Keyboard does not work during Windows XP install

Question

I am trying to install Windows XP MCE (Media Center Edition) 2005 on a vintage Dell XPS 400 machine. This system does not have PS2 ports and I don't have a USB keyboard or mouse so I'm using a USB to PS2 adapter. The adapter works fine under most situations however, it looks like Windows XP Professional Setup can't handle it. I'm trying to press ENTER to setup Windows XP and it isn't happening. "R" or F3 aren't doing anything either.

I have a Windows XP MCE bootable CD and am booting from the CD drive.

I cannot run the install from within windows because this system has a nasty virus along with a rootkit installed. So I'm going the new hard drive route and then burning the old drive in a bonfire: )

The USB to PS2 adapter works fine for changing BIOS settings. It's only when I get into the Windows XP Professional Setup that the keyboard stops working.

Further investigation shows that the "F6" SCSI drive driver question ask early in the load process works, so it appears that the keyboard is working but later in the boot process the setup stops accepting keyboard input and hangs.

Answer 1

go into the BIOS and look for 'USB Legacy Support'. make sure it is enabled.

Answer 2

I've been through this before with a friend. The answer was: if you have a Windows already on there, you run the Windows install from within that Windows (from the CD). If not... change hardware :)

Answer 3

Had an issue where a PS/2 keyboard would allow ESC and F3 on the Windows XP setup screen, but pressing ENTER wouldn't do anything.. i started pressing all the keyboard keys one at a time, and lo and behold, pressing the M key substituted as pressing ENTER. was able to complete the install by pressing M where ENTER was called for.. This is likely a keyboard mapping issue on this particular motherboard (this keyboard works fine on other computers), but maybe this will help someone who might have a similar problem.

Answer 4

I have obtained a later version of the Windows XP MCE installation disk and this is working better. I can now press ENTER and get the setup program to start.

Answer 5

Make a Unattended windows XP install using Nlite worked great for me The usb keyboard and mouse were detected near the end of install.. when the usb device driver was installed

http://www.nliteos.com/

Answer 6

Get a real USB keyboard. You can get them for almost nothing, I even found some cheap ones.

Name Brand: http://www.iguanamicro.com/kektusbke.html ($12 plus shipping)

Generic Brand: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=LK-2030&cat=KYB ($5.99 plus shipping)

If you can't afford it, then @Trevor had it right, use nlite.

Answer 7

its not the keyboard, it has to do with the version of XP. I am trying to install XP on a brand new PC, no PS2 ports and my USB keyboard is not detected when it gets to the point where you have to hit "Enter", "R" or "F3". No options here I may try the nlite.. but not sure how that works.

Answer 8

same problem, same machine. i cant use anything BUT a usb keyboard. but i solved the problem, unplug your mouse brah! haha, simple i know but it worked for me. strange right? try it.

Answer 9

I had the same problem (using an old PS/2 IBM keyboard with a PC without PS/2 ports). I found another solution: reset the CMOS/BIOS and wow, the keyboard works.