keyboard & Mouse Stop Responding

A dilemma ... I have a KVM switch where 2 computers are using the same keyboard & mouse. I have been using a Logictech wireless setup that has worked for almost 2 years. Recently, the keyboard & mouse stopped working. I then plugged in a keyboard & mouse directly to the KVM (wired instead of wireless).

After rebooting, the wired setup works fine ... for a while ... after a few hours, neither the mouse or keyboard respond. I have to reboot ...

I can be in the middle of a process, e.g. Quicken OR simply trying to awake from a sleep mode.

Any suggestions or recommendations??? Would appreciate any help ...

 

Does this happen when the keyboard and mouse are plugged directly into the PC?

 

Yes it does ...

I did some searching in Google and found others with similar experiences. They were instructed to replace the mouse.inf and keyboard.inf from the windows\system32\DriverStore\FileRepository directory. I did that but does not seem to help.

What is puzzling it that it works for a while and then stops ...

Any ideas ...

 

Can you test the keyboard and mouse on a completely unrelated computer to see if it still happens? Can you test another keyboard and mouse on the affcted computer and see if it still happens?

 

I have tried a different keyboard/mouse and gotten the same result which leads me to think it is a driver issue. It's surprising that io t will work after a reboot and then "hang up". I may have to do a restore to a state preceding my last Windows update (my Google search unearthed some who had this problem after a Windows update) to see if that fixes the problem. I am doubtful though as it is hard to believe that MS would deliver an udpate that would have an effect on a basic peripheral as the keyboard/mouse is, particularly when I try to use the prehistoric "wired" version.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks again for your help ...

 

Are the keyboard and mouse USB or PS/2 or one of each? Does the same behavior exist on both computers? What Oses are the computers running? If only one computer exhibits the strange behavior, please specify the OS.

 

Okay ... the problem appears to be with Vista. The other computer is on Windows Server OS and it works okay with wired connections. Since I use a KVM, I have disconnected the wireless setup so cannot assess the wireless on the Server OS.

My current configuration is a USB mouse connection and a "wired" connection into the KVM. Interestingly, the USB connection for the mouse does not work with the KVM so I have it connected directly into my Vista machine via a USB port.

Some things to think about on my end but, makes me wonder if the "open" environment in Windows creates more risks vs. the "closed" environment of Apple (which the rest of my family has adopted!!).

Appreciate any additional thoughts or suggestions. Thanks again ...

 

I use two KVM switches (one for two of my computers and the other I've installed for my husband's two computers). Years ago, I used a wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse combo with a KVM and discovered that the keyboard did not always get detected. I eventually settled on a wireless mouse (PS/2) and a wired keyboard. They've worked well BUT I do not have Vista nor Windows Server installed so if it a problem with the OS, then I can't troubleshoot that.

So if I understand, the USB wired mouse stops working on the Vista computer after a while.
First, you need to check that the USB ports are not configured to power down after a period of time.
This is how to check in XP, hopefully Vista will be the same:
1. Open device manager and right click the USB Root Hub and select properties (you may have to expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers to see this option)
2. Click on the Power management tab
3. Make sure the first item listed does not have a checkmark/tick
Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power