Solved Keyboard Or Mouse Or CD-ROM Drive Stopped Responding

sorin86

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Keyboard Or Mouse Or CD-ROM Drive No Longer Responding

[SOLVED] KEYBOARD OR MOUSE OR CD-ROM DRIVE NO LONGER RESPONDING AFTER BOOT
Error:
“Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39) {Unable to Load Device Driver}
%hs device driver could not be loaded. Error Status was 0x%x”


SECTION 1. Symptoms

When you start your computer, you notice (with a lot of frustration) that the keyboard or the mouse or the CD-ROM drive or maybe the audio device stopped responding. And that happened for no apparent reason.

If you can access the Device Manager, you see a yellow triangle on the device name.
If you try to update the driver, disable, re-enable, uninstall/reinstall the driver, nothing works.

If you restart the system from a boot DVD, you get into the WinPE (Windows Preinstallation Environment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), which is a sort of basic Windows allowing you to perform simple operations, such as re-starting in Safe Mode or repairing the system. Funnily, the keyboard, the mouse or the CD-ROM will work in this environment. Once you want to load the full system normally, you see that the symptoms persist.


SECTION 2. Virtual Keyboard and Virtual Mouse

To try the solutions presented here, you must have at least either the keyboard or the mouse working. If neither works, there still is hope.

If neither works, it probably means they are both on USB ports and the “Human Interface Devices/USB Input Device” series are probably the faulty drivers. Another situation might be that both are on PS/2 ports (round connectors), but that is unlikely on newer computers. Solution below.

If either works, that probably means one is on a USB port and the other one is on a PS/2 port.
If the mouse is on a USB port and works (but your keyboard on the PS/2 port doesn’t), it is likely that you can borrow a USB keyboard from a friend and you’ll be able to use it until you solve the matter.
Note: you cannot plug a PS/2 keyboard into a USB slot simply by using a simple mechanical PS/2-to-USB adaptor. There is no electric compatibility. But you may use an electronic adaptor that transforms the PS/2 signal into a USB-compatible signal. These are more expensive.

Similarly, if the keyboard is on a USB port and works (but your mouse on the PS/2 port doesn’t), it is likely that you can borrow a USB mouse from a friend and use it.

If the mouse is on a PS/2 port and works (but your keyboard on the USB port doesn’t), things are a little different. The good news is that, for most of this repairing you hardly need a keyboard. If you prefer to use a PS/2 keyboard (that you can borrow), to activate it, you have to reboot the system. Unlike USB devices, simply plugging it in doesn’t make the system recognize it.

In the situations explained above, using a functional mouse is enough.

If only one input device is functional and you cannot get the other one to work, Windows actually offers you both a virtual mouse and a virtual keyboard.

2.1. Using the virtual mouse, if your keyboard works

To get to use the virtual mouse, you have to be familiarized with getting around on the desktop by using the keyboard only. Basic moves:
Tab (Shift+Tab) – moves inside a window
Ctrl+Tab – moves to another window tab
Alt – activates command bar
Alt+Tab – moves to another app window
Alt+F4 – closes active window
Space – activates/deactivates option/checkbox
Enter – activates a button command
Arrows – positional moves
(Keyboard shortcuts for Windows)

In Windows 8/8.1 you can activate the virtual mouse by going to Control Panel, then Ease of Access Center, then “Make the mouse easier to use”.
Check “Turn on Mouse Keys”.
Alternately, you can try this key combination:
Left Alt+Left Shift+Num Lock.

Your mouse pointer movements will be controlled via the numeric keypad.
Make sure the Num Lock is on.
Keys 1-9 (except for key 5) will move the pointer.
Key 5 is click (normally, the left click, unless you activate the right-click).
Key – (minus) activates the right click.
Key / (slash) resets to the left click.
(Windows 8 Accessibility Tutorials: Use Numeric Keypad)

2.2. Using the virtual keyboard if your mouse works

Right-click on the taskbar. Go to Properties then the Toolbars tab.
Check “Touch Keyboard”.
The virtual keyboard icon will appear on the task bar, so you can type letters by using mouse clicks.

As I’ve already mentioned, you will actually need mostly mouse actions.


SECTION 3. Solutions for the luckier ones

The first obvious thing to do is test the keyboard and/or the mouse on another computer. Or use another keyboard and/or mouse on your computer. You can rule out the case that either of these devices is actually defective.

