only real problem was that the CMOS was corrupted, and in the process of
clearing it, I lost the use of the USB ports.

If you look carefully, there are only 6 pins on a PS-2 connector .. ..
if the mating port on the motherboard is surface-mounted and not
embedded in a layered configuration, it is not all that difficult for
someone with a steady hand and decent eyesight to remove the port from
one board and attach it to another using short jumper wires to make
things a little easier. I only need the PS-2 keyboard to get into the
configuration/setup page. As for the wiring that you call "folly" ..
.. PS-2 is an industry standard, and, as such, I only need to match up
the pins on the port with the solder pads on the motherboard .. . no
schematic necessary.

Ben Myers wrote:

I did NOT miss the point. You've already changed the battery and diddled with
the motherboard jumpers to get the system to respond to a USB keyboard. If the
system does not respond to key presses from a USB keyboard attached to any of
the USB ports, then its USB ports are hosed, and the motherboard is history.. A
USB legacy BIOS setting has no effect whatsoever on whether the motherboard will
work with a USB keyboard. And I think that is how I responded earlier!

How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a motherboard
when you do not have a schematic of the board? Folly! ... Ben Myers

Some motherboards will retain a residual charge for so long, and some
chips require so little charge to hold memory, that as a practical
matter removing the battery without shorting the jumpers won't work in a
reasonable amount of time.

Ben Myers wrote:
Well, if you want to split hairs, shorting the "Clear CMOS" jumper pair has
EXACTLY the same effect as removing the CMOS battery for a while. It's just
that "Clear CMOS" is (or should be) instantaneous, whereas removal of the
battery depends on a variable time for the CMOS content to degrade. All with
the power cord removed from the wall, of course. No need to do both battery
removal and "Clear CMOS". Doing only one of them is sufficient... Ben Myers

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:28:25 -0400, Barry Watzman
wrote:

"if you want to try again to do it without soldering, remove the
C2032 3v CMOS battery and let the board sit for a few hours"

On most motherboards, the procedure is to remove the battery and short a
pair of "clear CMOS" jumpers (with power off (TOTALLY OFF) and battery
removed).


Ben Myers wrote:
Well, then, if you think the board is still functional, it seems to me that it
is a better approach to try to corrupt the CMOS settings, rather than to attempt
to solder a PS/2 keyboard connector onto a multi-layer circuit board. But, hey,
you're the expert with the soldering iron. You know what you can do, so don't
let me dissuade you. I know damned well how many pins are needed to attach a
PS/2 connector.

So if you want to try again to do it without soldering, remove the C2032 3v CMOS
battery and let the board sit for a few hours. Give the CMOS settings plenty
of time to become corrupted for lack of battery juice AND external wall power to
keep them properly charged. Then power up the computer after putting the CMOS
battery back in. When the CMOS settings become corrupted, the motherboard BIOS
reverts back to its default settings, which jolly well should allow a USB
keyboard to function again. If that doesn't do it, good luck with the
soldering iron. If it were my choice, I would scrap the computer or
motherboard, rather than solder. Unless the board has an absolutely unusual
form factor like mini-ITX, microATX Socket 370 boards with PS/2 connectors are a
dime a dozen, even ones with a Gateway BIOS. I found some in my old old
inventory today. They'll either go to the board scrapper or get sold on eBay
for chump change... Ben Myers

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:42:05 -0400, "__ Bob __"
wrote:

Let me try this again .. you DID apparently miss the point .. .. .. the
system DOES NOT RECOGNIZE NOR RESPOND TO the USB Keyboard .. . THAT IS
THE WHOLE PROBLEM !! !! !! And, YES .. there ARE settings within the
CMOS SETUP that you can use to TURN THE USB LEGACY DRIVERS ON or OFF.
These are precisely the settings I can't get to. The USB ports were
working the last time the machine ran, so I doubt they are bad. The
only real problem was that the CMOS was corrupted, and in the process of
clearing it, I lost the use of the USB ports.

If you look carefully, there are only 6 pins on a PS-2 connector .. ..
if the mating port on the motherboard is surface-mounted and not
embedded in a layered configuration, it is not all that difficult for
someone with a steady hand and decent eyesight to remove the port from
one board and attach it to another using short jumper wires to make
things a little easier. I only need the PS-2 keyboard to get into the
configuration/setup page. As for the wiring that you call "folly" ..
.. PS-2 is an industry standard, and, as such, I only need to match up
the pins on the port with the solder pads on the motherboard .. . no
schematic necessary.

Ben Myers wrote:

I did NOT miss the point. You've already changed the battery and diddled with
the motherboard jumpers to get the system to respond to a USB keyboard. If the
system does not respond to key presses from a USB keyboard attached to any of
the USB ports, then its USB ports are hosed, and the motherboard is history.. A
USB legacy BIOS setting has no effect whatsoever on whether the motherboard will
work with a USB keyboard. And I think that is how I responded earlier!

How on earth can you possibly attach a PS/2 keyboard connector to a motherboard
when you do not have a schematic of the board? Folly! ... Ben Myers