I can not get into the bios. I have a compaq presario 5441, the keyboards commands do not seem to work. When I press f10 to get into bios nothing happens. If i put in a dos boot disk and the prompt tells me to press enter, the command from the keyboard is not being processed. I tried to install Win 2000 Pro from the boot disks, after disk 1 it asks to put in disk 2 and press enter, when i press enter after putting in disk 2, nothing happens. I have switched keyboards, so i know the keyboards are working from using them on other computers. Also i notice when i press caps lock, the caps lock light does not illuminate like it does on other computers. It seems the keyboard is not getting any power on boot up. the computer has no OS installed.

Do you get anything on the computer? Do you get any bleeps? Do the lights flash on they keyboard when you switch on? Have you tried resetting the CMOS memory. I take it this is a conventional PS/2 keyboard and not a USB one. Some bright spark may have been into the BIOS and disabled the keyboard for you. Stuart

Stuart, your link isn't working. From what I found, it looks like that box doesn't have a PS2 port.

My research indicates it does indeed have PS2 ports for mouse & keyboard. Is it possible you have them plugged into the wrong ones? I used to have a signature but it disappeared and I just couldn't be bothered writing another so please feel free to ingore this.

it is a ps2 for both mouse/keyboard. I can not find the cmos setting on the Mboard to reset it. I removed the battery and will replace it with a new one, to see if thats the problem. also after this keyboard message, the computer stops at 'boot disk error insert boot disk and press enter' thats not the exact error word for word but you should know what i mean.

If you are certain the keyboard is connected to the correct PS2 port and it still won't function then it may be time to face the possibility the port is damaged or the motherboard is shot. This isn't exactly a new system so check the motherboard for bulging/leaking capacitors and see if there is any kind of play between the ps2 port and the motherboard. There may be a loose or faulty connection going on there. I used to have a signature but it disappeared and I just couldn't be bothered writing another so please feel free to ingore this.

Presario 5441 can be either an old model that uses a K6-2 cpu, or a much newer one - 5114EA - that uses a P4 cpu - which do you have? "When I press f10 to get into bios nothing happens." Compaqs usually use F1 or F2 to get into the bios. The PS/2 keyboard should work in the PS/2 port closest to the mboard base - it's colored purple if it's colored coded - unless: - the PS/2 keyboard is defective, most likely because it has broken wires inside it's cord where it enters the keyboard - but you have said you tried other PS/2 keyboards, and they all work on other computers. - there is a setting in the bios Setup that can disable the keyboard and that is set to disabled or off - removing the mboard battery or clearing the cmos properly will get rid of that (remove the AC power to the case for at least 5 minutes while doing that - ATX power supplies are always powering ATX mboards in some places even when the computer is off as long as the AC to them is live.) - your onboard PS/2 port is defective, or the circuits connected to it related to the keyboard on the mboard are damaged. That is relatively very RARE, unless the mboard has been damaged by something such as a power supply that failed or is failing and shorted or produced too much of what is supposed to be 5v, or the computer has been exposed to a power spike or surge (is everything that connects to AC power directly or through an AC to DD adapter that connects to your computer, and the cable that connects you to the internet, protected against those? Lightning can do damage even if the computer is fully protected from those.), or a static electricity discharge. A USB connected keyboard MIGHT work, if the default setting in the bios Setup is set to support a USB keyboard or Legacy USB devices, and/or if it is set that way. (If that's disabled you can't get into the bios Setup with a USB keyboard unless you can get a PS/2 keyboard to work in the bios to change that setting to enabled, or if the Setup default is to enable that, unless you remove the mboard battery or clear the cmos. The Setup default is often that seting is disabled). If a USB keyboard doesn't work either, the keyboard related curcuits on the mboard are probably damaged, probably no keyboard will work no matter how it is connected, and you probably need to replace the mboard. Possible but unlikely - - some cases have a keyboard lock switch - often a typical round chrome one you use a tubular key in (often a universal generic one), and many mboards have pins on the mboard you can connect to that. If that switch is in the position that disables the keyboard and is connected to certain pins on the mboard, the keyboard will not be recognized. If you have that but don't have the key, remove the wires that run from it to the mboard. - some cases have a case intrusion switch. If that switch is connected to certain pins on the mboard, it may have the same effect as a keyboard lock switch - the switch is inside the case somehere and is activated when you remove the side cover to get into the case. If you have that, replace the side cover, or unplug it's wires from the mboard, to de-activate it. - your power supply is defective and the +5v the keyboard requires is not there at all or is of too low a value. In that case, floppy and CD drives probably won't work either, but your hard drive probably will. Since your floppy drive works, this probably doesn't apply to your case, unless the PS is producing 5v of a high enough value for the floppy drive to work, but not high enough for the keyboard to work. Failing power supplies are common and can cause your symptoms. Check your PS. See response 4 in this: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w...