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Solved: No USB Mouse or Keyboard During XP Repair Install-Stuck On Files Needed Scree

24K views 15 replies 2 participants last post by  mocks1 
#1 ·
I am trying to do a Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 repair install on a Dell XPS 400 computer which only has USB ports and none of the old style PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard ports.

The repair install was going great until a screen came up, as illustrated in second post attachment, asking for "Files Needed" for the Network Port. I cannot Tab through or use the Mouse to cancel to let Windows continue the Windows Repair Installation (aka In-Place Upgrade)

Doesn't Windows XP Home Edition With Service Pack 2 have driver files to activate the USB Mouse and USB Keyboard? I am stuck on this screen and afraid to do a hard restart because I am concerned that I will not get another chance to do a Repair Installation. Will the Operating System be found if I run the install again and it gets to the part where it looks for existing installations to offer the Repair option

Can I somehow load the USB drivers for the Mouse and Keyboard at the beginning when it asks to press F6 to load third-party drivers or is that just for hard drive controller drivers?

I have an old Floppy Drive that I could try to plug into the Motherboard if it even has a Floppy connection on the Motherboard--I will look after posting this. From what I understand--you can only load the F6 drivers from a Floppy during an XP installation?

Much thanks to anyone that can indicate what the next course of action should be

I will leave the computer on and stuck on that screen until hopefully someone posts some thoughts, ideas or strategy!

What do I do now--it's after Midnight and I cannot proceed further? My Brother-in-law is driving 120 miles to pick up this computer Saturday night that I promised to fix for him

2 photos of monitor screen to follow once I upload them to photo site
 
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#3 ·
Will the Windows repair installation automatically startup again where it left off if I do a hard restart to see if for some reason the USB Mouse and USB Keyboard will now work?

Or does the Windows Install Program get confused, does not detect the existing installation again since previous Repair install was aborted and it now thinks I have no existing installation on there and it does not offer the option R to repair the installation?

Would hooking a PS/2 type Mouse or Keyboard to a USB adapter plug and then plugging one or both of them in work within the Windows XP Repair Installation?

Don't really like these USB ports when it comes to troubleshooting Windows and Installing the OS but I have no choice on this computer I am trying to fix

Is there some kind of adapter that could connect to Motherboard PCI type ports to operate a Mouse or Keyboard?

OK, enough questions for now--I will help other posters on this great website while I wait for replies!
 
#4 ·
It will pretty much start over.

Skip the files that it asks for. Cancel. You can install hardware when the installation is finished.

(An adapter would still be USB.)
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the reply Elvandil!

I found this great link for a way to hook old PS/2 mouse and keyboard to a USB head on the motherboard--the link below is out of stock or deactivated but it will give other members an idea that the technology exists:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158116

Wish I knew about this hardware before starting this XP Repair install with USB equipment

Hope this helps someone reading this in the future. I will definitely be adding this device to my toolkit for future repairs on computers that just have USB ports

I'll keep researching my problem and also helping others on this site in the hopes that someone will be up reading this that has further ideas on how to proceed

I have not been back here at TSG for a while and I forgot how good it feels to also post help for other members and read through current posts for interesting ideas!
 
#6 ·
Elvandil said "(An adapter would still be USB.)"

I see what you mean now. If USB ports do not work or no drivers for USB load during Windows XP Repair Install then USB straight from USB Motherboard head connector might not work too.

Perhaps I need something that plugs into PCI type slot on Motherboard and has the same two PS/2 connectors as hardware in link I just posted above

I will research that now and post back if I find an interface device
 
#7 ·
The device below looks promising--a PCI to PS/2 card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815150153

It looks like there is a standard size PCI slot available on the Motherboard, so I will have to go to my local Microcenter or nearby computer store and buy one this morning if I loose the ability to restart the XP Repair Installation

I might do a hard shutdown of the computer in about an hour after more research and posts to another thread I was helping out on and I will keep the computer running in the XP setup screen in case a few more members read this Thread and post replies
 
#8 ·
I finally resorted to a hard shutdown by holding the power button down for 5 seconds, then waited 15 seconds for hard drive to spin down and then restarted the computer

It did a normal POST and showed regular Windows load screen.Then a screen came up that said

"restarting the installation........" (or setup) I forget

After about 5 minutes of hard drive cranking the Installing Devices green bar progressed to the same point and it has now stopped on the same "Intel Pro/100 Driver Disk is needed" window which I still cannot Mouse click cancel or navigate through with Tab key

I notice now that there is an extra PCI card installed way on the bottom of tower in addition to the regular Network port that is attached to the Motherboard. This PCI card has two phone ports and an Ethernet Network port..........hopefully this is the offending hardware/driver that is popping up stalling the rest of Windows Repair Install installation

I am going to do another hard restart--take out the PCI communications port card and hope when I restart that the Windows Repair Install attempts to continue the install and no more Driver Needed request windows come up that I cannot possibly click on or Key out of.

