ASUS Vivobook keyboard not functional in Windows, but does in WinPE

[Larry Sabo]

The Win 11 Login screen displays, and if I hit the Enter key, I get the box into which I should enter the PIN but nothing is echoed or detected when I type. The keyboard works normally in a WinPE and during on-board diagnostics, so corrupted driver files, I assume.

I can't start in Safe mode because the shift key is not detected at the login screen where I would click restart. There is no option to change the way Windows starts up in the Troubleshooting menu of a Windows installation media when I try to Repair this PC. Of course, nor of the other Troubleshooting options work either. A USB keyboard and the on-screen keyboard behave the same as the built-in keyboard.

I believe the drive is encrypted -- I can't detect the drive in a WinPE session. I'm going to remove it and try using it in a USB adapter on my PC along with the digital recovery key, once the customer provides it.

Does anyone know of a way to enter Safe mode when the keyboard is non-functional once in Windows?

PS - The weird thing is, the customer brought me the laptop because of this problem but it worked normally for me all last night. The performance report showed multiple miscellaneous errors over past three weeks, plus one hardware error. I checked the motherboard under a microscope for scorched/burnt/corroded components/tracks but all looked pristine and the keyboard cable was properly plugged into the connector on the motherboard.

 

[Porthos]

with the digital recovery key, once the customer provides it.

Don't hold your breath. If you are lucky they will remember the email used for the MS account and you are really lucky they will know the password and not only the PIN. Get ready for the hoops of resetting the password and the 2-factor hoops.

the customer brought me the laptop because of this problem but it worked normally for me all last night.

I would have backed up the data right then. Always be prepared for the potential clean install.

 

[dannyict]

maybe connect a usb keyboard and try

 

[GTP]

Does anyone know of a way to enter Safe mode when the keyboard is non-functional once in Windows?Plug in an

Plug in an external USB Keyboard?
Should allow you to do whatever you need.

hahaha @dannyict beat me by 3 seconds.

 

[Larry Sabo]

maybe connect a usb keyboard and try

"A USB keyboard and the on-screen keyboard behave the same as the built-in keyboard."

However, I don't believe I tried holding Shift on the USB keyboard and then clicking Restart (probably because no other keys on that keyboard appear to register when trying to enter the PIN).

In the meantime, I removed the NVMe and connected it to my PC using a USB adapter. The NVMe shows up as a drive but its contents are inaccessible. The customer has provided the digital recovery key but it's of no help if I can't access the drive. I'm not given a prompt to enter the recovery key, the LED on the NVMe just flashes continuously, and CD Info won't detect the drive when I re-scan disks. The drive has a drive letter but otherwise is inaccessible.

The owner says the drive is brand new, just bought a month ago. I hope his back-up is fairly current; he provided an external drive but I haven't checked it.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Tried to access the drive again this morning using a different USB - NVMe adapter and the drive was immediately detected and data is accessible. It's not encrypted and I'm backing up his user data now. Phew!

The symptoms are still unchanged with the drive in the laptop, i.e., keyboard does not echo/register at the login screen. However, I can select Choose login options and Forgot my PIN, so Windows is still alive beneath that screen display. That's what prompted me to try another USB adapter.

Not sure where to go from here once the data is backed up. The hardware error in Performance Report is worrisome, as is the state of the NVMe. A repair install is impossible, so all that's left is a fresh install.

 

[britechguy]

Well, inform the client of your findings and concerns, then let him decide how (or if) he wishes to proceed.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Well, inform the client of your findings and concerns, then let him decide how (or if) he wishes to proceed.

Yeah, already did that. Thanks.

 

[Larry Sabo]

However, I don't believe I tried holding Shift on the USB keyboard and then clicking Restart (probably because no other keys on that keyboard appear to register when trying to enter the PIN).

Tried that this morning and it doesn't result in an advanced boot option screen (where I would be presented with a Safe mode choice). It just reboots as if the shift key was not detected when I clicked Restart. Still wondering how to enter Safe mode when the keyboard malfunctions and there is no option to Change how Windows starts in the Troubleshooting options available when I boot from Win installation media and choose Repair this PC.

