Ps/2 (possible) port problem

[JANINE]

I am currently working on a PC belonging to a friend and am experiencing the following problem. The PC will start up ok but as it is going through the Post process it comes up with KEYBOARD ERROR - KEYBOARD MISSING OR NOT FOUND. I have tried two brand new keyboards that i know work on other machines (have tested them) and both keyboards lights lilluminate when plugged in to the PS/2 port. Im am not entirely sure what the problem is but i think that the port is not properly detecting the keyboard.. I cannot check in the BIOS of the machine as the keyboards are non respponsive.

The PC spec is as follows

Athlon 2200 XP
256 MB RAM
Motherboard is as MSI board but not sure of model number

PC is running windows Xp pro

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as to haw i can rectify this problem other then suggest that if it is the port that the gent buy a USB keyboard instead.

[sittas87]

Hi Janine
Have you tried a USB Keyboard.when you do does it still detecct the keyboard Im thinking broken pin inside.also what happens if you reset the BIOS and cmos
??

[JANINE]

well im glad that im not the only on thinking that but i will try resetting the CMOS and will act from there

[JANINE]

I tried resetting the CMOS by using the CMOS reset jumper. its now saying CMOS checksum error and floppy disk drive not found. I put the jumper back in its origional place after resetting it but to no avail.

the floppy disk drive is plugged in so now im seriously considering it being a motherboard fault.

[sittas87]

mobo failure defnitely a posibility,but lets determine that for sure.
-all youre BIOS settings is as you always had it(sometimes defaults can be a pain in the behind)
-youre cmos isnt losing power(test another one)
-you werent effected by a virus before all this crazyness started
(trying to rule out the "checksum error" massage)

[JANINE]

Its the friends PC and he isn't terribly computer wise. he doesnt know how to access the BIOS but when the PC starts up it gives you that option to go into the BIOS but when I press 'DEL' to enter Setup it does nothing. I know Defaults can be more thouble then their worth.
I tried changing the Battery for a new one and this also had no effect.
I dont know whether he was hit with a virus or not so can't determine that unfortunately.
The said friend and I are trying to work on this problem together. i have given him the easy bit - told him to go and hunt down his motherboard manuals if he still has them but i dont think he does as he said the PC had been sitting about for some time doing nothing in his flat.

[sittas87]

so janine how does it behave with a usb keyboard?anything new??

[JANINE]

so janine how does it behave with a usb keyboard?anything new??

Admissibly i havent tried the USB keyboard yet... that is something I hope to get around to doing tomorrow evening.

What could be causing the cmos checksum error? any ideas? If i try a usb keyboard and can successfully load into the BIOS what should i be looking out for.. other then to put the system details right?