Computer locking up question

warpedhifiwarpedhifi
edited January 2007 in Hardware
Greetings,

I have problem, and hopefully this sight can help me out. I have a computer with a Epox EP-9npa+ultra mb, a EVGA 6800 pci-express video, 3 gigs of memory, 3 120 WD Sata 2 drives, a Creative Labs Audigy 2 card, and windows xp.

The problem is, a couple of weeks ago, while playing Sid Meier's railroad, the keyboard quit working, and the motherboard had a continues beep out of the speaker. The strange part is the game keep playing. I could still surf the internet with the mouse, but no keyboard. I tried re-booting, and once into windows, I still did not have any keyboard responce. The only way I could get it back was to physically unplug the ps/2 keyboard and plug it back in, then re-boot, then it worked fine.

The computer works fine for over a week, then it happens again while watching a movie. Did the same fix as before and the problem is gone.

Well, a few days later it locks up when booting up the computer, once I unplug then plug back in the keyboard, and reboot the computer is fine.

I have check for viruses and found none, defrag'ed the hdd, after the last lockup, preformed disk checks, with no errors. Checked event log for anything strange and did not find anything. The system has run great for almost a year, and this just started happening with no warning.

Does anybody have any idea's what the issue could be? I was told that the ps/2 port for the mb may be going bad, and to switch both the mouse and keyboard to usb. Or could this be a windows issue and I need to re-install windows?

Any help will be appreciated.

Comments

  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited December 2006
    I'd go w/ the hardware issue angle. Your friend was right. You could have a problem w/ the keyboard PS2 port. However, more likely it's the keyboard. Take a look at the pins on the connector. I've seen them pretty badly damaged and still the user managed to get it plugged in. Don't try to use it again if you have to bend a pin back up straight. The pins are pretty fragile and can easily break off inside the PS2 connector on your motherboard - rendering the PS2 port no longer usable. (Not the end of the world though since we have USB keyboards now)

    First thing I'd do is swap out the keyboard and see if the problem re-occurs. You could get a keyboard that uses USB or stay w/ the old stand-by PS2 port. Many people like to use their keyboard and mouse PS2 ports - keeping their USB ports free for other devices.
  • warpedhifiwarpedhifi
    edited December 2006
    Pterocarpous wrote:
    I'd go w/ the hardware issue angle. Your friend was right. You could have a problem w/ the keyboard PS2 port. However, more likely it's the keyboard. Take a look at the pins on the connector. I've seen them pretty badly damaged and still the user managed to get it plugged in. Don't try to use it again if you have to bend a pin back up straight. The pins are pretty fragile and can easily break off inside the PS2 connector on your motherboard - rendering the PS2 port no longer usable. (Not the end of the world though since we have USB keyboards now)

    First thing I'd do is swap out the keyboard and see if the problem re-occurs. You could get a keyboard that uses USB or stay w/ the old stand-by PS2 port. Many people like to use their keyboard and mouse PS2 ports - keeping their USB ports free for other devices.

    Thanks for the info Pterocarpous, I will replace the keyboard today, and see if that takes care of the problem. I love my setup as-is, and when this issue came along, I felt like crying. As for usb ports, the Epox mb has 6 on the back, so not worried about that. As for the current keyboard, I think it is almost 7 years old, and been thru a caffine spill 3 years ago, guess it is the only original piece of a computer 7 years ago.

    Thanks again for the info.

    Warped
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited December 2006
    warpedhifi wrote:
    Thanks for the info Pterocarpous, I will replace the keyboard today, and see if that takes care of the problem. I love my setup as-is, and when this issue came along, I felt like crying. As for usb ports, the Epox mb has 6 on the back, so not worried about that. As for the current keyboard, I think it is almost 7 years old, and been thru a caffine spill 3 years ago, guess it is the only original piece of a computer 7 years ago.

    Thanks again for the info.

    Warped


    Ahhhh, old age. The good news is keyboards are (can be) dirt cheap. If you want to get fancy then the price goes up. So, this'll likely be an inexpensive fix for you. Let us know how it goes, ok?
  • warpedhifiwarpedhifi
    edited January 2007
    Update,

    Replaced the keyboard and mouse to ones that are usb. So far no more issues. I did find that my SoundBlaster software and drivers were corrupt. I had to re-install the drivers again, (this happened once before back in Oct) So I am starting to think my SB could be the issue. Any suggestions?

    Thanks for the help.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    I did find that my SoundBlaster software and drivers were corrupt.
    Just an add-on for you... Creative is notorious, or at least was notorious for problem drivers and software. If you have problems with sound in the future don't be afraid to wipe all the Creative applications and drivers and to then reinstall.
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