 

[britechguy]

Might option 3 from this page work?: https://robots.net/tech/how-to-start-asus-ultrabook-in-safe-mode/

 

[Larry Sabo]

Might option 3 from this page work?: https://robots.net/tech/how-to-start-asus-ultrabook-in-safe-mode/

I'll try that but doubt it will work, since I'm unable to log into the user account. The only option I haven't tried is the F8 at start-up, but that's so old I will be surprised (and pleased) if it does. Thanks for the suggestions nevertheless.

BTW, my client agrees that the laptop and the NVMe are untrustworthy. he's going to buy a new laptop and restore the data from the back-up I'm almost finished creating with Fabs.

 

[sapphirescales]

Sorry if this is insulting but has it occurred to you that the pin number may be numerics only? I seem to remember a long time ago thinking a keyboard didn't work because the pin number field would only accept numbers not letters

 

[Larry Sabo]

Sorry if this is insulting but has it occurred to you that the pin number may be numerics only? I seem to remember a long time ago thinking a keyboard didn't work because the pin number field would only accept numbers not letters

I'm not insulted and thanks for the reply. The "PIN" in this case is alpha-numeric. The only choice for another way to sign in is fingerprint. I have no idea whether he tried that or not.

 

[sapphirescales]

I'm not insulted and thanks for the reply. The "PIN" in this case is alpha-numeric. The only choice for another way to sign in is fingerprint. I have no idea whether he tried that or not.

Well hey it was worth a try. I felt like that such a moron myself when I realized that the PIN field would only accept numbers. Super relieved too because it was one of those terrible keyboards that's difficult to replace.

 

[britechguy]

The "PIN" in this case is alpha-numeric.

And don't get me started on the rant about alphanumeric "PINs," which are accurately called, wait for it . . . passwords!

 

[Porthos]

I have users just to use a 4-digit PIN since it is only to get them into the machine. Have them put the actual MS password in a safe place and warn them they will lose everything if they don't.

 

[britechguy]

I have users just to use a 4-digit PIN since it is only to get them into the machine. Have them put the actual MS password in a safe place and warn them they will lose everything if they don't.

I do pretty much the same thing, and if they have more than one machine, I use the same PIN on all of them since, both in theory and usually in practice, they have physical control over those machines and who gets to them. Since a PIN doesn't leave the machine, I'd rather make it as easy as possible on those using them.

But, for those who will do it, I still have them use their passwords. The only way I've ever found of ensuring that people know their passwords is to make them actually use them, and all of them for the various things they access frequently.

 

[Larry Sabo]

To conclude this saga: I managed to back up the customer's data (172GB) after connecting it to my PC using a different USB - NVMe adapter. After re-installing the NVMe, I got a BSOD (NTFS filesystem error). On restart, it went into Auto Repair and rebooted. There appeared to be no change but I decided to enter the password and just wait, hoping there was something like sticky keys going on. As I was entering the last 4 or 5 characters of the password, they echoed and Windows opened at the desktop! Ran SFC /Scannow which said it found and fixed errors, then DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth, which completed without comment.

The original problem appears to remain but it will log into Windows if I enter the password and just give it time to digest the input. Once logged in, the keyboard works normally. Windows is up-to-date. I ran MyASUS /System Update and it is now up-to-date. Even after that, the original problem remains.

I'm done.

 

[fincoder]

For future reference, another way to boot into safe mode is to power off during Windows startup, immediately after the Windows startup progress starts. Then turn on again and if it appears to be starting normally still, power off again. Then turning on a third time will go into Recovery Mode where you can choose startup options for safe mode.

 

[Larry Sabo]

For future reference, another way to boot into safe mode is to power off during Windows startup, immediately after the Windows startup progress starts. Then turn on again and if it appears to be starting normally still, power off again. Then turning on a third time will go into Recovery Mode where you can choose startup options for safe mode.

Thanks. I was able to get into Recovery Mode earlier, but when I selected "Change the way Windows starts" in the Troubleshoot options, nothing happened after that, i.e., it didn't present the choices on Start-up. The problem was solved, as describe in post #18.