Banks_Buck said:
I have an HP Pavilion running on Windows XP Home Edition. About a week ago, I
ran a program on the computer and right after my keyboard keys started typing
wrong characters for the keys that I pressed. It also opens other windows by
itself. Sometimes some keys won't work, and at other times, the keyboard
doesn't work at all.
In addition to this, the hard drive makes a constant "beep" sound every half
second or so when the keyboard is connected, as soon as I disconnect the plug
of the keyboard, the sound goes away. But if I re-connect the plug of the
keyboard, my mouse icon freezes and I have to manually restart the computer.
I suspect it to be a virus or a bug since I've never had problems with the
keyboard after 5 years of use. I ran Ad-Aware and AVG but it did not fix the
problem.
Input on how to solve this issue would be greatly appreciated.
If the keyboard and mouse type are PS/2, those are *not* intended to
be "hot plugged". You should not disconnect and reconnect a PS/2
keyboard and/or mouse, while the system is powered. That can lead to
eventual damage to either end of the connection. Damage on the motherboard,
can be expensive to repair. USB keyboards and mice, on the other hand, can
be hot plugged.
http://www.ergocanada.com/ergo/tips/ps2_port.jpg
In terms of sound sources in a computer:
1) External computer speakers - connects to sound card
2) Internal computer case speaker. May give one "beep" when the computer starts.
May be an actual tiny speaker, or a piezoelectric buzzer. During CPU overheat
or out of spec voltage detected, may make a sound like a "European police car".
3) Hard drive - most hard drives use fluid bearings. Those are virtually
noiseless in normal operation. Older ball bearing drives emit a higher
noise level. The actuator arm, can make noise, because of the furious rate
it seeks to various parts of the disk. Depending on the AAM setting, the
actuator noise can be reduced (acoustic management settings can be used to
reduce acceleration/deceleration profile). The drive can make a noise, when
the heads are placed on the landing track (as spindle slows down at shutdown).
Some high performance drives have a self test, which causes rapid, repetitive
seek patterns, and that can make a characteristic noise (seen on high performance
SCSI drives). It is pretty hard for any of those to equate to a "beep". Compare
the noise you are hearing, to the "beep" when the computer starts for example -
is the beep the same type ?
4) Power supply noise or Vcore regulator noise. Noises from these items, come about
during rapid current flow changes. For example, if gaming, you may hear a "breathing"
noise coming from inside the computer case. Some coil designs, use silicon rubber,
to try to damp out the noise. I'm not aware of any DIY fixes that actually work.
5) Fans. Fans can make a noise, if the bearing is loose, and the fan spindle
wobbles. A sleeve bearing is likely to be the culprit - some are defective
from day one. Ball bearing fans also can make noise. Compare to a sleeve bearing,
they can be 3dB louder, in terms of bearing noise. Ball bearings get louder as
they age. For sleeve bearings, sealed sleeve bearings are the best kind, and a
good sealed sleeve bearing can match a bad ball bearing design, for lifetime.
Panaflo fans are an example of high quality fans with a sealed sleeve bearing.
You really need to open the computer case, to trace down the source of a sound.
Some computer case designs (clamshell type), don't lend themselves to inspection.
A case that has an easily removable metal side cover, is the best candidate for
inspection. For fans, you can touch the center of the spinning fan hub, to temporarily
change the mechanical load on the bearing. By doing that, sometimes you can figure
out which fan is making a noise. The other noise types can be really hard to trace.
For example, in my computer, I have coil noises, but I can never be sure whether it
is the Vcore regulator, the power supply, or some other tiny switching supply (like
on the video card). Some noise sources are not directional enough to be traced.
Paul
