Member Avatar for normanallen

I am trying to run Spinrite (6) to check one of my disks. This worked happily from a bootable floppy on my last machine, but despite everything I try - boot menu / bios setup I cannot get my new machine to boot from a floppy disk.
So I am trying to create a bootable CD (using Nero 8). This works fine, and I can get it to boot off the created CD, but once it gets to a DOS prompt, I cannot enter anything from the keyboard. I suspect I need a keyboard driver file or files. Help please.
I am running XP Home SP3.

  • 2 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 127 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by normanallen

Dani AI

Generated

Brief diagnosis and focused steps tied to the existing thread: is correct that a PS/2 keyboard normally works at BIOS/DOS level, so a missing DOS driver is unlikely. The problem is most often the way the CD was made (boot emulation) or a BIOS/keyboard-initting issue rather than the keyboard hardware or XP install.

  • Verify the keyboard at BIOS/POST first: if keys navigate the BIOS menus or respond to POST, the keyboard and port are OK. If not, reseat the plug, power-cycle with the keyboard already connected, or try a different PS/2 keyboard.
  • Recreate the boot medium using the original 1.44MB floppy boot image in El Torito floppy-emulation mode (many authoring tools call this "1.44MB floppy" emulation). Some burners default to "No emulation" which can leave the BIOS keyboard/interrupt state different on certain motherboards.
  • If CD floppy-emulation fails, try a USB boot alternative: write the floppy image to a USB stick using a tool that supports writing IMG/DD images. Modern BIOSes often support USB-FDD emulation and will present the same DOS environment.
  • Test a different DOS boot image (FreeDOS, Hiren's/other DOS boot disks) to see whether a plain DOS prompt accepts keyboard input from that medium. If other DOS boot disks accept keys, the issue is how the SpinRite boot image was burned.

Why this happens: DOS-level keyboard input is delivered by the firmware/BIOS. When a CD boots in the wrong El Torito mode, some BIOSes don't map the emulated device and keyboard interrupts the way a floppy would, so the DOS environment starts without usable keyboard input.

If these steps still fail, try running the program from a different machine or use a boot medium created following the vendor's SpinRite boot-image instructions. Also note SpinRite was written for magnetic drives—consult current SpinRite documentation before running it on SSDs.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for jbennet

Is it a USB keyboard?
Are you running a dell?

Member Avatar for normanallen

Forgot to mention - it's a proper PS/2 connection into back, and NO it's not a Dell !!!

Member Avatar for jbennet

hmm thats wierd. PS/2 keyboards should "just work"

Member Avatar for normanallen

That's what surprised me. I remember that earlier OS's needed KEYB** files on the disk, but I thought XP was better!
Any and all suggestions requested

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.