The following solutions work for Windows 8/8.1, but may be adapted for previous Windows.
Before the real solution you can try some shortcuts. These will work for a few luckier users.

Shortcut 3.1. Updating the driver

If your mouse and/or keyboard work, go to Device Manager.
Identify the entry of the faulty driver (for example, “DVD/CD-ROM drives”)
Expand the line (horizontal little white a triangle)
Right-click or press menu key to go to “Properties”. Choose the Driver tab.
Click “Update Driver”. You have to be connected to the Internet for this operation to be performed.

Windows will try to update the driver.
This will work for few users, since most basic drivers don’t have updates. Some of them are from 2006.

Shortcut 3.2. Disabling and re-enabling the driver

Similarly to Shortcut 3.1, go to the same Driver tab and click Disable.
After the driver is disabled click the same button that has become Enable.

Shortcut 3.3. Uninstalling and reinstalling the driver

Similarly to Shortcut 3.1, go to the same Driver tab and click Uninstall.
After the driver is uninstalled, go back to Device Manager and click Action on the Command Bar, then “Scan for hardware changes”. Your faulty device will be redetected and the system will try again to load the driver. This time the operation may succeed.

Shortcut 3.4. Using DISM

Open the Command Prompt as Administrator. One way to do it:
1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Click on a partition (C:, D:...)
3. Command bar: File, then Open Command Prompt, then Open Command Prompt as Administrator.

You need to be connected to the Internet.
Type exactly (on one line):

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The system will try to repair itself. It might take 15-30 min.
If the repair is successful, disable and re-enable the driver. Still, the result of this check might be that it has discovered corrupt files, but it cannot repair them.

Shortcut 3.5. Using System Restore

Not the best idea, so use this procedure with discretion.
System Restore has the disadvantage that it will take your system some days back in time, so you’ll have to reinstall apps that you installed recently and you’ll lose some settings you performed recently. Even so, you may have no result. Not mentioning that Windows 8 has its way of destroying its own restore points for no reason, even when your settings and resources are generous with System Restore. Even when you set restore points manually, you’ll find soon that they are simply lost.


SECTION 4. What the heck is going on?

Indeed, the device driver is corrupt (or even missing). When you go to Device Manager, then [faulty device], then Properties, then Driver tab, then Driver Details, you will see the name of the driver, for example cdrom.sys. A faulty driver will show a small black icon in front of its name. A good driver will have a whitish icon.

That .sys file is indeed corrupt. When I tried to open one of those in Notepad and I compared it to a good .sys version, at the end of the corrupt file there were about 10 lines of ßßßß.... Windows is so stupid, that whatever you try (see the shortcuts above), it cannot repair it nor can it download the correct .sys from the Internet (namely, from the Microsoft web site).
Another serving of the Microsoft Windows garbage design – they even got the error message wrong! (See that above, in the title.)


SECTION 5. THE SOLUTION

5.1. If either the mouse or the keyboard works

The solution is to get a good version of the .sys file and just copy it in the Drivers folder. This is the only way you can “repair” it. The Drivers folder is normally C\WINDOWS\system32\Drivers\. However, make sure that the corrupt driver’s location, as shown in the Driver Details, is really that one. You’ll have to replace the corrupt driver, so drop it in the right location.

It may happen that the Driver Details give you a list of several drives for one device. For example, if you go to Device Manager/ Human Interface Devices/ USB Input Device/ Properties/ Driver/ Driver Details (for a USB mouse/keyboard), you have 3 of them:
hidclass.sys
hidparse.sys
hidusb.sys

For ...../ Standard PS/2 Keyboard/.... you have
i8042prt.sys
kbdclass.sys

For the ...../ DVD/CD-ROM drives/.... you have
cdrom.sys

Your USB mouse/keyboard may not work for another reason: a USB controller driver is busted.
For the ...../ Universal Serial Bus controllers/.... you have
usbhub.sys
usbport.sys
usbuhci.sys

See which one has the blackish little icon. That one is the culprit.

You can get the correct version of the busted .sys file from another Windows computer or from the Internet (which might be a little risky). Funnily, the boot DVD doesn’t explicitly contain .sys files.

While trying to copy the correct .sys file, Windows will keep fighting you. It won’t let you copy files in the “Windows” folder and subfolders, even if you are the Administrator and the owner of the computer. You could copy the correct .sys file just by confirming that you are the Administrator (on a simple dialogue box). Otherwise, you have to take ownership of the “Drivers” folder and of its files in a way that is not the object of this presentation.
See Take Ownership of a File or Folder

After you have copied the good driver(s), you have to disable it/them, and then enable it/them:
Device Manager –-> (respective device) –-> Properties/ Driver/ Disable and then Enable.

