Keyboad crashing Coprocessor

[Licht360.de]

Hy,

 

since ZerOS 7.1 we have strange problems with our desks using USB keyboards (Cherry G84-4100 USB).

 

On our LeapFrog 48 the keyboard crashes the coprocessor so that the desk gets unaccessible and an error is displayed on startup.

 

On our LeapFrog 96 the LEDs on the keyboard are blinking and the keyboard does not work. On this desk the problem appears randomly and after some reboots the keyboard works as expected.

 

We've allready changed the keyboards and connected them to different USB ports. With ZerOS 6.x we had no problems like this...

 

Any ideas?

 

Regards,

 

Jo

[Jon Hole]

Hi Jo,

 

What is the error that you see on startup?

 

Do you get the same problem if you plug the keyboard in after the console has booted up?

 

Thanks for reporting the issue, your help with these questions will help us look further into the problem.

 

Many Thanks,

[Licht360.de]

Hi Jon,

 

today I've connected two new and unused keyboards (same type like the old ones) and... eveything went fine!

 

Seams like the three keyboards I took for testing are broken and causing the problems. The only thing I do not understand is that the old keyboards are working fine on a PC. I'll keep you informed on the results of further examination...

 

Regards, Jo

[Johnny]

Pulling this one up...

 

I am experiencing the same problem with OS 7.4.0 and a cherry USB keyboard. The desk is a LeapFrog 48.

On startup the desk checks and says the coprocessors are fine. The keyboard is working only randomly. Since this is a new keyboard I hardly believe it's the keyboards fault.

 

I've noticed this usually appears shortly after I removed and reinserted the USB storage device for backing up my shows. And, of course, everytime I am about to program a new show...

 

Usually the problem will go away after a few days and a couple of reboots, but it's still very irritating. Anyone else with the same problem?

 

Another observation made:

When powering on the desk, the keyboards LED will light up (Num Lock, Caps Lock) and evidently work (You can turn on/off NumLock, for example). But as soon as ZerOS starts booting up, the LEDs will go out and the keyboard is not going to eact any further. So it is definitely something about the OS.

[Johnny]

Please, this is really driving me nuts.Just today, I only have two hours for programming, and I spend one hour just rebooting the desk over and over again. Please tell me that Zero88 is aware of this problem and is working to fix it.

[Jon Hole]

Hi Johnny,

 

Please could you give me the full model number of the keyboard you are experiencing these problems with?

 

Many thanks,

[Johnny]

Hi Jon,

 

I am using a no-name USB keyboard. The manufacturer is HiPoint and the model no is KBUSB-BLK.

The cherry keyboard mentioned above has been removed. It works fine with a computer.

 

However, I have noticed the same error with both keyboards (and the ones previously used, which were earlier replaced due to their german layout).

[Jon Hole]

Hi Johnny,

 

Searching for the HiPoint keyboard you mention above shows many different keyboards.

 

Please could you give me a link to the one you have? Ideally somewhere where I can buy one for us to test?

 

Does the keyboard have media keys, or any 'additional' keys that aren't always found on a basic keyboard?

 

Regards,

[Johnny]

Hi Jon,

 

I can't find that specific keyboard either. I ordered it from amazon.co.uk six months ago. I guess any low-priced USB-keyboard (less than 10 pounds) is basically manufactured the same.

 

As I wrote above, the problem did not only occur with that speific keyboard either. Before, I had at least two different keyboards (one logitech, the other I can't remember) running with the desk and encountering the same problem from time to time. I then decided to try a keyboard with QWERTY layout. This is the one I am still using. But the problem doesn't seem to be connected to a single keyboard model.

 

the keyboard has no multimedia keys or trackpad.

just a plain keyboard with a numeric keypad.

[Johnny]

hrmph..

ok now i start blaming the keyboard as well. I just plugged in another keyboard just to make sure the desks usb port isn't broken and - tadaa! - it did work fine.

still i would prefer a qwerty-layout keyboard. what kind of keyboards would you recommend are worth the money? i stumbled across this one on amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-USB-Led-Multimedia-Keyboard/dp/B002Z2YS1I/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1350316719&sr=8-6 looks very neat especially with the LED illumination would make it a lot easier to work the desk with the light turned off. do you think the multimedia keys will mean trouble again?

[Jon Hole]

Hi Johnny,

 

So long as that keyboard keeps within the USB specs, then it should work - the same as any USB keyboard.

 

However, I have no experience with that specific keyboard, so I can't comment directly.

 

Regards,

[Johnny]

Just to give you an update on my experiences:

the KÖNIG USB LED keyboard mentioned above works like a charm. the LED illuminated keys are very usefuland very good to read in darkness and the additional media keys made no trouble whatsoever.

the only downsides are:

USB illumination is not automatically lit when the desk is being powered on.

the arrow keys are well hidden and the home-, page up/down- and insert-keys are also not where one wuld expect them to be, sp you will not find these without looking at the keyboard.