[Rant] That was annoying...

[KingOfChaos]

I decided to do a through check disk on my main hard drive and when it rebooted, I turned my external drive on like usual once it got past the BIOS screen. At which point the computer decided to check the disk label of something and proceeded to freeze up like it normally does if I reboot without turning the external off first...so I had to hard boot it by holding down the power...and then it decided to run a thorough check disk AGAIN...and I couldn't stop it because this G15 keyboard refuses to load during BIOS like a PS2 keyboard would. So I had to sit through it twice. ARGH.

 

[roy69]

In your bios there may be an option screen for USB keyboards. You have the choice of BIOS support for legacy OS.

 

[KingOfChaos]

In your bios there may be an option screen for USB keyboards. You have the choice of BIOS support for legacy OS.

Yeah, I was told as much. The issue being that my keyboard doesn't initialize until after the opportunity to get into BIOS has past has kept me from changing that setting. I will probably have to steal my wife's PS/2 keyboard for a bit to get into BIOS to correct it.

I believe HP disabled it because the system CAME with a PS/2 keyboard in the first place, so they believed it wasn't necessary or something. My Logitech G15 is a USB keyboard, though...so not only does it slow down the loading of windows, but it doesn't work when you first boot the system up.

 

[dmex]

G15 works fine here...

turn on USB legacy mode in BIOS.

 

[KingOfChaos]

G15 works fine here...

turn on USB legacy mode in BIOS.

I didn't say it didn't work, I said the drivers for it don't load until after the HP BIOs screen has past. In fact, the lights and the LCD screen don't work until after that has past.

 

[Bubba]

So you say eh? LOL I just re-installed my G15 and the one time I tried to get to the BIOS since then I just figured I didn't hit ESC fast enough. You have me curious so I'm going to try again as soon as I hit enter on this post. That dog won't hunt since I still need to fiddle with my BIOS some more. This G15 is getting closer and closer to joining my XFi on a return trip to the computer parts store to be transmogrified into cash money back in my hand.

 

[Bubba]

Whew. Scare alert downgraded. My DEL key (I know I typed ESC above) popped me right into BIOS slicker than owl snot. My keyboard didn't light up or initialize either, but now that I think about it, after running the Logitech installation disk AND the upgraded soft ware from the logitech site, it still says "generic USB Keyboard," not "Logitech blah blah," and is running the same drivers as before. I don't think Logitech made any drivers for this puppy. I think all the gaming stuff and whatnot is a shell within Windows and is not effected by BIOS one iota. Either that or I installed my G15 wrong so that it works in game and also in BIOS. I know that i did uninstall my keyboard drivers and then ran the logitech disk and then the updates................

 

[roy69]

I think the bios supports generic only keyboards. It is not like software that can take up alot of space on your harddrive. A bios is limited to the capacity of the chip it is on. A bios is designed to post the system and be a link between the OS an hardware.

 

[JaxMacFL]

No problem accessing cmos, using 'F8' function or updating mb bios with ez flash here with my G15 kb. Works fine in all aspects of 'dos'.

 

[Bubba]

I think the bios supports generic only keyboards. It is not like software that can take up alot of space on your harddrive. A bios is limited to the capacity of the chip it is on. A bios is designed to post the system and be a link between the OS an hardware.

I guess I wasn't specific, in the windows system hardware device manager thingie, my g15 is still listed as as an "HID Keyboard device" rather than a Logitech G15 and is still using the drivers from the Vista program rather than anything from Logitech. Again I don't know if that is because I did the instal wrong or because Logitech does not provide drivers, just software for the Keyboard profiler and game panel manager. The only difference I saw after the updates was an increase in games the keyboard recognised.

 

[dmex]

Have you downloaded the G15 drivers for vista?

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/434/3498&cl=us,en

 

[Bubba]

I ran the install disc and then went to Logitech.com and downloaded the file lgps202_x64 form there and ran it. It is an application file so I can't see (or at least don't know HOW to see since right click doesn't give me the option) what is in it, but my drivers never changed from the original drivers installed with Vista. When i explore the installation CD (I just did again lol) I see some configuration files, data files, and files labeled .mst.

While I guess I'm not sure what signature (extension?) a driver file uses, I don't see anything that looks to me like a driver file. My G15 is running and acting like it should to the best of my limited knowledge of both gakming keyboards, this is my first, Vista, and PC's in general. The drivers never changed from start to finish of the whole process so i concluded that there are no drivers in either file. I went as far as uninstalling the drivers on the keyboard. When I rebooted, Vista immediately started installing drivers and i didn't know how to stop it. When it finished I ran the disk and the file I downloaded from Logitech again and all it did was uninstall and re-install the game profiler and the game panel manager. Thus I concluded that there are no Logitech drivers for this device.

i hope I'm not coming off like a smart ass as that is certainly not my intention. See under my name where I labeled myself "clueless newbie?" That is a very accurate description of me. I am here to soak up every bit of knowledge I can from you folks and hopefully retain some of it. I have spent far too many years saying, "One day I'm really going to learn how to work windows, to KNOW windows and keep up with PC technology." Well by golly that day has has finally come after 25 years lol.

EDIT: Whoops, I missed your link the first time somehow. Yep that's where I got the file lgps202_x64.

 

[dmex]

The driver disk you have that comes with the keyboard uses a XP driver in compatibility mode during install because the keyboard was released way before Vista, the only true vista drivers are the ones downloadable from the website...Driver files are just .inf files with a .sys file but you are right you cant see inside the installation file to find these drivers but it automatically uninstalls these XP drivers and installs the correct Vista driver.

If you can see the applets like time/system usage/Media player in the LCD it means it has the driver loaded/working, its best to uninstall the Drivers from the CD and chuck the CD out and only use the file from the website for vista.

 

[JaxMacFL]

If you have the keyboard profiler and the GamePanel manager icons in the tray then you should be good to go. It won't list logitech in the device manager. It list it as hid keyboard device. In fact you should have two hid keyboard devices listed in device manager. One for each. The only reason I can think of why you do not have keyboard function during boot is that usb legacy is disabled in the bios. If so, your motherboard would only work with 2.1 usb during boot and the G15 is either 1.1 or 2.0 usb. You might try a non-usb keyboard to get into cmos and then go back in and set up your motherboard with legacy enabled. I have mine set to auto.

 

[Bubba]

The reason I don't have 2 keyboards in device managers is because I deleted the drivers for both of them lol when I was trying to check that the Logitech drivers were installing.

LOL I guess since this is a new system without years of data stored on it (and it's a learning process as well) I have this slash and burn mentality. If everything really goes to hell in a hand basket I merely need to wipe the hard drive, grab the Vista clean install disk and........

This is probably the 10th or 11th "appearance" of Windows on my HDD. :0