Can WinXP run without keyboard and mouse?
Author
Hello, everybody!
We are writing a game that starts automatically when WinXP starts. We don''t need keyboard or mouse, we interact with user by COM1 port. Also we disable most of the services from Control Panel\Administrative Tools\Services leaving 9 most imortant services untouched. When then we unplug the keyboard and the mouse and restart a ''Found New Hardware'' wizard''s window shows trying to install ''Motherboard resources''. When then enable back all services previously disabled and restart no ''Found New Hardware'' wizard''s window shows(what is what we want but some heavy services are started in this scenario).
Do you know a way to disable generally the keyboard and the mouse somehow? I suppose that some services like ''Plug and Play'' are related to our problem but we don''t remove the ''Plug and Play'' service. What do you know more about services and how they relate to removing keyboard and mouse?
Thank you.
Best wishes, Ivan.
Hmm, the only way I can think of is to set up a mouse and keyboard hook and instruct the computer to ignore any incoming commands... I must say this is a strange request...
If at first you don''t succeed, call it version 1.0
SketchSoft | SketchNews
If at first you don''t succeed, call it version 1.0
SketchSoft | SketchNews
Author
Do you mean the case when we have keyboard and mouse but we don''t want to react to them? That''s not what we want. The problem comes when keyboard and mouse are unplugged. Is then something to do?
Best wishes, Ivan.
Best wishes, Ivan.
I''ve never tried to run it without them to be honest... are you getting error messages\ balloon messages?
If at first you don''t succeed, call it version 1.0
SketchSoft | SketchNews
If at first you don''t succeed, call it version 1.0
SketchSoft | SketchNews
Author
With most services disabled I receive a ''Found New Hardware'' wizard window trying to install ''Motherboard resources''. If the services are not changed - no window comes up. The problem is that we want to disable as many services as possible but in this case we get nasty window when WinXP starts.
Best wishes, Ivan.
Best wishes, Ivan.
If you just simply disconnect the keyboard and mouse without changig the services you should be able to work through a COM port without any difficulty... I don''t understand why you are trying to change the services...
If at first you don''t succeed, call it version 1.0
SketchSoft | SketchNews
If at first you don''t succeed, call it version 1.0
SketchSoft | SketchNews
The settings you need to change are not in Windows, they are in the BIOS. The setting is called "Halt on keyboard errors" (or "Report keyboard errors", depends on the BIOS manufacturer). Set the BIOS so it won''t halt on keyboard errors (keyboard not plugged in), save and exit, shut down, unplug mouse and keyboard, and power on. I do this on a machine at home (WXP Pro) and have not encountered any problems.
just out of curiosity, why can''t you just ignore the keyboard and mouse in your game? it seems strange that they MUST be disconnected...
Tell us more about this strange game of yours. I bet its for an arcade type cabinet with a custom controller (hopefully using a microcontroller for the serial interface)
Win2k (presumably Xp too) doesn''t care if you don''t have a mouse, the cursor just disappears when my USB mouse is disconnected. The BIOS will complain if you don''t have a keyboard, so you can make a ''dummy'' one by ripping the little controller board out of an old keyboard
Win2k (presumably Xp too) doesn''t care if you don''t have a mouse, the cursor just disappears when my USB mouse is disconnected. The BIOS will complain if you don''t have a keyboard, so you can make a ''dummy'' one by ripping the little controller board out of an old keyboard
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