Dells lacking USB HID support XP

Z

zcv7853

New Member
Hello all,

I need some help here. I have seen numerous Dell computers in the last year or so that have no PS2 ports and do not have any USB support for keyboards and mice in windows. I have searched and searched google for others having the same problem and have found numerous people with no surefire fix. I will list some traits of all these computers below.

-Windows always comes up with "add new hardware wizard" and I cannot click "next"
-none of them have any ps2 ports so different style keyboards are out.
- sometimes different usb mice/kbds might work
-I can load safe mode, but after windows starts no HIDs work.
-booting into miniXP allows everything to work fine
-replacing all the usb___.*** files in the sys32\drivers folder does not fix the problems.
-doing an XP repair seems to fix it most times but only for devices currently connected.

If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it. I am a tech and can do most anything, please dont hesitate to offer difficult solutions.
 
I don't think I've ever had this problem before. Any computer with Windows XP should have generic USB keyboard and mice drivers that should work fine with most devices. One thing that I have noticed is that on especially slow computers it might take 15 minutes or so for it to detect and install a new keyboard/mouse, so sometimes it's just a waiting game.
 
Not likely...

Thanks for the reply. I am a computer tech at a local repair shop. Sometimes individual computers sit for more than a half hour before I can get back to them to continue working. I seriously doubt this is due to not waiting long enough.

I just had a computer in here yesterday that had this problem. When the customer went home today he plugged in his logitech desktop combo and had no control. After getting it back in the shop, I was able to go in with the same mouse I used during the repair and look at his dev. manager. The devices showed up as logitech mice and keyboard but said it had the wrong driver installed and couldn't install the generic. Yes, reinstalling his particular keyboard software everything worked, but the drivers loaded at windows startup seems to be inactive, or at least loaded and unloaded. No other mice/keyboards I have (15+) work except ones identical to the one used during the repair.

I have had this problem more than 10 times in the last year. I know it is a strange problem, thats why I'm asking.

Thanks in advance.

(edit) Also, these all seem to be Dimensions and Optiplex's... not slow machines by normal standards.
 
It all depends on the Windows installation. If it is a clean fresh install with no configuration changes, it should load a generic driver without a problem.
 
If the USB jacks on the computer are not working or not working good, then someone may have reinstalled windows on there computer but they might not have installed the: Serial Bus Controller driver for the board, this driver is available on dell website under the model of the computer aswell as all the other drivers for the computer.If a certain model does not have the bus driver listed pick a model closest to it and it usually works the same.

I know this is true as the same thing happended to me on 3 diffrent computers.
 
cabinfever1977 said:
If the USB jacks on the computer are not working or not working good, then someone may have reinstalled windows on there computer but they might not have installed the: Serial Bus Controller driver for the board, this driver is available on dell website under the model of the computer aswell as all the other drivers for the computer.If a certain model does not have the bus driver listed pick a model closest to it and it usually works the same.

I know this is true as the same thing happended to me on 3 diffrent computers.
Click to expand...

No one uses serial mice anymore, man.
 
cabinfever1977 said:
If the USB jacks on the computer are not working or not working good, then someone may have reinstalled windows on there computer but they might not have installed the: Serial Bus Controller driver for the board, this driver is available on dell website under the model of the computer aswell as all the other drivers for the computer.If a certain model does not have the bus driver listed pick a model closest to it and it usually works the same.

I know this is true as the same thing happended to me on 3 diffrent computers.
Click to expand...

I didn't notice if the Serial Bus Controller had original drivers or not. Next time I get one ill take a look. I dont know if there is an easy way to reinstall that unless you do a repair install first. working without a mouse/kybd is rather difficult.


lucasbytegenius said:
No one uses serial mice anymore, man.
Click to expand...

in fact, most of the world still uses serial mice. They are just Universal serial mice ;) they still use a controller driver. Thats what the S is for in uSb.
 
Here's a question: the machines that you have the problem with, are these perhaps machines that you've done a windows reinstall on? If so, it might be a problem with the particular install you're using.

I run a computer shop and Dell Dimensions make up a large percentage of the computers I get in, but I have not encountered this problem. I mean, there have been a couple of times where the customer uses a wireless keyboard/mouse which need special drivers installed before they'll work, but I've never had the issue with a standard USB keyboard or mouse.
 
PohTayToez said:
Here's a question: the machines that you have the problem with, are these perhaps machines that you've done a windows reinstall on? If so, it might be a problem with the particular install you're using.

I run a computer shop and Dell Dimensions make up a large percentage of the computers I get in, but I have not encountered this problem. I mean, there have been a couple of times where the customer uses a wireless keyboard/mouse which need special drivers installed before they'll work, but I've never had the issue with a standard USB keyboard or mouse.
Click to expand...

No, they come in and I cannot use any of my usb devices. If i'm lucky a microsoft or dell mouse might work, but its hard to find one that will work. After I do a repair install more devices work when plugged in. I was just wondering if anyone else was having a similar problem.
 
I would say its something to do with your hardware. If there are no ps/2 ports then i'm sure the usb ports for mice and keyboards were working for your customers before they brought them in. You also could be providing "dirty power" to the computers you are testing. Do you plug them into a wall socket or some sort of power strip?
 
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