Yw-slayer
September 23rd, 2015, 07:25 AM
About a year ago, I tried to aggressively OC my 2600K even further. It didn't work, and after that on startup my mechanical Ducky keyboard refused to be detected by any computer. My colleague fixed the keyboard by way of a BIOS reflash of the keyboard(!!) but thereafter it would say "NO Keyboard detected!" in POST, but would be detected and work fine once it had booted into Windows.
However, my external USB Thinkpad keyboard (non-mechanical) was detected and worked fine in the BIOS. Also, it wasn't a real issue to me as I could keep using the Ducky in Windows, and pulled out the Thinkpad keyboard if I needed to enter the BIOS.
In the meantime, at work I was using an old PS/2 Maltron mechanical keyboard on my which cable finally gave up the ghost after 10 years (fair enough) connected to my W520 Thinkpad. I ordered another one and in the interim swapped to an MS Natural Keyboard 4000 (non-mechanical). It was fine, but it obviously couldn't beat a proper ergonomic and/or mechanical keyboard.
Eventually I sent the W520 in for repair and moved my 2600K to work. It worked fine with the MS keyboard, but when I received plugged in the replacement Maltron mechanical keyboard (USB) it exhibited rather odd behaviour. First of all, if only the Maltron is plugged in then again on boot in POST says "NO keyboard detected!" Secondly, in Windows sometimes it will register a double/ghost key-press. Thirdly, sometimes the CTRL, SHIFT, or CAPS LOCK keys would get "stuck" and something like a reboot or even unplugging the keyboard from the USB port doesn't really fix it. Pressing CTRL twice re-sticks it but once clears the stickiness. Fourthly, and most strangely, recently sometimes the whole keyboard would work in applications like Word or Chrome (for example) but I could NOT type anything in the Windows 10 manual. I could use the Windows key or open the new Start menu with the mouse, but not type anything there. I also couldn't use shortcuts like CTRL-E.
I originally put this down to a problem with the Maltron, as Maltrons are handmade boutique (but not really hipster) products, and as my old one was occasionally slightly quirky. However, the quirks of my old one weren't as bad, and were probably due to it being a PS/2 keyboard plugged into a USB adapter for a notebook/desktop. More importantly, any problems could always be dealt with by the devious technique of unplugging the keyboard from the USB hub and plugging it back in.
Today, however, I got utterly fed up with my Maltron as it kept fucking up, and I obviously can't have a keyboard that interrupts my workflow. So I plugged the MS keyboard back in and it felt shit. But I thought I would try the Maltron with my new 6700K at home (which now has the Ducky and has no keyboard problems at all) to see what happened.
Now, of course, the Maltron works perfectly even with the same cable I used at work. I typed this entire screed on it and not once was there a problem. By now on the 2600K I would definitely have had to unstick CTRL a few times.
So, what do you think? Did my OC attempt destroy the MB and/or its USB ports/controller such that it now doesn't play well with any mechanical keyboards, in particular non-standard modeels like the Maltron? I suspect that's the case.
The only other thing I can think of that might be causing the problems is there being too much electronic interference on/around my work desk and that the USB cable used for the Maltrons were affected. But that seems a bit like weird crazy talk as the MS keyboard works fine. Admittedly the cable does run through an area with a 27" monitor, a Sonos, an 8-port switch, and a headphone amp, a USB hub, and some audio and other USB cables, but I would have thought that that EMI interference alone would not necessarily interfere with the operation of a keyboard (I am using what appears to be a standard USB cable that came with the Maltron and that is detachable at both ends). I suppose to test that theory I should actually test the Ducky at work, and if it's screwed up there in Windows then maybe it's the Maltron cable that's insufficiently shielded or something.
If however my initial suspicions are correct, then it looks like my only options are to:
(a) Try and re-flash the BIOS and see if that helps? Although I seem to recall that I did re-flash it after the excessive OC attempt.
(b) Buy and install a USB card to control the Maltron or any mechanical keyboard - but I'm not even sure if that would help if there is a specific part of the MB which detects and interfaces with keyboards is messed up?
(c) Swap to another motherboard (Z68?), or a new MB/processor, for work. Obviously expensive, but it is doable and I could move all my old SSDs etc. over. Alternatively, I could even just move my Silverstone HTPC from home to work, as it is a vastly overpowered i5-4670 and is in a very small and attractive Silverstone case. The 2600K could come home, or I could find something else to do with it. The Sandy Bridge MBs also had some issues with USB3.0 anyway as they were part of the first-gen, so I don't really mind ditching them.
