I'm trying to install Linux on my desktop computer (dual-booting with Windows 7), and I've tried Mint and Debian (64-bit, MATE desktop) Live Install DVDs (they worked perfectly on my laptop) and my mouse and keyboard do not work at all. The laser on the bottom of the mouse doesn't even light up. The initial boot options menu recognized the keyboard well enough, but when the GUI loads up, they stop working.

I'm in the process of downloading a disk image for a command-line-only version of Debian to see if that works, but I don't really want to use that as my main OS.

The keyboard and mouse are both Dynex brand. I've used them for 2.5 years and they work perfectly on Windows 7.

UPDATE: I tried the command-line version, and the same thing happened; keyboard didn't work. However, I managed to get some error logs this time:
There were a lot of slight variations of those three lines, but it is always error -32.

I assume there is a distinct lack of compatible drivers, but I have no idea how to install any without use of a mouse or keyboard.

Are they even detected? In other words, what is the output of lsusb?

Have you tried switching them to other USB ports? (I don't think that will cure anything, but it's a quick and easy test that can rule out port related issues.)

Flexico,

No guarantees, but sometimes the USB’s over-current protection can get triggered when power consumption from a port is too high.

First try unplugging all the USB devices from your PC, turn off the power and disconnect the power lead.

Wait for two minutes then plug in the USB devices.

Reconnect the power lead and reboot PC.

Also have you double-checked the BIOS settings for peripherals?

I've tried different USB ports, but it makes no difference. When I first boot up the computer, the "Num Lock" light on my keyboard comes on and I can navigate the BIOS menu well enough, and the red light under my mouse comes on too. However, once the OS starts booting up (from the Linux LiveCD), those lights go out and it doesn't seem the devices are even detected. My external hard drive's light flashes though, so it seems that device is detected.

I'd love to type lsusb into a terminal prompt, but sadly I can't use my keyboard. XD

Wouldn't that affect the hardware for any OS though? They work fine when I boot into Windows.

I realized this morning that suggesting you run a command such as lsusb when your keyboard isn't being recognized was a spectacularly stupid suggestion. My apologies.

Maybe I'll come up with a better idea today.

Flexico,

Sometimes they work perfectly in Windows but not in Linux.

Try powering it off overnight and then retrying.

Hahaha, no worries; this was amusing to read. ^^

Thanks for your gracious response.

Right now, all I can think of is this:

Try a Live CD of a non-Debian distro and see whether that makes a difference. Fedora, OpenSUSE, CentOS and Magiea come to mind. (I have not verified that all of them offer Live CDs.)

If you have access to a different mouse and keyboard (even if it means borrowing them from a friend who has some spares), try swapping them in.

Some thoughts.

It used to be that one had to enable legacy in bios but that tended only to make the usb devices available to bios or some dos situations. Worth a try at least.

I've seen where one had to be careful not to touch the mouse or keyboard until about a minute after the machine booted. Try that maybe.

Wait till the system boots and then insert one usb device maybe. I'd try the keyboard first. It's way better to get that going first.

Could be that you could try an older Knoppix like 3.4 ish to see. It had a setting for wait for usb to settle.

Hmm, tried Fedora and that one works fine! And come to think of it, I think I have an extra keyboard in a box somewhere.