KEYBOARD lockup
 

I installed a new hard drive in my HP Desktop in which I plan to install Fedora 19. I went into the BIOS to make sure it would accept the hard drive. I think I might have made a wrong setting because now my keyboard doesn't work when I boot up . I reset the BIOS by taking out and re installing the CMOS battery but the keyboard still doesn't work?? Can anyone help?

Hi Bill...

Welcome to the forum :)

What is the model (and model number) of your HP desktop? Is the keyboard USB or PS/2?

Regards...

When you removed the CMOS battery, the reset would not have happened immediately because the power is buffered by a capacitor: you need to press the power button for a while to drain it, as described here:
http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS

The MOD # of my computer is HP 251-a126 Product M9271AA#ABA. After taking out the CMOS battery to reset the BIOS I pressed the power button for 30 seconds and then reinstalled the battery. Keyboard still not working.

You did not answer the question: Is it PS/2 or USB?
FYI PS/2 is not hot-pluggable, it can be killed with hotplugging.

I have 3 USB Keyboards. I have tried each one of them and can't get any characters on the screen.

Hi...

If you disconnect your hard drive from the motherboard and boot a working distribution of Linux live, does your keyboard start working?

Regards...

Live Distro won't boot with hard drive disconnected. All I get on the screen is type power on password. Keyboard still doesn't function

Hi...

Something's not right because a live version should be able to boot without any hard drive present. Are you booting from a CD-ROM drive or a thumb drive? Also, is the device you're booting from listed in the BIOS as a boot device? :confused:

Regards...

In my initial set up I set the boot options to boot from the CD-ROM first and Hard Drive second. Then for security I established a Power On password. When I booted up ready to install Fedora 22 on to a new Hard DRIVE I had to type in my Power ON password first but the keyboard failed to function. I used another keyboard and various other USB ports but got the same results. I disabled the Hard Drive and tried to boot from the live image with no results. Is there a setting in the BIOS that I might have set by mistake that would disable the keyboard??

Is there more than 1 USB port you could try?

I think there is some legacy USB setting that can potentially disable USB keyboard during boot. The USB keyboard should still function from withing OS once it is loaded. Do you have PS/2 port on this motherboard?

My computer has two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0.2. None of these ports function with the 3 keyboards I have tried. Keyboards are locked up. There is no PS/2 port on the rear panel.

Is there a jumper on this motherboard for BIOS reset?

No. it's the CMOS type where the battery must be removed, power button pushed for 30 seconds to discharge capacitors and battery re- inserted.