5.2. If neither the mouse or the keyboard works

This is for more advanced users.
If your mouse and keyboard don’t work, you actually cannot get to the point where you can look at the Device Manager, so you cannot know if it is a corrupt driver, let alone which one it is. Of course, you may suspect one of those indicated above.

Even if your mouse and keyboard don’t work when Windows opens, it is very likely that they will work in WinPE.

5.2.1. WinPE - Using System Restore

See first the comments on Shortcut 3.5 above. You cannot be sure this will fix the damage.

1. Launch the installation DVD and get to seeing System Restore option (the first 5 pictures presented here Start Windows 8 Legacy Safe Mode with Windows Install DVD . Don’t follow the entire procedure; you don’t have to get to Safe Mode).

2. Click (or use the arrow and “enter” keys) and launch System Restore.

3. Choose a restore point and wait until it finishes (maybe up to one hour).

4. Take the installation DVD out and restart the system.

5.2.2. WinPE - Copying the correct drivers using the Command Prompt

1. Get the correct .sys files corresponding to the mouse and keyboard and USB controllers, as instructed above.

2. Burn them on your installation DVD is a handy folder (let’s say “Drivers”). If your DVD isn’t multisession, you’ll have to burn a new one. Since your mouse and keyboard don’t work, obviously, you’ll need to do that on another computer (a friend’s one, another one in the office, one from a computer repair company).

3. Launch the installation DVD and get to using the Command Prompt (the first 5 pictures presented here Start Windows 8 Legacy Safe Mode with Windows Install DVD . Don’t follow the entire procedure; you don’t have to get to Safe Mode).

4. In WinPE, copy the correct .sys files from your DVD to C:\Windows\system32\Drivers using DOS-like commands. You should have some knowledge about DOS commands. Something like

copy f:\drivers\*.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers

(on one line) might work.

F: should be the DVD drive, but you have to check if WinPE assigned another letter to it. Sometimes, WinPE messes the drives’ letters up (for example, when you have at least 2 HDDs in your system).

5. Take the installation DVD out and restart the system.


To prevent the repetition of this annoyance (which is likely to happen), you can have copies of the .sys files in a special backup folder (such as C:\Drivers\ , or even on the installation DVD), especially those belonging to the mouse and the keyboard. Once they are fixed, you can repair easily the other ones, if it is the case.

Advanced users may further generate a .bat file which can copy the good .sys files from the backup folder into the C:\Windows\system32\Drivers folder and which may be launched from the WinPE prompt.

If your keyboard/mouse still doesn’t work (and maybe there’s nothing wrong with the drivers) you should see if you really have another defective component in your system – a cable, a USB port...

This presentation will save you from resorting to a System Refresh for such a small annoyance. (Well... “small”... it took me painful days to find the solution...) A System Refresh is debilitating, since you lose all installed applications (the .exe files are deleted from the Program Files folder) and a lot of settings. However, working files, documents, pictures, mp3s, emails aren’t lost.

This presentation is meant for users with some knowledge about computers. Beginners will get lost in this presentation, so be assisted by someone who has more knowledge. It is based on using the Desktop environment, not the stupid Metro.

This presentation is meant for 32-bit Windows 8/8.1, but may work with some adjustments on 64-bit systems as well.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 pro
Hello Sorin86! I have the same problem as you had. Last year I had this problem with WINXP. After several (unsuccessful) checks I bought a new Computer, new System (WIN8.1) and everything was fine till 2 weeks ago when the same thing appeared: cdrom.sys, hidclass.sys and hdaudio.sys is changed (ß's at the end!!!). I replaced these 3 files with the correct ones-it worked. I made system checks with three virus and antimalware programs: All clean. Yesterday the problem occures again! I have just a few shareware programs on the computer-all other softwase is original microsoft software. One of them is photofiltre. There are entries in some forums where it is said, that this can be critical. Have you found out, what program has changed your files? Perhaps That could help me...
Regards
Captain Lowbrain
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a culprit. It could be something about graphics. In the mean time I moved to a more powerful computer (64-bit) and the problem didn't appear any more. However, I do hope this article will help other users.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 pro
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