Laptop Keyboard doesn't work.

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Laptop Keyboard doesn't work.

by Joe
(Sydney Australia)

Hi Monte,a belated happy 4th of July.

I have an Asus M6000 Note Book.

The problem with it is the on board keyboard will not operate.

I can boot the system and use an external USB keyboard.I have tried a new keyboard,removed the battery from the BIOS to try and rest to the factory defaults,but I still can't use the keyboard.

I can't get to the BIOS settings as the external USB keyboard only starts to operate after the O/S starts.

I noticed that on Booting the computer if I press the F2 key on the onboard keyboard it opens the DVD drive so in some way the keyboard is working, but if I press the escape key to enter the BIOS (from the operators manual) this does nothing and the computer continues to boot successfully.

I may be stuck with just using the external keyboard but it would be good if I could get the keyboard functioning.

By the way the touchpad operates O/K, could it be that some one has locked the keyboard and if so is there a way to unlock it by using some combination of Key strokes.

I do have the your computer repair manual but I can't locate any suggestions to this subject.

Thanks for your time and I appreciate the effort you put into your webb site.

Regards Joe

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Laptop Keyboard doesn't work.

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Jul 06, 2011
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Laptop Keyboard not working
by: Support

Hello Joe,

Now this one is a little strange.

From your discription the keyboard controler is dead, but if you can use an USB keyboard it is obviously working.

Question # 1: You say you replaced the internal keyboard, when you did was it a new one or used? Did you make sure the ribbon cable was fully seated in the connector?

Question # 2: Did the orginal keyboard do the same thing? That is was it working then all the sudden it stopped working?

Question # 3: Do you have a full keyboard with the numpad on the right side or do you have the 84 keyboard that you have to use the Fn key + the Ins key to turn on the numbers in the middle of the keyboard?

Because the external keyboard is for a desktop you do not have the Fn key nor the Fn key + second key functions, unless you bought a laptop specific external keyboard (been a long time since I saw one of those).

The manual says that the Fn + Ins turns on the keypad keys to use numbers instead of the letters. (Older laptops were this way, people would hit the Fn + Ins key and the numbers would be present when typing, difficult to see when typing in a password, locks you out after three bad passwords...)

Try using the Fn + Ins key while the computer is running, you may have inadvertinly hit that key combination. (Though why it would lock out the keyboard is a mystery to me).

Pressing F2 should take you in to the BIOS but pressing ESC should give you a boot menu with the installed drives (I tired a bootable USB drive and it shows up also) and Setup. If the keybaord is still dead you can not move the selection down becuse the pointing device isn't loaded. Only way to move the selection is with the up/down arrows.

I'll have to do some research to see if anyone else has had this problem.

(I used both my wifes' and my ASUS laptops to see if I could duplicate or find a way to turn off / lock the keyboard. The only thing I susceeded in doing was set the password for the BIOS and hard drives).

Jul 06, 2011
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Pressing F2 opens the DVD tray
by: Joe Giffney

(1)Replaced Keyboard with new Keyboard & verified ribbon cable inserted O/K.

(2)Was working until using an external USB Keyboard.This may or not be a clue as I was using it for a while with the external keyboard.Then one day I tried it without the external Keyboard it was then I found the Keyboard was not working.

(3) Keyboard has 87 keys and it operates as you have explained (no key pad on R/H side).

Have tried all Fn+Key functions during boot up and also while running to no avail.

By the way you are correct the F2 key should get you into the BIOS my mistake, did not read the operators manual correctly (need new glasses)but as I explained when I press F2 during the boot sequence the DVD drawer opens (this is strange).

Also during the POST I get the error telling me there is no keyboard present,normally I have found if you get this error the system will halt, but this one continues and boots up normally even with no external Keyboard connected.

Just found out when I press F2 Key while booting the dvd opens and if I put an Audio C/D in and close the tray the unit starts to play the C/D and you can turn the sound up and down using the up & down arrows on the keyboard.

I am now convinced the keyboard is O/K but for some reason the BIOS does not pick it up during the POST hope I'm making sense.look forward to your response.

Regards Joe

Jul 06, 2011
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Laptop keyobard, is the BIOS corrupt?
by: Support

Hello Joe,

After the work you have done the only two possiblities I can come up with are:

A) The BIOS is corrupt

B) The keyboard controler is dead.

Do you have a bootable CD or USB device?

If you don't on page 199 of Self Computer Repair Unleashed! Manual are instructions on making one.

Boot from the bootable device and see if the internal keyboard will work (I don't think it will) and the USB keyboard.

If you have either/both then you can proceed with the next step.

Go to ASUS and download the BIOS update and the updater program.

How many USB ports do you have on the laptop?

You will need three or access to the laptop hard drive (this means you have to use either the Windows 7 Emergency Repair Disk, ERD Commander, or BartPE for your boot OS).

Add the BIOS update (a bin file) and update program to a cd or USB pen drive. (If you use the ERD boot device you will be able to access the laptop hard drive from the CMD promt box)

You may or may not be able to do the BIOS update from Windows (my netbook had to be done from DOS, where as the ASUS K series laptop I did from Windows XP).

Once you have the BIOS update either from Windows or the Boot device do the BIOS backup and update.

When the update is complete the program will tell you to do a reboot, go ahead and do the reboot.

When the screen comes up press the F2 from the laptop keyboard.

If you get in to the BIOS then the update worked.

If you do not get in to BIOS but the DVD tray still opnes then the keyboard controler has failed, this means the motherboard needs to be replaced.

Hope this helps ...

Jul 06, 2011
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Great (Problem Fixed)
by: Joe Giffney

Problem Fixed!

It was infact a corrupt BIOS.

Downloaded BIOS upgrade and installer program from ASUS (this was so easy I just used their Auto detect BIOS tab and it selected the correct BIOS for my system).

As usual this was at 2:15am but slept o/k after.

May I just add some background to this senareo.

I was given this Laptop by a friend who had taken it to two repair shops and non of them could repair it, infact they ended up breaking the hinge mounting brackets.

He purchased a new Laptop & said if I could fix it then I could keep it and use it for my free computer classes I run for the over 60s in my area.

So It just shows you how valuable your site is and the information you supplied.

You have come to the same conclusion of the BIOS being corrupt.

Not only that all the other suggestions you gave made complete sense not too technical and would have been a complete process to repairing this type of fault.

Can't thank you enough and I appreciate all your effort.I will be recommending your site to all my students,friends & any techs I speak to. Again all my thanks.

Regards Joe, be back in the near future.

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Laptop Keyboard doesn't work.

Comments for Laptop Keyboard doesn't work.

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Laptop Keyboard doesn't work.