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XPS 8500 SE, displays "keyboard failure" on successful post, but keyboard hasn't failed
Kind of an interesting case here that's been happening for years; finally decided to ask about it.
Here's what happens when I boot this machine (detailed specs at link):
- Dell logo is displayed
- keyboard failure is displayed by itself on a black background for about 1-2 seconds
- Dell logo is displayed accompanied by Windows "dots in a circle" loading animation
- Login screen appears
I can still get into the BIOS if I want.
The irony of this situation is if 1) above doesn't transition to 2) after a couple seconds the machine fails to post and is stuck on 1). This rarely happens, and when it does, simply powering the machine off, waiting 30 seconds, and then powering back on fixes it.
My question is why keyboard failure is appearing if, by all other indications, nothing has actually failed.
jdrch
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June 13th, 2020 18:00
@RoHe Interesting development. I rebooted earlier and no longer saw the error message. Up to this week I'd used Bluetooth for my keyboard, but I switched to the Logitech Unifying Receiver (USB) because my Bluetooth card was malfunctioning. I guess the problem was that the Bluetooth keyboard wasn't detected at boot.
Mary G
4 Operator
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June 13th, 2020 14:00
What model keyboard? Try another keyboard. You should always have an extra mouse and keyboard in case of problems. If it is a wireless KB, make sure the batteries are not weak. If wired, check and change the connections. Weak batteries might not be recognized correctly. Run the diagnostics to test all the hardware on the old model.
RoHe
10 Elder
10 Elder
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June 13th, 2020 15:00
When was last time you replaced the motherboard battery?
jdrch
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June 13th, 2020 16:00
RoHe
10 Elder
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43.7K Posts
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June 13th, 2020 16:00
@jdrch - "Never" is a long time...
Easy and cheap enough to replace it now, even if that just rules the battery out...
It's a CR2032 3-volt coin cell battery @ ~$2.00. Read page 107 in the Manual for instructions.
And then let us know if that helps or if the problem continues...