Keyboard on laptop doesn't work intermitently

[corlando52]

I have aToshiba Satellite R15-S822, using XP Pro SP2. Every now and then when I boot up, the keyboard doesn't work at all...but if I boot to the BIOS, the keyboard works there fine. am using the pen & "virtual keyboard" on the screen right now. I'm thinking it's the Windows' driver. Please help!

Chris

 

[rf6647]

Using the virtual keyboard is quite resourceful. However, Toshiba support does not identify the download set containing mobo drivers. If you do not have any sort of recovery CD, then you may need to order a copy from them.

There is a chance that the pointing device drivers contain the KB drivers. For my laptop (compaq) device manager for KB only references the pointing device.

 

[corlando52]

Hi, and thanks for replying. I have posted this on numerous tech boards and you are the only one to respone, so thank you.
Today, the keyboard is working fine. Last night, I went into Control Panel/Adm/Services and noticed the Human Interface Device was not started. So I went into Advanced and made it automatic (it was off). Then I tried to start it, and it gave me a 126 error: Error 126: The specified module cannot be found.
So I searched on the Internet what that means and it said I am missing srvsrv.dll:
<CD_drive>:\i386\srvsvc.dl_ C:\Windows\system32\srvsvc.dll
But I checked and I do have that where it's supposed to be. Sooooooo, I got frustrated and closed the laptop and went to bed. Today, the keyboard works fine, although Services still says HID isn't started. So, I give up! I don't understand. If the driver were corrupt, then I should NEVER be able to use the keyboard, right?
I recently d/l'd an update off the Toshiba website for my touch mouse. Maybe that did something. Maybe I should do a rollback and see if that helps. But, like I said, today the keyboard is just fine!

Chris

 

[rf6647]

Glad to be a sounding board. Check those path names. It is easy to miss a subtle difference.

The troubleshooting help indicated that new applications sometimes cause problems with the keyboard - I've never seen it though.

And this is way out there - is this an remnant from a virus attack? I helped a friend over a year ago and discovered 2 copies of system and system32 directories. The legit copy of system32 was missing parts of the wbem directory - affects services for the problems I worked on. Using 'dir' command in the command prompt window showed directories under Windows with leading '???' for non-printing characters. Under Windows Explorer the file name looked normal.

 

[corlando52]

no good

Not working again today. All paths ok. No viruses ever. uninstalled keyboard & then re-installed...worked when booted now back to virtual. ARGH!

Chris

 

[rf6647]

A USB keyboard is a workaround, of course. However, it does not answer the problem. On restart, are there error messages in the system log (events viewer) that may only occur when the KB fails?

 

[corlando52]

Working this evening

OK, first, the keyboard is working tonight. I have been checking the Events log and there is nothing there. The only thing I did before logging off this afternoon was I went to Services, HID, and disabled it. I had tried Automatic and Manual, but noticed on another laptop that it was Disabled, so I Disabled it. I tried uninstalling and re-installing the keyboard and HID devices in Device Manager, but that didn't help either.
This is just giving me a headache. This tablet is awesome when the keyboard is working properly.

Chris

 

[rf6647]

Curses - Keep it simple

I confess - I over-complicate things more often than not.

I was trying to envision a hardware test of the keyboard. When the KB was inoperable, It was not clear if any key was registered or no keys. A diagnostic program that I have has you key in the characters. No big help.

This technical article about a keyboard event references a registry key to turn off the keyboard. I lost sight if it only applied to Vista. I was searching for a utility to put & get characters in the hardware register for the keyboard.

However, I must dash to a meeting. Does your laptop have any sort of diagnostic program such as PC Doctor or Dr. Watson?

 

[corlando52]

Still working

Hello! Well, this is the fourth time today I've used this laptop and the keyboard has been working all the time. Maybe I fixed it? I found an upgrade for the keyboard and uploaded that, but that didn't help. Then I went into Services and disabled HID and now everything seems to be working fine. I hope this is a permanent fix. I'll investigate that article about keyboards and the registry key, just in case it ever happens again, I'll know where to look and what to look for.
I appeciate all the time you've invested in this. Thanks so much. If the keyboard stops again, I'll post it here.

Chris

 

[corlando52]

Jammed again yesterday

Well, the keyboard didn't work again yesterday, so I tried going into the registry like the Microsoft doc said, but, to my surprise, the registry key they site isn't there! I did a search for "Haskeyboard" in the registry, but nothing came up. Here's what Microsoft said:

A device with an integrated alphanumeric hardware keyboard is recommended to set the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shell\HasKeyboard registry key to a value of 1.

So, I'm stumped (again). I posted this on the Microsoft forum, but haven't heard anything from them.
Today, the keyboard is working fine.

Chris

 

[rf6647]

Put out a call for a system architect. From the keystroke to the character display what programs are involved?

Somewhere within Toshiba support, they used the ability to enter the bios and use the basic navigation keys to declare that the Keyboard was OK.

Changes to boot.ini can be used to force using the cursor movement keys and function keys to select OS and modes.

There are boot CDs to bypass Windows: Linux (ubuntu, koppix, etc); Ultimate Boot CD; Bart PE; Win98 startup floppy (utilities convert to iso image for CD).

It is possible a diagnostic came bundled with the computer. Test the microprocessor. Here's where system architect is needed: Is the keyboard served by the Bios (basic input output system)? A keyboard test at this level won't tell more than what is evident.

This event is very sporadic. It is easy to suspect the keyboard. Changing boot environments may confirm or confuse. Adding or removing memory is another simple way to change the hardware - problem may move to display a different symptom. Memtest86 is a simple test to check out memory.