Help Needed: Keyboard/Mouse Not responding after Win 7 64-Bit Pro Restore

[Just Checking]

Problem:
After a restore from a known good system image, the server running Win 7 64-Bit Pro boots to the Password Log-in screen but will not recognize a USB 2.0 keyboard/mouse or a wireless keyboard/mouse. The wired keyboard when plugged into either a USB 3.0 or a USB 2.0 port will work to enter the BIOS or setup screens of the Lenovo TS-140 server. I checked the settings in the BIOS and everything was correct.

I tried booting from a windows 7 64-bit Pro CD but it did not repair the problem.

Older posts in other forums suggested using a PS2 keyboard but, the Lenovo TS-140 does NOT have a PS2 port.

Older posts in other forums have no other options than doing a fresh install from the OS CD. I would prefer not to do this since I will lose information on that disk which I want to keep.

Other suggestions that can let me restore keyboard detection/functionality without a OS re installation, would be appreciated.

 

[coxhaus]

I hope this is more of a mouse issue than a keyboard problem. Something you can try is to use the Tab to get to the password field. Enter your password and maybe Windows will automatically install the drivers. One more reboot and it may work. Use cltr-alt-del so you can reboot without using the mouse. If the keyboard does not work , find a USB one which will work. Get to the desktop using the above and then add your wireless keyboard\mouse so Windows can install the drivers.

 

[RMerlin]

If you have Remote Desktop or TS enabled on that machine, you could try to remotely connect to it, and check on the Device Manager if anything's wrong with the USB controler drivers.

 

[Just Checking]

I do have a remote desktop (TeamViewer 10) installed but, that program was not installed with that version of the system image I was restoring to.

As clarification:
- The problem occurred during/after a windows 7 restore to an earlier image.
- The server went through the restore process and went into its normal shutdown/restart boot-up sequence and got to the password screen where it hangs up because I cannot enter a password since it does not recognize either the USB Keyboard or USB mouse (no response).
- No function on the keyboard or mouse works (tab, F keys, right-left-center mouse clicks). Nada, nothing.
- The keyboard and mouse do work to allow me to enter and navigate the motherboard BIOS and other secondary PCIe card BIOS command functions. The keyboard and mouse do NOT work at all for anything once Windows 7 starts the boot sequence.
- I have tried all the different USB ports (both 3.0 and 2.0), and even tried plugging into an eSATA port. No response.
- I have tried rebooting the system by pressing the power button and allowing the server to shut down then pressing the button again to restart the server. Same thing happens each time.
- I went into the M.B. BIOS and change the preferred boot sequence to start from a Windows 7 64-Bit Pro Install Disc (Normally I have the boot sequence to start from the SSD OS drive). On reboot, the system asked for a recovery disk which I did not have/make (lesson learned on my part).

I have asked in the sevenforum.com about this and also asked other knowledgeable people. It appears to be a Windows Driver corruption or deletion problem. I have received a couple suggestions which I still need to try:
- Disconnect the power cable to the server and hold the power button for at least 10 seconds to try a hard reset. Then try rebooting the server.
- Disconnect the power cable to the server and jumper the CMOS to reset the BiOS. This seemed to me to be a more extreme version of the solution above. These solutions would work if there was a corruption of the BIOS but probably will do nothing if the Windows OS/Drivers are corrupted.
- Try going in through F8 or F6 restore/recovery (if possible)

 

[coxhaus]

Is the keyboard\mouse wireless or direct connecting? A direct connect keyboard should work.

 

[Just Checking]

I have tried both wired and wireless keyboards. Neither works.

 

[sfx2000]

I have tried both wired and wireless keyboards. Neither works.

If the keyboard is working in BIOS, then it's likely good...

Have you tried booting into safe mode and then let windows try detection there?

 

[coxhaus]

I don’t think he can boot into safe mode without a working keyboard. He is going to have to find a keyboard which works.

 

[Just Checking]

So far nothing I have tried worked -
- Unplugging the server and holding the power button for 10 seconds then rebooting did not work.
- Jumpering the CMOS to clear the BIOS did not work.
- Again, changing the settings in the BIOS did not work.
- I cannot enter Safe Mode at restart (holding F8 and/or F6 while the server restarts).

I guess I will just have to bite the bullet and put a fresh image on the OS drive. It is a pain because I have the OS drive partitioned and need to save data that is on the other drive before I can reformat the whole thing and start fresh.

Thanks to those who responded. Let this be a lesson to all that you need to be wary of Windows updates, make a bare metal copy of your OS Drive frequently, don't rely on the Windows Restore function to get you out of trouble with bad windows drivers, and finally - don't partition your OS drive and put data on a different partition.

 

[coxhaus]

I partition my OS drives all the time. Restoring to the first partition should not affect the second partition. I can even format my first partition and not affect my second one. Is it possible you did a restore without creating a needed partition on the drive? When the drives come new you need to partition them before you use them for most software. Maybe you should partition the drive so it looks like the old one and then try your restore.

 

[Just Checking]

Yes, I partitioned this SSD correctly into 2 partitions when I first installed the drive more than a year ago. It has been operating without problems until now. I cannot attribute this problem to the SSD (Crucial M100 512GB) since it operated flawlessly for all that time until I did the latest restore.

I believe that it is a Windows 7 problem. During the restore to a previous image, I believe that either the USB drivers got corrupted, or there was some incompatibility issue that corrupted the restore.

I am not a Microsoft software engineer so I can't speak to this. I only know that the forums have talked about this but nobody has a good solution and Microsoft has officially been silent. I did the restore because I was having a problem with the sever recognizing external drives after I installed MS update 3033939 which has been known to cause problems.

 

[coxhaus]

If you are having Microsoft problems you need to post over on Microsoft TechNet forums with all the facts.

I have chased many keyboard \mouse problems. I have had wireless keyboards and mice stop working when upgrading. I have several keyboards and mice laying around some being old PS2 stuff.

 

[RMerlin]

I'm personally a big fan of Acronis True Image. Usually, issues can be resolved by booting with the Windows DVD and performing a System Restore, but for those cases where System Restore might be borked, having a daily image of my system partition is priceless.