However, my external USB Thinkpad keyboard (non-mechanical) was detected and worked fine in the BIOS. Also, it wasn't a real issue to me as I could keep using the Ducky in Windows, and pulled out the Thinkpad keyboard if I needed to enter the BIOS.
In the meantime, at work I was using an old PS/2 Maltron mechanical keyboard on my which cable finally gave up the ghost after 10 years (fair enough) connected to my W520 Thinkpad. I ordered another one and in the interim swapped to an MS Natural Keyboard 4000 (non-mechanical). It was fine, but it obviously couldn't beat a proper ergonomic and/or mechanical keyboard.
Eventually I sent the W520 in for repair and moved my 2600K to work. It worked fine with the MS keyboard, but when I received plugged in the replacement Maltron mechanical keyboard (USB) it exhibited rather odd behaviour. First of all, if only the Maltron is plugged in then again on boot in POST says "NO keyboard detected!" Secondly, in Windows sometimes it will register a double/ghost key-press. Thirdly, sometimes the CTRL, SHIFT, or CAPS LOCK keys would get "stuck" and something like a reboot or even unplugging the keyboard from the USB port doesn't really fix it. Pressing CTRL twice re-sticks it but once clears the stickiness. Fourthly, and most strangely, recently sometimes the whole keyboard would work in applications like Word or Chrome (for example) but I could NOT type anything in the Windows 10 manual. I could use the Windows key or open the new Start menu with the mouse, but not type anything there. I also couldn't use shortcuts like CTRL-E.
I originally put this down to a problem with the Maltron, as Maltrons are handmade boutique (but not really hipster) products, and as my old one was occasionally slightly quirky. However, the quirks of my old one weren't as bad, and were probably due to it being a PS/2 keyboard plugged into a USB adapter for a notebook/desktop. More importantly, any problems could always be dealt with by the devious technique of unplugging the keyboard from the USB hub and plugging it back in.
Today, however, I got utterly fed up with my Maltron as it kept fucking up, and I obviously can't have a keyboard that interrupts my workflow. So I plugged the MS keyboard back in and it felt shit. But I thought I would try the Maltron with my new 6700K at home (which now has the Ducky and has no keyboard problems at all) to see what happened.
Now, of course, the Maltron works perfectly even with the same cable I used at work. I typed this entire screed on it and not once was there a problem. By now on the 2600K I would definitely have had to unstick CTRL a few times.
So, what do you think? Did my OC attempt destroy the MB and/or its USB ports/controller such that it now doesn't play well with any mechanical keyboards, in particular non-standard modeels like the Maltron? I suspect that's the case.
The only other thing I can think of that might be causing the problems is there being too much electronic interference on/around my work desk and that the USB cable used for the Maltrons were affected. But that seems a bit like weird crazy talk as the MS keyboard works fine. Admittedly the cable does run through an area with a 27" monitor, a Sonos, an 8-port switch, and a headphone amp, a USB hub, and some audio and other USB cables, but I would have thought that that EMI interference alone would not necessarily interfere with the operation of a keyboard (I am using what appears to be a standard USB cable that came with the Maltron and that is detachable at both ends). I suppose to test that theory I should actually test the Ducky at work, and if it's screwed up there in Windows then maybe it's the Maltron cable that's insufficiently shielded or something.
If however my initial suspicions are correct, then it looks like my only options are to:
(a) Try and re-flash the BIOS and see if that helps? Although I seem to recall that I did re-flash it after the excessive OC attempt.
(b) Buy and install a USB card to control the Maltron or any mechanical keyboard - but I'm not even sure if that would help if there is a specific part of the MB which detects and interfaces with keyboards is messed up?
(c) Swap to another motherboard (Z68?), or a new MB/processor, for work. Obviously expensive, but it is doable and I could move all my old SSDs etc. over. Alternatively, I could even just move my Silverstone HTPC from home to work, as it is a vastly overpowered i5-4670 and is in a very small and attractive Silverstone case. The 2600K could come home, or I could find something else to do with it. The Sandy Bridge MBs also had some issues with USB3.0 anyway as they were part of the first-gen, so I don't really mind ditching them.