Re: Dell PS/2 PC104 keyboard doesn't work correctly in DOS?

Ant wrote:
> Hmm, it seems like this is a motherboard issue and I don't know why
> (doesn't make any sense). I tried the same problematic Dell keyboard on
> a decade old laptop/notebook and my older desktop PC (4-5 years old).
> Both did not show the symptoms with the same bootable medias. I don't
> know what the heck is going on.
>
> FYI with detailed specifications on the desktop PC that shows the
> symptoms: AMD Athlon 64 X2 (dual core) 939 4600+ CPU, MSI K8N NEO4-F
> (MS-7125; PCB v3.0) motherboard (NVIDIA nForce4), EVGA e-GeForce 7950GT
> KO (512 MB; PCIe; NVIDIA; v174.74 beta driver since later versions broke
> and removed their video mirror options), an used mid-tower Antec P180
> ATX case with four 120mm case fans, onboard nForce network controller,
> disabled onboard sound, 600 watts SeaSonic S12 PSU, 2 GB of PC3200 DDR
> RAM total (two 1 GB of RAMs [Patriot/PDP Systems + Kingston], Broadband
> Technologies Air2PC-ATSC-PCI HDTV tuner card (r0.2; DVB; connected to a
> DB2 HDTV bowtie antenna (30 miles)), ASUS TV Tuner Card 880 NTSC
> (cx23880), Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS, Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1612
> Rev. B 16X/48X ATAPI/IDE drive, Plextor PX-W1210 PlexWriter (12/10/32A;
> IDE), 3 internal HDDs (Seagate 320 GB SATA 7200rpm HDD (3 Gb/sec),
> Seagate ST380011A 80 GB HDD, and Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Plus
> ST3120026A 120 GB (8 MB cache; 7200 RPM)), 3.5" TEAC disk drive, Windows
> XP Professional SP3 (Internet Explorer 6.0 SP3; DirectX 9.0c (latest
> month), all updates), and Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 (4.1 setup; analog).
>
> Computers are weird.
>
>
> On 12/26/2008 3:09 PM PT, Ant typed:
>
>> Hi.
>>
>> Do you happen to know why my current PS/2 Dell PC104 (SK-8110 model)
>> doesn't work correctly when I boot up DOS (e.g., Windows 98's) from a
>> bootable 3.5" disk or CDs? The keyboard's arrow keys don't work, shift
>> key stuck (entering numbers showed symbols, capitalized letters,
>> etc.), insert mode on, using insert key showed 0, etc. Same thing if I
>> run a DOS GUI program like old Norton Ghost 2003.
>>
>> I do not have this problems in Windows XP Pro. SP3, Debian/Linux, and
>> CMOS. I tried different PS/2 PC104 keyboards like my old generic
>> Chicony and an older Dell (RT7D20) brands. They all had no problems. I
>> also tried direct connection (not using any adapters) instead of using
>> an old KVM. I don't understand why this specific one has problems.
>> It's not old either since I got it new from someone about a year ago.
>>
>> Thank you in advance.

"Computers are wierd." Keyboards are wierd. The old 101-key IBM
clicky-clack keyboard established the standard for the PS/2 connector
back when IBM launched the PS/2 computers in '87 or thereabouts. You'd
think all PS/2 keyboards meet the standard, and that all motherboards
are designed to meet standard. Nope. I've run into other combinations
of keyboard and system that either do not work at all or work badly.

You have a MicroStar motherboard there. MicroStar has had other
screw-ups with its motherboards, including exploding or oozing
capacitors. MicroStar is not the paragon of high quality engineering
and manufacturing... Ben Myers

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Ben Myers pravi:
> You have a MicroStar motherboard there. MicroStar has had other
> screw-ups with its motherboards, including exploding or oozing
> capacitors. MicroStar is not the paragon of high quality engineering
> and manufacturing... Ben Myers

Bullshit much?
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Jure Sah wrote:
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> Ben Myers pravi:
>> You have a MicroStar motherboard there. MicroStar has had other
>> screw-ups with its motherboards, including exploding or oozing
>> capacitors. MicroStar is not the paragon of high quality engineering
>> and manufacturing... Ben Myers
>
> Bullshit much?
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Nope. True fact. You can look it up. For example:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mainboa...602153002.html

or

http://www.badcaps.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=19

Microstar made mobos with bad caps for IBM P4 systems, contributing to
IBM's decision to sell off its desktop/laptop business to Lenovo.

If you work for Microstar or have some sort of financial interest in
their products, I understand why you might be upset... Ben Myers

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Ben Myers pravi:
> Microstar made mobos with bad caps for IBM P4 systems, contributing to
> IBM's decision to sell off its desktop/laptop business to Lenovo.
> If you work for Microstar or have some sort of financial interest in
> their products, I understand why you might be upset... Ben Myers

For any modern system I have enough first hand experience that MSI are
the only brand out there that make quality motherboards. I build and
service PCs.

I have tried various other, Asus, Gigabyte, Intel (HP), Epox, Asrock.
Boards from those manufacturers either came dead from the shop or were
destroyed in an overheating situation (or spontaneously for Intel
boards), but MSI never! I even had a really bad overheating case once
where the heat fried a RAM module, but the MSI motherboard it was in,
RAM slots and all, survived unharmed. MSI is also the only (besides
maybe Asus) which packages a decent BIOS with their boards.

And this was the whole spectrum of motherboards, not only high end ones.

The only dead MSI board I have ever seen was an early Socket A / P2,
which however, is ancient and hardly relevant for a modern system
builder. The old boards (yellow) are nothing like the new ones (red and
black).

LP,
Jure
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Jure Sah wrote:
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>
> Ben Myers pravi:
>> Microstar made mobos with bad caps for IBM P4 systems, contributing to
>> IBM's decision to sell off its desktop/laptop business to Lenovo.
>> If you work for Microstar or have some sort of financial interest in
>> their products, I understand why you might be upset... Ben Myers
>
> For any modern system I have enough first hand experience that MSI are
> the only brand out there that make quality motherboards. I build and
> service PCs.
>
> I have tried various other, Asus, Gigabyte, Intel (HP), Epox, Asrock.
> Boards from those manufacturers either came dead from the shop or were
> destroyed in an overheating situation (or spontaneously for Intel
> boards), but MSI never! I even had a really bad overheating case once
> where the heat fried a RAM module, but the MSI motherboard it was in,
> RAM slots and all, survived unharmed. MSI is also the only (besides
> maybe Asus) which packages a decent BIOS with their boards.
>
> And this was the whole spectrum of motherboards, not only high end ones.
>
> The only dead MSI board I have ever seen was an early Socket A / P2,
> which however, is ancient and hardly relevant for a modern system
> builder. The old boards (yellow) are nothing like the new ones (red and
> black).
>
> LP,
> Jure
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"Intel (HP)"???? Not in recent years. Only back in the days of the
Pentium LPX Pavilion systems did HP use Intel OEM boards. For a long
time now, Asus has been HP's motherboard OEM of choice. For a time,
back in P3/Celeron days, HP used Trigem boards in Pavilions, same as
eMachines, and HP shared the same manufacturer and parts with eMachines.
Different color plastic and paint, though, so you could tell them
apart... Ben Myers