"Bob R" said in news:OWZXb.523670$X%5.512423@pd7tw2no:
I have tried to start in Safe Mode. The F Lock key doesn't work
until the keyboard drivers are loaded or something like that.
The F-lock is a hardware function within the keyboard. It can be reset only
by the drivers (and why it always ends up off when you startup Windows or
come out of Standby mode). However, you can change the state of F-lock
after the POST and before any OS loads, in DOS, and in Windows. Well, mine
does; I have the Logitech Navigator.
Personally I hate the keyboards with the F-lock key because they default to
Off (which means the programmed functions will execute on keypress rather
than just submitting the standard scan codes for F keys). I've never used
the programmed functions and always want the F keys to behave only as F
keys. Yet every time Windows starts up (and when the drivers load) or when
it comes out of Standby mode, the damn F-lock key has been turned off again.
Sometimes the programmed function does nothing when I'm in an application,
but sometimes it can **** you over royal. The Logitech Navigator that I
first had did not have the F-lock key. I got a replacement and it had the
F-lock key and I've bitched about it to Logitech that their drivers should
remember the last state. I've tried other keyboards with the F-lock key,
like Microsoft's Office Keyboard, and it has the same defect. I wonder how
many users owning F-lock keyboard actually use that function. At work, I
haven't seen anyone even wanting to use it. Unfortunately the keyboards
without the F-lock are a bit too cheap in quality but I'm coming damn close
to trashing the Logitech and getting a new keyboard that does NOT have the
F-lock key.
I also
tried a wired keyboard (usb) but it was not recognized either as it
was never set up.
A USB keyboard can only be supported in a hardware-only mode if the hardware
supports it. If your BIOS does not have an option to load support that it
includes in its EEPROM to handle USB keyboards and mice then, well, it
cannot handle them. You haven't loaded any operating system yet to get any
drivers loaded that can handle the USB root hub and the devices attached to
it. You need to use a non-USB keyboard to enter your BIOS and then check if
it has support for USB keyboards and mice. You can then enable that support
so you can use a USB keyboard before the OS loads. Some computers are now
coming with only a USB port for the keyboard and mouse so obviously their
BIOS not only has to support USB devices (but only needs to support keyboad
and mice USB devices) but also must always have that support enabled. If
you have PS/2 ports for a keyboard and mouse, you won't get the BIOS to
support USB keyboards and mice until you configure the BIOS to support them.
That's why I always recommend using the PS/2 ports if they exist so you can
use your keyboard and mouse outside the OS, like when you're in the BIOS or
when you boot to DOS (using a bootable floppy). There's no point in wasting
the PS/2 ports if they are there. Also, if you ever need to clear the CMOS
(by a jumper or temporarily removing the battery), you'll lose the setting
to enable USB keyboards and mice and end up with an unusable keyboard and
mouse (until the OS eventually loads and the USB drivers also load, if it
gets that far).
My computer started properly after a dozen
re-boots thankfully. It would give me a blue screen with some
instructions then revert to a grey screen with my choices on it. The
timer would count down then go through the same process in a loop
(except for the blue screen). The keyboard was useless. This all
came about, by the way, by using an ATI TV card. When I turned the
TV off, it would lock up and eventually, through the "right"
combination of clicks and keystrokes, the computer required a power
button reset. That was the start of my problems. My wireless mouse
and keyboard is transmitted to a receiver that is hooked to a USB
port.
See the above regarding why you should NOT use USB for keyboards and mice if
the PS/2 ports exist. My cordless mouse's receiver can be connected to
either the PS/2 or USB port because of an adapter at the end. You need to
use the adapter to connect the receiver to the PS/2 port instead of the USB
port.
This is also why I would like to have a cd that boots to safe
mode if such a download exists.
Creating a bootable CD requires creating an image that you can lay down on
the CD. It depends on what CD writing software you have. I don't know of a
"download" that provides you with such an image because that would be a
pirated copy of the operating system!
