USB Mouse and Keyboard problems

[Jamey]

I'm not sure that this is a NI problem or not. But I am using DELL Optiplex 760 desktops for a DAQ application. While I am not using a USB DAQ I am using a "M" series Daq card. I take the CPU out of the box and set it up. I install my DAQ application which includes LabVIEW 8.5.1 runtime and DAQ drivers. I know the DAQ drivers support USB devices, that is why I am asking here. I have already talked to DELL about this and they seem clueless. Anyway -- I install everything and then I take the mouse and move it to another USB port and the installation dialog comes up. I move the mouse back to the working USB port and click "Yes" to install the USB driver for the mouse for that port. I do this for every USB port on the desktop. (I did not used to do this, but have started since first seeing the problem.) The test system goes onto a bench and works great for several months. Then it gets moved and someone else plugs in the mouse and keyboard, and not necessarily into the same USB port where the system was working for the last several months. Fires the system up and the driver dialog comes up. There's no way to click because the mouse isn't yet installed. Same thing with the keyboard. I took the mouse and went to every port on the desktop and no luck getting it to work. Has anyone else had a similiar problem? I am going to call NI tech support just to confirm it's not a known problem.

The DELL tech had me start up in safe mode and anytime Windows starts, the USB ports quit. So I couldn't do anything from safe mode. I can start it up and go to the CMOS settings and the mouse and keyboard work perfectly there. The DELL tech suggested I re-image the hard dive. If I do that I lose data that's been gathered. I have 50 machines to support and I can't see going through that for 50 machines. Also I asked the DELL tech what would be different with a re-image that will prevent this from happening again.

[bstreiff]

I don't think it's an NI problem.

If the mouse and keyboard don't tell Windows what their serial number is (I don't think mice and keyboard typically do), then Windows doesn't 'remember' that you've plugged in a USB device before and has to reinitialize them each time; Raymond Chen explains why.

However, it should not prompt you to install hardware each and every time. Windows should be using its built-in HID drivers for input devices, which are signed and therefore don't prompt the user for installation. Perhaps some Group Policy setting is changing this? Are these machines members of a domain?

That said, if you plug the mouse and keyboard into a port where they did work, then they should work again. I don't know why they wouldn't work after plugging them into every port-- when going through ports are you waiting a few seconds to let Windows initialize the device?

[Jamey]

 Yes I am waiting a few seconds each time. I moved to another DELL machine - an Optiplex 780 (was on a 760) and there is no issue.

And yes this may not be an NI problem. I installed everything back onto the 780 and plugged in the mouse into a new port after each install. I did not

see a repeat of the behavior. 

 My main intent here was to see if anyone else had ever had this happen and if it could be connected to NI MAX.

Thanks!