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Resolved Question

Move WinXP Keyboard and Mouse from PS/2 to USB

Mar 24, 2014 5:29AM PDT

What is required to use a USB Keyboard and Mouse on my WinXP computer?

I replaced the PS/2 keyboard with a USB keyboard and it worked only in the BIOS. I did enable USB keyboard support in the BIOS. At the WinXP log in screen no characters were being accepted.

Also, does WinXP allow two keyboards to be active at the same time?

Discussion is locked

KAWill70 has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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Too little to work with.
Mar 24, 2014 5:45AM PDT

It should only require the usual drivers for the motherboard and once in a while some USB package but without make or model I can't guess why it didn't work. As XP driver hunts are so well done, I'll stop here.
Bob

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USB Keyboard and Mouse Now Working
Mar 25, 2014 10:17AM PDT

Good news to report. I booted up with the PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard and then connected the USB Mouse only. New hardware was detected and the driver installed with no connection to the Internet. Both Mice were functional. I then connected the USB Keyboard and there was no message about new hardware being detected. However, both keyboards were working and I believe the new driver installation handled both the USB mouse and USB keyboard.

The PS/2 devices used i8042prt.sys in both cases along with KBDClass.sys and MouClass.sys. The USB devices picked up MouHID.sys and KBDHID.sys and retained KBDClass.sys and MouClass.sys.

One interesting thing is that KBDHID.sys was newly created with today's date and seemed to come out of nowhere in the Windows Driver directory. There was no Internet connection. It must have been extracted from some other file in another location.

Lastly, there was another interesting situation. The computer boots up with an option to go into the Windows Recovery Console. At that point the USB Keyboard would not work. I enabled USB Legacy Support in the BIOS and that fixed the problem. I thought maybe a reboot could be a factor but it was likely the change in the BIOS.

This makes me wonder how the Recovery Console is configured. Maybe it is configured with the devices in use at the time the console software is installed. Regardless, everything is now working. I can boot up with PS/2 or USB and either will work. I should be able to use a wireless USB mouse which was the original objective.

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OK. Let me keep it short.
Mar 25, 2014 10:37AM PDT

What you are doing is in line with this old OS. The drivers don't install until you get logged in and yes you may have to flip the USB BIOS settings around until you get something that works.

As to the recovery console I recall that was a problem back then. I never heard if Microsoft fixed it. My bet is they never will.
Bob

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Thanks for all the help
Mar 25, 2014 2:15PM PDT

A Google search on the Recovery Console does indicate a problem with USB keyboards.

It's nice to have this issue solved and I can now move on. I'm enjoying my new Win 7 computer but will keep the WinXP system around for a while disconnected from the Internet. The WinXP computer might be a good platform for trying out Linux a little later on.

Thanks again for all your time and help.

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Answer
You might try this
Mar 24, 2014 6:05AM PDT

With your PS2 kb attached, uninstall any keyboard software and drivers. Plug the USB kb in and see if you get the "found new hardware" message and are offered the opportunity to search for or install drivers. If not, Windows isn't detecting the device and you probably cannot use that keyboard. I'm fairly certain you can have more than one keyboard connected but the best way to find out is to connect them yourself and see how XP responds.

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More Information on WinXP System
Mar 24, 2014 6:49AM PDT

Thanks Bob and Steven.

The PC is from 2005 with Gigabyte Motherboard, Intel 661FX chipset, and Celeron D processor. USB works fine with Printer, Flash Drives, and even Flash Drive Linux boot. Bought new Win 7 computer so the WinXP system is currently on another table with no Internet connection.

I'm afraid to remove the PS/2 drivers as I'm not sure I would know how to restore them. Maybe I should just boot up and connect a USB keyboard and see if new hardware is detected. I did read somewhere that two keyboards will work but I don't know about the mouse.

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I could not find an Intel 661FX chipset. Link follows.
Mar 24, 2014 6:57AM PDT
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Additional Information
Mar 25, 2014 3:26AM PDT

The motherboard does use the SIS 661FX along with a SIS 964. Not sure how I came up with Intel! The motherboard is the Gigabyte GA-8S661FXM-775.

I'll also correct my first post in this thread. The BIOS has a feature called USB Legacy Support which I tried. I incorrectly stated that it was USB Keyboard support. However, I think USB Legacy Support might actually configure a USB keyboard or mouse as though they were PS/2 devices.

The motherboard manual makes an interesting comment about USB under Driver Installation.

"For USB 2.0 driver support under Windows XP operating system, please use Windows Service Pack. After installing Windows Service Pack, it will show a question mark ? in Universal Serial Bus Controller under Device Manager. Please remove the question mark and restart the system. System will auto-detect the right USB 2.0 driver."

I wonder if that tells us anything helpful. I'm also curious if the USB keyboard and mouse drivers might already be sitting in the sys32 folder. Next time I power up that system I will take a look.

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What it tells me
Mar 25, 2014 3:32AM PDT

Is that they expected folk of the day to know a lot about their PCs. Part of XP's death will be because no one wants to dive into the old documents. Or they will stop short of the steps noted in the documents.

However, this OS isn't long for this world. Folk will cry and demand support so there's a fine market for those that will carry on. At some point you learn an old axiom. "Go with what works."
Bob