Why is my USB keyboard and mouse hanging after boot?

Question

I have a Windows desktop with Windows XP loaded. After booting, if I use the keyboard both keyboard and mouse hangs i.e., I can't use them. However I can use the mouse which is connected using USB.

How can I fix this problem?

Answer 1

1. Try other PS/2 keyboard and see what happens
2. If that hangs too then try other USB keyboard.
3. If both dont work and keyboard works during boot, Try pressing F8 during booting to go to safe mode. If keyboard works in safe mode then it is software problem.

Try all this and add info to your question so people can come up with better diagnosis or tests.

Answer 2

If your keyboard and mouse are unusable because they are hanging, this suggests only one possible conclusion: they have fallen off the desk. This can occur for one of two reasons:

1. Insufficient desk space. If there are too many other items on your desk -- e.g. books, food, CRT monitors, beverage cans, screwdrivers, hard drives, etc. -- there may be insufficient desk space for your keyboard and mouse to have a stable footing. This could lead them to fall off the desk shortly after you begin manipulating them. The risk of this occurring is particularly high in the event that the beverage cans on your desk have only recently been emptied; this is true regardless of whether the active ingredient is caffeine, alcohol, or both. Deleting unused items from your desk may be the solution. After deleting unnecessary items, be sure to defragment your desk by consolidating unrelated items. This is to create a contiguous block of free desk space for your keyboard and mouse.

2. Improper desk alignment. In order to function optimally with a keyboard and mouse, your desk surface must be aligned very precisely, such that it is parallel to the surface of the planet upon which it rests. You can test for this condition by placing a ball bearing or marble on the surface of your desk. If it rolls to the edge and falls off, you can be certain that your desk is misaligned. Common tools for desk realignment can be found on any 3.5" floppy disk. Simply place one or more disk(s) under the table leg(s) defining the edge or corner from which the marble or ball bearing departed the desk. Restart the test and make further adjustments as needed. Note that if you do not have a ball bearing or marble, the behavior of these objects can be simulated using a carpenter's tool known as a "level," or an equivalent iPhone/Android app.

Answer 3

First thing I'd do is some troubleshooting: you don't say whether your keyboard is USB or PS/2, but try the other type. What exactly do you mean by "if I use the keyboard..." When you press or try to type your password it freezes?

Answer 4

You could try to follow the advice in Cannot install drivers for my non-working keyboard :

1. Uninstall and Reinstall the drivers from Device Manager
2. Delete the UpperFilters registry value in
   HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E96B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Please take backups and create a system restore point before modifying the registry.