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Problem with Zero key in DOS

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by d. brinson

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I have a strange problem. I have several Gateway computers (Pentium 100s) that the zero key on the numeric keypad does not function properly in DOS. If you press the zero key five times, perhaps only 1 zero will appear. This happens when using a DOSapplication and it also happens at just a DOS prompt. This is not a case of a bad keyboard because the key works just fine in Windows applications. I have tried using non-Gateway keyboards and that didn't change anything. Help!

3 replies

by danpiers

Ok, the keyboard works fine in Windows. I will assume that you mean Windows 95 or above, not Windows 3.1 loaded over MS-DOS. The keyboard does not work correctly in a DOS Window, or at the DOS prompt when totally out of Windows 9X. Strange problems like this one almost always turn out to be a defective driver. Inside Windows 9X, most of your drivers, including the keyboard driver are the 32-bit type. At the DOS level, the 16-bit driver takes over. My guess is that you (or somebody else) was preparing these P-100 Gateways for re-utilization and each one was loaded with the same software, probably with a common floppy (or CD-ROM) disk. The DOS keyboard driver on the "source" disk was corrupted and affected all the systems. To check this out, make a bootable floppy from a different system (one that the keyboard does work properly.) Boot one of the affected systems with this disk and see if the keyboard then works. My guess is it will. Good luck.

by d. brinson

Thank you for your attempt at helping me. I have found the answer elsewhere. It turns out that it was a problem with the version of Novell that we were running. Once we applied a Novell patch, the problem was resolved. Apparently, this is a known issue with Novell.

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