Here's a nice one for you all to think about..

I reinstalled Windows XP Home edition.. When it was time to enter the license key, the "U" "I" and "O" keys would not work so I could not activate Windows. I restarted the computer THINKING maybe the keyboard driver didn't load right, but no go. Reseated the keyboard connector, no go...I switched keyboards, but also, no luck.

Next I thought maybe the hard drive was going bad so I installed XP onto ANOTHER hard drive....no luck, same deal.. Next I pulled out the CMOS battery for a little while, put it back in booted up, same deal, no luck. Reseated the ram, no luck. Changed power supplies, no luck.

Next I put in the Knoppix 5.0 Live CD and booted off of it, which I'm using at this moment, and guess what... The "U" "I" and "O" keys work...

I'm in a tail spin over this one... Any ideas?


The only thing I can think of is that maybe I screwed up the motherboard somehow when I plugged the 20-pin Main PSU connector into the motherboard while the power supply was plugged in... wasn't thinking...( I'm tired But when I plugged it in I heard the sound of sparks...You know,like the sound you here when you PLUG something into an A/C receptable and you get sparks? Maybe there was a static charge somewhere that grounded through the board.....don't know


If the board was damaged the letters would not work in Linux either...
Get a brand new PS2 keyboard for about 12 Bucks.Except that he says he tried a different keyboard I didn't see PS2 mentioned so i suggested it...EVERYONE should own one...even if it sits in the closet.
Good for emergencies.Didn't catch the ps2 reference. GotchaAll he said was "...Reseated the keyboard connector...", so I assumed he meant PS2.
Try a USB keyboard.Sorry, both keyboards I tried are PS/2s..

I'll get a USB keyboard when I get a chance... Don't have a spare one at the moment..

thx

Instead of buying a USB keyboard I bought a PS/2 to USB adapter and hooked up one of my PS/2 keyboards through a USB port.. The problem still remains

Is it possible that the keyboard driver is corrupt?Hmmm... Missing vowels... Reminds me of the time they tried to ban the "DeLorean" from the state's highways... Claimed the white lines were disappearing...

Perhaps Microsoft doesn't accept "IOU" in their product keys...

Is there a separate section for the numeric keypad on the keyboard, or is it overlaid on the main keys?Incredible.. You are correct about those three keys. My product key doesn't use any of those keys.


Apparently I wrote down the product key incorrectly. When ever I do an installation, I write the product key down on a piece of paper so I don't have to look around to the back of the computer while activating Windows.

Anyway, I took another look on back of the computer and realized I wrote the product key down incorrectly and typed in the correct key just now, so my system is back online.


All I can really say is doh!!

lesson learned

thx