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KnaufIT

2 Intern

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318 Posts

273153

September 4th, 2007 06:00

usb mouse/keyboard recognition on Optiplex 745

I've just recieved a batchof Optiplex 745 and am having terrible trouble getting them to recognize USB mice or keyboards after being installed with XP (they shipped with Vista, but we're not using it yet). I've tried to install the mice and keyboards that they shipped with and several other designs, too, but they often fail to recognize automatically, or they run for about 5 seconds and then stop and they are yellowed out in the device manager as being faulty/improperly installed.
 
Strangely, the USb at the front seem to recognize better than those at the back.
 
Does anybody have a similar problem, or some hints as to how I minimise my problems.
 
Seriously, it adds an extra 10 minutes onto the set up of each PC, having to keep fiddling with the mice etc to get them working.

Elsbeth.

2 Intern

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614 Posts

September 4th, 2007 12:00

KnaufIT,

Are you including the BIOS update?

You would want to check my other suggestions as well.

Elsbeth.

2 Intern

 • 

614 Posts

September 4th, 2007 12:00

KnaufIT,

The first thing to check would be the version of the BIOS on the systems, check to see if they are running version 2.3.1. If they are not, then you would want to flash them to that version, as it has a specific fix for USB issues.

You may also try resetting the CMOS. Even though the problem is in Windows, the BIOS can still affect the way the operating system loads the default drivers.

Though you found the front USB ports to work better, in theory, the two upper ports on the back are the ones for the use of the keyboard and mouse.

KnaufIT

2 Intern

 • 

318 Posts

September 4th, 2007 12:00

I'm using all of the latest drivers from the Dell website

KnaufIT

2 Intern

 • 

318 Posts

September 4th, 2007 12:00

Everything baring the chipset driver. Graphics cards have been upgraded though this shouldn't make any difference. It's a real problem. Sometimes the start working then stop five seconds later.

Elsbeth.

2 Intern

 • 

614 Posts

September 4th, 2007 13:00

KnaufIT,


Since they are basic to the system, if there is a newer version of the chipset drivers I would go ahead and try them.

jperret1029

10 Posts

September 11th, 2007 18:00

I've got the same problem.  We buy 745s as an OEM and include them as part of our product.  We are having keyboard and mouse recognition problems left and right.
 
DELL, how about a solution ASAP!

Elsbeth.

2 Intern

 • 

614 Posts

September 12th, 2007 08:00

jperret1029,


Welcome to the Dell Community Forums.


Have you tried the steps mentioned above, upgrading the BIOS, resetting the CMOS, and updating the chipset drivers?
Did the systems come with Vista and you rolled them back to Windows XP?
How many systems are having this issue?

Please let me know the above, so I can try and help you further.

jperret1029

10 Posts

September 12th, 2007 11:00

BIOS is at 2.3.1
 
We purchase the systems with Win XP Pro already installed. 
 
We are buying 20+ systems a month. I hope I don't have to check or update the chipset version on brand new PCs.
 
We load our application software and test the PCs with our hardware before shipping to  our customers.  We don't have any problems with initial setup.  We rebox the systems and ship.
 
Problems occur once the PCs are set up on site. Installers may or may not use the same USB ports we used at initial setup.  There are 1 or 2 other USB peripherals in our system in addition to keyboard and mouse.
 
We are just starting to see the problems in the field.  We are having problems with about a quarter of the systems (about 5 in the last month).
 
Thanks for your help

Elsbeth.

2 Intern

 • 

614 Posts

September 12th, 2007 12:00

jperret1029,


Well I am full of more questions than answers.

Do the keyboards work in the BIOS with no problems?

Do the keyboard and mouse work if you disconnect the other USB devices?

Check to make sure the keyboard and mouse are in the two upper rear ports, those are the ports that are active from when the system first boots up and are the suggested ports for those devices. There could be a number of things going on here, if the problem is only in Windows, then there may be a driver conflict. Updating to the latest drivers for the other USB devices might help.

Message Edited by DELL-Elsbeth on 09-12-2007 08:10 AM

jperret1029

10 Posts

September 12th, 2007 16:00

Keyboard works with BIOS.
 
On the system we had yeaterday, disconnecting all of the other USB peripherals made no difference.  With mouse and KB only, still had problems.
 
All USB ports are not created equal?  There is no system documentation specifying that certain ports are KB/mouse only.
 
Are the 'upper rear ports' the ones in line with the RJ45?
 
Windows seems to have a problem identifying the KB/mouse and /or the correct drivers to use.  The new hardware wizard starts up when either is plugged in.  It does not seem to be able to find the correct drivers and prompts for a CD. These are brand new systems.  All the KB/mouse drivers should be somewhere on the HD already.  The final message is that the installation had problems and that the device maight not work correctly - they got that right.

KnaufIT

2 Intern

 • 

318 Posts

September 13th, 2007 06:00

I've never had a keyboard problem in the bios and I regularly use both Dell and third party pre-windows boot loaders (Dell diagnostics boot, Ghost boot disk,Windows XP boot from CD, and so on) and I've never had a mouse/keyboard problem with any of them them. The problem only occurs when I load XP.
 
I rarely use other USB devices so they can't be conflicting with the mouse/keyboard and I have had lots of problems when the first two ports are used. I've also had many cases where I think that I've gotten the device working (mostly the mouse, here) only to find that it stops responding after a couple of seconds.
 
In about 50% of cases there is no power supplied to the device (lights are off on keyboard, if I use an optic mouse the lasrer is off) and in about 50% of cases the is power but no activity. The Mice sometimes show up as having an error in the device manager when they are not working, but the keyboards never do.

Elsbeth.

2 Intern

 • 

614 Posts

September 13th, 2007 08:00

KnauflT,


Have you tried a bare bones system, something with just the operating system on it?

What applications are being added to the computer?


jperret1029,

The ports that are inline with the RJ-45 jack are the ones that are first initialized when the system starts. On the set up guide those are the ports shown to use when setting up the system.

What applications are being added to the system?

The drivers should be in Windows, unless the keyboards are multimedia or some other specialized type. At this point, the most likely cause would be some type of software conflict between the Windows drivers and some other software on the system. The only way to troubleshoot that would be by the process of elimination, removing things until the keyboard and mouse work, or going the other way. Even the smallest, seemingly harmless utility can cause strange problems. There may be something in common with the added software the two of you are using.

KnaufIT

2 Intern

 • 

318 Posts

September 13th, 2007 09:00

I've had this problem with bare bones systems, but only after the setup phase is complete.
 
Basically, I can boot from the Dell disk, reformat the PC and then install from the disk with the mouse working OK. I then reboot the system and start to set up. However, once I enter windows the mouse and keyboard do not work.
 
This is intermitant even though I'm using exactly the same disk to install and am installing on exactly the same model of PC. This is without any additional drivers installed (opperating only on plug and play VGA monitor etc).
 
The problem most often occurrs when I have set up Windows and shut down the PC, and am booting up from cold. It is most common the cold boot after it has been imaged.
 
I'm using all Dell drivers straight from the Dell website

Elsbeth.

2 Intern

 • 

614 Posts

September 13th, 2007 11:00

KnauflT,


Have you tried disconnecting then reconnecting the mouse and keyboard when this happens?

jperret1029

10 Posts

September 13th, 2007 12:00

By the way, we had 2 more calls from our customers yessterday reporting this problem...
 
The snowball is getting bigger...

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