I seem to remember that there is a temporary folder created on the C drive where all the Windows files are copied from the Windows Install CD. The computer will be stuck in this restart--load Windows loop until I start up with a Boot CD and delete that temporary folder. I mention this because I hope it starts back to install screen after this second hard restart and again later today, if needed, after I wake up and go out to buy the PCI to PS/2 card similar to the link I posted way above
 
#9 ·
Had a post typed up and when I went to preview it the website logged me out--why is that? Typed this up in Wordpad before pasting into Reply box in case it gets lost again

Anyway, here is the gist of what I was trying to include in this post that was lost

Took out card with two telephone ports and later found out card did not have a Ethernet port--it was a black drawing of a Telephone and in this lighting it looked like a dark shape of Ethernet port

When restarting computer I noticed the normal light lit on the USB Keyboard and then it went out just before the Windows Install process picked up where it left off

The Laser light on the bottom of the USB Mouse was also lit right up until the point where the same Driver needed screen pops up and then the Laser light goes out. The Mouse cursor is on the screen but does not move but occasionally shows brief hourglass while files are read from hard drive and loaded

What I never mentioned was that the reason I have had to do this Windows Repair installation is because my Brother-in-law took the hard drive out of another of his hardware malfunctioning Dell computers (different specs and hardware) and put it in another of his computers I am trying to fix for him

It somehow ran OK and booted normally for a few weeks

Then he started getting the following Blue Screen error on every Safe Mode and regular Windows restart:

*** STOP: 0x0000007B (0xB84C3528, 0XC0000034, 0X00000000, 0X00000000)

From researching, I learned that I should do a Windows Repair installation to refresh or renumerate the HAL (Hardware Abstraction List or layer?) to let Windows find and load the new hardware devices to stop the Blue Screen error

Well at least I learned a bunch and I will have a new piece of hardware in my toolbag for future fixes when I buy the PCI slot to PS/2 ports card!

If there was not a PCI to PS/2 card solution available--I had a wacky idea to tediously determine each driver that is requested by Windows Setup on this computer as it pops up Driver Needed messages and then add each new needed driver to a Windows Install CD folder in the right spot and then reburn that image to a rewritable CD using the Ultra ISO program to add files and recompile the ISO image. Sort of a very time consuming backup plan if there was no mouse to pci card and I had days of time before the computer was needed!

OK, I am getting delirious now--so time for some sleep. I hope my ramblings help future readers in a similar situation and I want to thank the previous posters for their help too!
 
#10 ·
***Sorry, I am only posting this new solution post now. I got pretty busy but I want to post what worked for me so others in the same situation have a workaround solution***

OK, I figured out a solution that negates the need for a new piece of hardware

I manually copied the requested Driver file by next booting the computer up with a Boot CD and then copying the requested file to the C:\Windows\System32 and C:\Windows\System32\Drivers folders just to be sure Windows Repair install found the missing file. I had to do this manual copy process 2 or 3 times--each time booting the computer up with a Boot CD when a specific Driver file was requested

When you start up the computer the Windows Repair setup process starts back up and continues where it left off and might possibly halt again with another Driver request screen

I do not remember where I found a copy of the requested Driver file but it might have been found with a full search of the hard drive and it was residing in a different folder (possibly a Windows Update folder location). You can always locate a copy on another computer or search the Internet for the proper file and copy it to the folders listed above and then the Windows Repair Installation will continue normally

If you are unfamiliar with Boot CDs (and there are many types and versions)--<reference to illegal software removed> is a good place to start and it has a simple Mini Windows XP startup choice where you can do file and folder searches and file copy operations as if you were booted up to a regular Windows Operating System. There are also a bunch of diagnostic and repair programs included that can be used for almost any repair situation
 
#12 ·
OK, sorry about mentioning a specific Boot CD by name (especially one with copyrighted software-I should know better). I just wanted to help those that are unfamiliar with Boot CDs

There are plenty of Boot CDs out there that do not contain any copyrighted programs

If I mark this thread as 'Solved'--will it still stay open to future posts until the thread is locked from inactivity?
 
#14 ·
One other possible solution besides the Boot CD copy method three posts above is to locate a copy of the requested Driver file and copy it to a Rewritable CD and put it in the CD tray when prompted and 'maybe' the Repair Install will see the file, load it and continue with the rest of the setup (or until another missing Driver file is needed). I have not tried this, so I cannot confirm if this alternative method might work

Another thing I observed is that I had another Windows Driver prompt come up during another Windows Repair installation today. The first screen photo below shows a request for an Installation Disk. When I pressed the CD tray open button and then closed the tray with the same Windows XP SP2 Install CD--it gave me a slightly different Windows Driver request screen now telling me the exact name of the Driver file needed

So you might have to pop the CD tray open and then close it to see the exact name of the Driver file needed when the message screen updates itself

Two photos to follow once I post them showing slight difference in Driver prompt messages
 
#16 ·
This second picture attached is the new Driver request window that came up after I opened the CD tray and then closed the CD tray with the same Windows XP SP2 install CD in the tray

***Notice that now the specific Driver name is being listed in the request window instead of the Driver install CD that it comes from***

Another possible scenario is that you might have to determine all the Drivers that are needed for the specific type of equipment that is installed on the computer you are working on that Windows Setup is stalling on (in my case an Audio Device). So maybe to cut down on the tediousness of manually copying one file at a time with the Boot CD method mentioned above--you could copy several likely related Driver files to the System32 and System32/Drivers folders to make sure that Windows Repair Setup finds those files, loads them and proceeds with rest of Repair Installation

Hope some of this info helps somebody!
 

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