Hi Bumpkin thats what ive been trying to do from the start here. I put what was happening and asked for help. I only did the reinstalls as thats how I got my system up and running about a year ago. But I didnt know which one of my actions was the fix as I tried so many.
Do you know the answer to my last question will a BIOS upgrade wipe the old BIOS. The risk of attempting it with the system stalling as it does could be disastrous if its not the cause and it
Thanks,
Jim
Plugging in a usb keyboard will not Disable an onboard keyboard. I have tested this numerous times with various models. (In fact it's a mean joke among office workers to use usb wireless kb and or mouse to mess with co-workers).
If there is an Issue with the Bios then perhaps reinstalling the same version would work. I hate mucking with the bios and usually refer to others when it is involved. Personally I would start with disconnecting the onboard KB first. You never know what you might find under there
Last edited by mohavepc; 07 Sep 2013 at 15:49. Reason: stupid fat fingers and a drunk spellcheck I guess
I was hoping some one would know if it were possible to get an infection in the BIOS
You're working hard James and making some progress. I have been traveling abroad until the middle of this week and not able to study this as deeply as I'd like as it is a most interesting case. But be assured we will stick with you until this is resolved.
Have been watching for the threatened BIOS infections to show up here but never seen one. I came to believe it was more a scare campaign to get business into Secure Boot with Windows 8, but they didn't feel threatened either and are almost all doing final XP migration to 7. But we should keep the possibility open, and may consult our Security experts on the question after keyboard and RAID issues are resolved here.
Meanwhile you have good suggestions about keyboard workarounds. If you could get the installer working it has an on-screen keyboard which would help determine what's at fault, but you still need to be able to disable the keyboard to compare. Work with Mohave to determine the keyboard status with certainty, as a first priority.
You unplugged the PC when you thought the BIOS change to show RAID controller wasn't taking, but when you plugged it back in the change was made. So maybe you are not waiting long enough and need to give that more time. It is always risky to cut power when in BIOS mode, especially making changes or updating which is often fatal.
I'd want to test the HD's to see if either are failing using maker's http://www.carrona.org/hddiag.html extended CD scan.
Then I'd try further to disable the RAID, set SATA controller to AHCI or SATA, try install to primary HD only.
If this is not possible and secondary HD tests OK then I'd try reinstall to the RAID. You can browse in if necessary to see if files can be resued using the installer with Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console.
Again delete all partitions and create new as you please, or just click Next to let the installer do it for you and begin.
Last edited by gregrocker; 07 Sep 2013 at 17:48.
Greg I did persevere and managed to turn off the RAID but I didnt find a menu for changing to SATA or AHCI side of things so I did a clean install on the good SSD which still ended up with the stalling and keyboard issues. My new trick is the same circular motion on the laptop keyboard whilst hit the key I need on the USB keyboard. That's how I got into the RAID menu and same to turn it off. Can you tell me what changing the drive format will accomplish please. Im learning more and getting further all the time. Its strange though sometimes I have more joy with the USB keyboard than others. It works fine on the pc I borrowed it from and the laptop is to modern for PS2 or serial keyboards. I have been to set the BIOS to default and have saved and restarted to no effect yet I know it accepted what I did as when I go back into the BIOS the settings are the same as when I selected default.
Greg You did mention of my possible impatience with the laptop moving on, but I am allowing time for processes to move along, earlier I went and had a shower and when I came back the process hadnt move along at all. I then did my circular motion trick and hey presto off it went, but I do understand where ur coming from ive seen folks hiting keys repeatedly when things are going slowly only to make it worse. I know installing windows is no quick thing. This thing seems to lie dormant for a while possibly from cold. Looking at the install description for the BIOS on the Sony site it doesnt look like any keyboard input is needed, I just need to click on the .exe file and it should self extract and install.
This is where I'm at RAID is turned off Windows 7 from the ISO has been clean installed on the good SSD which is now the only disc installed on the machine, but havnt been able to get into windows yet as couldnt type a user name or password due to these fields being constantly filled letters symbols without my touching anything. I cant find anywhere in the BIOS to change the SATA controller. Is it an important thing to do ? as I thought I would look at the BIOS on this working laptop which is also a Sony and I couldnt see any options in that BIOS either. So what I need to know is am I missing some thing or is it not in the Bios but some where else I was supposed to be to make these changes.There is no heading or option for HDD controller in my BIOS even on my working laptop. Physically disconnecting the keyboard on a laptop is no easy task if its the same as this laptop. I tried to remove the one on this laptop when it had a mother board fault last year it was connected with a ribbon without a secure connector block on each end so it looked like the ribbon itself needed pulling out which I had not the balls to do. the other laptop is much larger so may have a proper connection unless some one knows the proper method to disconnect these ribbon cables.
Last edited by jamesp5551; 08 Sep 2013 at 03:56. Reason: missed info
yes mohavepc if feel like some one is having a joke with me as it feels like some one else is controlling my machine. Ive done so many installs etc and there cant possibly be any connection to the internet on that machine currently so I dont see that being possible. As Greg says there has been no factual BIOS infections recorded which blows my theory. Hardware seems to be the only possibility how does that explain me fixing this same issue about a year ago with identical symptoms and i dont mean similar. After I have had another attempt to get into Windows so I can try to install the copy of the BIOS I downloaded last night. I will set to removing the keyboard. You dont mean disconnecting the keyboard by a switch or in the software do you.Do You mean physically unplugging it.Plugging in a usb keyboard will not Disable an onboard keyboard. I have tested this numerous times with various models. (In fact it's a mean joke among office workers to use usb wireless kb and or mouse to mess with co-workers).
If there is an Issue with the Bios then perhaps reinstalling the same version would work. I hate mucking with the bios and usually refer to others when it is involved. Personally I would start with disconnecting the onboard KB first. You never know what you might find under there
There should be a SATA controller setting somewhere in the BIOS. Can you post back camera snaps of each BIOS tab so we can try to spot it?
Were there no other options for RAID but on or off?
Look also in BIOS setup for the keyboard as you might be able to disable it.
Have you run the HD diagnostics yet on both HD's? It will tell you in Device Manager what is their model - google if it's a string and that will tell you. Since the RAID controller said the second HD was in error, it needs to be tested to see if it might be interfering. Bad code could even be causing the problem, which is why I asked you to disable it if you can find that setting in BIOS.
Win7 doesn't much like RAID as all we see here are problems with it, so the attempt was to see if that solved your issue and try an install to one HD saving the other for storage and backup perhaps even another OS. But after that it does start to point more directly to the keyboard so I would try to disable it in BIOS, disable it in Device Manager, or google for a disassembly or replacement video for your exact model to see how you would access it's wire to unplug.
I thought I would try Gregs suggestion.(I'd want to test the HD's to see if either are failing using maker's Hard Drive Diagnostic Procedure extended CD scan), but couldnt find anything remotely like my SSD's model No. on the Samsung link and the other link no longer exists. Ive heard RAM can do weird and wonderful things, any chance I could have overlooked this as a possibility there is 2 x 4gb installed.
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