Keyboard and mouse both stopped working

[Chucklepants12]

Turned my computer on this morning and I can’t get either my mouse or keyboard to work (both non-wireless supplied with the computer).  I cannot even hit “return” to bring up the screen to enter my password, so I can’t run any diagnostics on my hardware, connect another device, etc.  I have turned the computer completely off (twice), and plugged both keyboard and mouse into different USB ports on the machine to confirm it’s not an issue with the port.  I wouldn’t think it’s an issue with either the keyboard or the mouse since they stopped working simultaneously after both working fine yesterday - almost zero chance both devices failed on their own on the same day.  Is there anything I can do?  The computer is out of factory warranty - if there’s not some way to resolve this the computer is trash after only two years of use.   Thanks!

[Irfan_06]

Hi @Chucklepants12,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to assist you.

It sounds frustrating to have both peripherals stop working simultaneously on your all in one PC. Since the issue seems to involve both your keyboard and mouse, it's likely related to the USB drivers, motherboard, or BIOS rather than the peripherals themselves. Here's a step-by-step approach to troubleshoot this:

1. Perform a Hard Reset

• Power off the PC completely.
• Disconnect all external devices, including the keyboard, mouse, and power cable.
• Press and hold the power button for 15-20 seconds to drain residual power.
• Reconnect the power cable and only the keyboard and mouse, then turn the computer back on.

2. Try USB Ports Again

• Test the keyboard and mouse in every available USB port, both front and back.
• If possible, try another wired keyboard or mouse to rule out device compatibility.

3. Access the BIOS

• To rule out issues with the operating system, check if the keyboard works in the BIOS.
• Turn the PC off, then press the power button and repeatedly press F10 (or ESC, depending on your model) until the BIOS screen appears.
• If you can access the BIOS and the keyboard works here, the issue is likely with Windows drivers.

4. Use a Live USB Drive (Optional)

• Create a bootable USB drive with a Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu) using another computer.
• Boot into the USB drive on your All-in-One to see if the keyboard and mouse work outside of Windows.
• If they work, it confirms a software issue.

5. Reset USB Drivers (Requires Access to Windows)

• If you can manage to log in using an alternative device:
  • Press Windows + X, then select Device Manager.
  • Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers and uninstall all USB drivers.
  • Restart the computer to force the system to reinstall drivers automatically.

6. Check for Hardware Issues

• If none of the above works, the USB controller on the motherboard may have failed.
• Test the keyboard and mouse on another computer to confirm they’re functional.

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

 

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a great day ahead!

Irwin6

HP Support

[Chucklepants12]

This was very helpful.  I was able to use the keyboard in Bios.  But I can’t open Windows because I can’t use the keyboard or mouse.  Is there another way to access it?  

[Garp_senchau]

@Chucklepants12,

Thank you for posting your query.

It’s great that you were able to access the BIOS and confirm the keyboard works! Since you can’t interact with Windows using the mouse or keyboard, here are a few additional steps you can try to resolve the issue:

1. Boot into Safe Mode

Sometimes, Windows will disable USB ports or specific drivers that could prevent your keyboard and mouse from working. You can try booting into Safe Mode to see if that helps. Here’s how to do that:

• Power off your computer.
• Turn it back on and immediately start pressing the F8 key repeatedly (before Windows begins to load).
• If successful, you should see the Advanced Boot Options menu.
• Select Safe Mode using the arrow keys and hit Enter.

If your keyboard works in Safe Mode, it might be a driver or software issue in the normal boot. You can then troubleshoot from there.

2. Use System Restore

If you can access Safe Mode, you can try System Restore to roll back to a point before this problem started:

• In Safe Mode, type System Restore in the search bar and select it.
• Follow the prompts to choose a restore point from before the problem started.

3. Check USB Drivers (in Safe Mode)

If you’re able to use Safe Mode, follow these steps to check your USB drivers:

• Press Windows + X and choose Device Manager.
• Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers, right-click each USB entry, and choose Uninstall device.
• Afterward, restart your computer to let Windows automatically reinstall the drivers.

4. Enable Legacy USB Support in BIOS

Since you can use the keyboard in BIOS, you can check for any settings related to USB support:

• Reboot your PC and enter BIOS again.
• Look for an option like Legacy USB Support or USB Configuration.
• Make sure it's enabled, then save and exit.

I hope these steps help resolve the issue

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Problem solved? 🎉 Awesome! Mark this as the Accepted Solution to help the next person find their way faster. 🧭 And if it was helpful, click 'yes'—you’ll make someone’s search journey that much easier (and give this reply some well-deserved street cred 🏅)

Regards,

[Chucklepants12]

Tried these steps, but it didn’t go well.  I was able to enter safe mode but was unable to restore the system.  It asked me for a bit locker recovery key.  I don’t recall ever setting one up, and the recovery process is extremely  confusing - it provides a recovery key ID which contains letters, but the keyboard only allows you to enter numbers.  So now every time I start up the computer, the bitlocker screen comes up and I can’t get past it.  Am I now permanently locked out?  

[Garp_senchau]

@Chucklepants12, 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! 

We’re here to help you with your issue. Don't worry, we've got your back! 

To get you the best assistance, we need to take this conversation to a private chat. We're inviting you to a private message to protect your privacy and ensure that any sensitive information remains confidential. 

To access your private message, just click the little blue envelope icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile, next to your profile name. Alternatively, you can click on this link. 

We're looking forward to helping you resolve this issue! 

Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience! 

Regards, 

[Chucklepants12]

I was able to find my bitlocker number, and re-install Windows.  That resolved the issue.  Thanks very much for your help!