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Peripherals Mouse & Keyboard no longer working in Windows 8.1

Discussion in 'Tech Support' started by Shirty, 6 Jan 2015.

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  1. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    Right then, update time. I tried sfc and dism, neither of which found any issues. Then I decided to do a system restore as the last checkpoint was only from 2nd January and not much has been done on there in the last few days.

    It worked!

    But then... upon reboot the behaviour returned. So I ran a restore again just now, and it's working fine. I have a sneaking suspicion that on the next reboot the issue will return, at which point I'll grab a screenie of the restore dialog and post it up here, because I think it contains clues. Clues I was too impatient to look at properly before.

    Hopefully the hive mind of Bit will be able to solve this without me needing to do anything drastic like install Windows 10 :D
     
    Shirty, 6 Jan 2015
    #21
  2. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    Right then, does this give any clues as to my predicament?

    [​IMG]

    It's gotta be something in there surely.
     
    Shirty, 6 Jan 2015
    #22
  3. Corky42

    Corky42 Where's walle?

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    Do they work in safe mode ?
     
    Corky42, 7 Jan 2015
    #23
  4. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    Well then. It was Avast (free). Ripped that off following another restore and the mouse/keyboard are still there following multiple reboots.

    Naughty Avast!
     
    Shirty, 7 Jan 2015
    #24
  5. GoodBytes

    GoodBytes How many wifi's does it have?

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    Just use MSE (built-in Windows 8). Yes it's not the best A/V in the world, but it is non-intrusive, doesn't slow your system, and with safe web surfing practice you are plenty good.

    If you feel you better install whatever A/V once in a while and do a scan and remove it.
     
    GoodBytes, 7 Jan 2015
    #25
  6. wolfticket

    wolfticket Downwind from the bloodhounds

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    Bad Avast, naughty AV!

    I've been using Avira Free for a bit now if you want a free AV that sounds a bit like Avast but isn't Avast.

    Seems fine and is fairly highly rated as I recall.
     
    wolfticket, 8 Jan 2015
    #26
  7. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    I see this advice a lot; shame it's not true. Sure, a very easy way to get your system infected is to download hooky software from some Ukrainian warez¹ site, but even if you only visit legitimate websites you can still get a drive-by downloader infecting your system. A common technique is to break into advertising networks and plant malware, with the result that the malware is then distributed on perfectly legitimate sites - like The Jerusalem Post, FHM, and Yahoo. Bear in mind that these aren't little fly-by-night ad networks, either: Zedo, Yahoo, AOL and even Google's DoubleClick have fallen victim in the past.

    So, I'd argue that 'safe web surfing practice' combined with a known-ineffective anti-virus package is not enough to ensure your safety if you're a Windows user. There's a reason my Windows machine has a highly independently rated AV package plus Microsoft's EMET on there, and it ain't because I make a habit of visiting dodgy sites.

    ¹ Do we still say "warez," or is that a bit 90s? S'all "torrents" now, I suppose. Bah, I remember when this was all fields^WGopher.
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 8 Jan 2015
    #27
  8. Corky42

    Corky42 Where's walle?

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    IDK why people use Avast TBH, out of all the AV solutions that's the one that always seems to cause problems.
     
    Corky42, 8 Jan 2015
    #28
  9. GoodBytes

    GoodBytes How many wifi's does it have?

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    Unrealistic situation. That is like saying that your home network security is totally insecure as a hacker can specifically target you (instead of using what is normally used: bots) and enter your network. Can it happen? Yes for sure. It's not your home router that will protect you against a direct attack. But should we all spend a fortune on dedicated firewall hardware like what (some) companies do, and hire security experts to make sure everything is extra secure? No! It's unrealistic. Sure, it COULD happen. But extremely uncommon.
     
    GoodBytes, 8 Jan 2015
    #29
  10. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Do you also refuse to wear a seatbelt, because you consider yourself a safe driver?
     
    David, 8 Jan 2015
    #30
  11. GoodBytes

    GoodBytes How many wifi's does it have?

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    The risk driving a car are higher than being infected by a genuinely well written virus.
    Also, a computer can be re-installed in no time and have backups. A life can't, at least, not today.

    Do you put bubble wrap around you, and live in a bubble? Going out and getting sick or killed are actually insanely high. But that you don't care at that level, I see. Why not? Oh right, because it is a compromised, in terms of mobility (all aspects), comfort and communication just to name a few. Hmm, interesting.. compromise, I like that word.
     
    Last edited: 8 Jan 2015
    GoodBytes, 8 Jan 2015
    #31
  12. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I gave up trying to read that.

    How about you calm down, have a cup of tea and a biscuit and then try again. In English this time, please.
     
