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Mouse + Keyboard not working on Windows installation but works on BIOS??

Tags: Microsoft

My computer was infected with ransomware that encrypted my files so I decided to wipe my PC and re-install Windows. After waiting for awhile, the Windows Installation setup pops up but I can’t use my mouse or keyboard for some reason. It seems to work in the BIOS Setup Utility but after the installation process starts my keyboard and mouse stop working. Any Help?

Specs – (Please tell me if I need to add anything)
Compaq 500B Microtower
CPU :Pentium (R) Dual-Core CPU E5400 @ 2.70 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA Geforce 730 3GB
RAM: 4GB DDR3

Topic

From the web.

In reply to Mouse + Keyboard not working on Windows installation but works on BIOS??

“Legacy USB Support must be ENABLED (BIOS Setup) for USB Keyboard and Mouse operation.”

Let’s hope that’s it.

Unfortunately,

In reply to From the web.

I do not see that setting. The closest thing I see to that is USB configuration which only lets me enable USB ports or disable them.

The next things to try.

In reply to Mouse + Keyboard not working on Windows installation but works on BIOS??

Remember that we can’t know what changed or failed in every PC so here’s a short list of free things to try.

1. When Windows is working, move the keyboard and mouse to other USB ports, if sound is working, listen for the BING. Test after a little time to give Windows a moment to register the changes.

2. Do a BIOS reset to defaults since your BIOS doesn’t have that option I found on the web about this model.

3. Tell us about this wipe and reinstall. Sometimes the wipe is incomplete and there is more to be done. That is, the boot record and partitions were not wiped.

4. If you have other USB keyboard and mice, try those.

5. Once a person had this issue and omitted they were using some USB hub. Removed the hub and it worked.

Alright

In reply to The next things to try.

Thank you. I will try all the above, but while messing around I managed to open the Windows Repair screen so I have restarted the resetting of my PC. If, after the reset, my mouse and keyboard don’t work, i’ll see if any of the above will work.

So the wipe never happened?

In reply to Alright

“Windows Repair screen so I have restarted the resetting of my PC.”

That would leave the boot area, partitions and more intact. Not a full wipe. As such a lot of malware, ransomware and such can survive.

To do a full wipe we usually use something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darik%27s_Boot_and_Nuke in it’s fast one pass mode then a clean install. Since Windows 10 has a digital license we never worry about the old OS CD KEY and install the latest from the USB STICK we make with Microsoft’s own tool noted at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-installation-media-for-windows-99a58364-8c02-206f-aa6f-40c3b507420d

Later we finish the install with machine specific drivers from the maker (yours would be up on the HP website.)

About Darik’s Boot and Nuke…

In reply to So the wipe never happened?

I’m so sorry, I forgot to mention that my windows is installed on an SSD. I looked up to see if this was compatible with an SSD and from what I’ve seen the life of my SSD will be shortened. Is there any other program like this?

Which is why

In reply to About Darik’s Boot and Nuke…

We use a single pass.

-> Most clients want to leave no chance that the malware or other bad things survive so a disk wipe is called for. A single wipe of the drive is not going to reduce the lifespan in any significant way or amount and even if we opted for something other than DBAN, we still want a single wipe of the entire space.

No need to do more than one write.

PS. I want to add a note here about ERASE versus SECURE ERASE.

In reply to About Darik’s Boot and Nuke…

While at the office, shop and home we’ll use DBAN but we never use the multi-pass feature except when we intentionally wanted to do that.

-> What usually need is a single pass to be sure that the drive is clean and we have a clean start.

So yes, you will find warnings about DBAN and SSDs. The articles I’ve read write about SECURE ERASE which is that multiple pass option which I don’t use.

-> To reveal all, I’ll share that we have used the SECURE ERASE to stress test some questionable HDDs. To that end it made a fine extra test when we were looking into HDDs back then. Today we don’t bother with that test as we look at the HDD’s SMART VALUES 01 and 07 (the raw values) and if we see these in the thousands we know the drive is suspect.

Hope this extra information clears this up for you.

The results are in!

In reply to PS. I want to add a note here about ERASE versus SECURE ERASE.

Thank you so much! I have successfully cleaned my SSD and reinstalled windows with no problem. Thanks once again!

Good way to start the week.

In reply to The results are in!

Be safe!

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