    David, 8 Jan 2015
    #32
  13. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    I've read this three times now, and I still have no idea what your argument is. In case it was unclear, my argument was that 'safe browsing habits' will not protect you against malware infection any more than pulling out will protect you from pregnancy and STDs, and that given the choice between two free anti-virus packages it might be a good idea not to use the one that's been excoriated in every single independent evaluation.

    (And, incidentally, a home router does a very, very good job of protecting you from external attacks; unless there's a vulnerability in the router itself or you've forwarded ports to an internal system, they ain't getting in. I have no idea what this, or the suggestion that 'we all spend a fortune on dedicated firewall hardware', has to do with the matter at hand, though.)
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 8 Jan 2015
    #33
  14. theshadow2001

    theshadow2001 [DELETE] means [DELETE]

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    Your absolutely right. It's so uncommon and unrealistic it's not worth considering
     
    theshadow2001, 8 Jan 2015
    #34
  15. GoodBytes

    GoodBytes How many wifi's does it have?

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    Yea well, I am not infected. Use a better web browser if you need to.
    Don't click on the the obvious ad.

    And I didnt' say go with no A/V.

    All I am saying, you don't need an A/V that thinks that my software that I am developing now is a virus, that Visual Studio compiler is a virus, that thinks that a mouse and keyboard are a virus and that Windows Updates are viruses causing many people to re-install their system. Not to mention, some of them makes your fancy 3000$ computer, runs like a Pentium 4 with a highly fragmented 5400RPM HDD.

    There is protection, an there is overzealous protection.

    No one here has a bullet proof and bomb proof car, with reinforced car body cage (like race cars), 6 axis seat belt, neck protector and helmet. Oh and fire retardant vest. I can provide you with lots of cars hit by bullets, bombs, catch fire, and fall into an accident.

    Here, even a fellow bit-techer got hit and nearly killed by a 20lb piece of concrete from an overpass which fell on him, as he was driving.

    http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=203590


    Yet I am not saying to drive a car with rotten wood wheels, no car bumpers, no seat belt, no windshield, no air bags and so on.
     
    Last edited: 8 Jan 2015
    GoodBytes, 8 Jan 2015
    #35
  16. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    As far as you know.
    Find me a web browser that hasn't had a security vulnerability, and I'll switch from Firefox immediately. Good luck with that.
    I think you might not understand the meaning of 'drive-by download.' When an advertising network starts serving malicious adverts, you don't need to click on them: just viewing a web page containing the malicious code is enough, as they exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in browsers to silently execute the malware on the visiting system. Every time you see a browser patch which contains the phrase "remote code execution" in the release notes? Yeah, that's fixing a hole that has been used to install malware without anyone clicking on a damn thing.

    You're still failing to address my central point, which is this: given the choice between an anti-virus program which costs nothing and has been proven to offer 73-78% protection and an anti-virus program which costs nothing and has been proven to offer 100% protection, why would you choose the former?
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 8 Jan 2015
    #36
  17. GoodBytes

    GoodBytes How many wifi's does it have?

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    No A/V is 100%. That is complete B.S.
    I would pick 73% any day one. As explained above. Another point I missed is how many A/V are extremely intrusive.

    And you still didn't answer me about the car.
     
    GoodBytes, 8 Jan 2015
    #37
  18. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Did you look at the link and read the testing methodology? A 100% AVTest score means the anti-virus on test detected 100% of viruses in the test corpus. Not BS at all; a very good way of testing how accurate an anti-virus program is at detecting viruses.
    You haven't explained anything. To borrow your car analogy: let's say I come to your house tonight and swap the seatbelts out for new ones. You have a choice between two identical seatbelts: one snapped during 27% of impacts during crashes; the other did not snap at all. Which do you choose?
    That's because when I wrote my reply, your post consisted of three sentences and didn't mention a car. But okay, here's my response: you're right, no bit-techers have a car that's bomb-bullet-and-falling-concrete-proof. However, if I offered to upgrade a given bit-techer's car to include protection against bombs-bullets-and-falling-concrete that stopped 100% of bombs-bullets-and-falling-concrete during independent testing at absolutely no cost to themselves and with little to no impact on the performance of the vehicle, how many would say no - regardless of how rare your vehicle being at risk of bombs, bullets and falling concrete might actually be?
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 8 Jan 2015
    #38
  19. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    You're all doing it wrong. I just put an extra thin condom over my Ethernet cable, seems to be working so far.

    In fact it's working a bit too well, as it doesn't seem to allow any traffic in our out of my PC...
     
    Shirty, 8 Jan 2015
    #39
  20. jinq-sea

    jinq-sea 'write that down in your copy book' Super Moderator

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    I call lie, Shirty. I know you use wireless. (Or at least you used to). What you meant to say is you put a tin-foil connie over your wi-fi antenna (or something) ;)
     
    jinq-sea, 8 Jan 2015
    #40
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