Possible Critical Bug - Keyboard and mouse locks up computer

[Ben Ryder]

Hi Chaps,

I've had a reoccuring problem lately where after about half and hour of game play my key board and mouse lock up and no input get's through to the PC.

It might be my machine but I'm just checking to see if anyone else is getting similar.

The mouse light is on, the keyboard is active but unresponsive (I can tell as they both have indicator lights on them showing that they are powered).

The keyboard is wired and the mouse is a wireless one but it is attached directly via a usb cable. I have tried different ports. Drivers are up to date.

The PC is a high endish machine about two years old.

The keyboard is about 6 months to a year old and is also a niche highend one.

The mouse is maybe one or two years old and is a G700s.

No malware.

No virus.

Tried two different PSUs - one a 750 and the other a 1000w.

Running an SSD for the operating system - up to date windows 7.

Might be a simple case of running a windows repair tool, which is what I would like to do next. Any suggestions for quick tests or software that I can run in a few minutes to see if I can get a quick solution rather than fiddle for ages.

I haven't reported this as a bug yet in case it is isolated to my system and nothing to do with Elite Dangerous.

I remember reading about issues quiet some time back about dual screen set-ups and mice not working but that was months ago.

I'm puzzled.

 

[John Stoutbeard]

I can't really help you directly, altough I may be able to add some similar input issues I had with my own setup. For comparing notes regarding input issues.

Problem a) ... hm, 1.0 - 1.3 or so.
Running game in fullscreen mode, suddenly randomly, every 1 hour to 6 hour of running the game it would switch to the desktop. Game kept running in the background, I could switch back and keep flying.
Tried many different modes with Nvidia / non sli / drivers, no change in behaviour.
Bonus: Interesting moments during landing.
Workaround: use bordeless mode instead of fullscreen.

While the above took care of that strange 'ghost input' issue, problem b) occured.

Problem b) ... started on my old setup right after 1.3, 3-4 week into gameplay with 1.3.
The input for my joysticks (HOTAS Warthog) was suddenly triggered. Randomly during 1-6 hour of usage. All buttons on the joy stick was given a 'reset' or 'click' input.
Result was that I was getting 'Full speed boost' + 'weapon deployment & firing' + 'full up pitch and roll right' + 'FA off' + 'Chaff' + 'Heatsink deploy' + 'Cell boost' at the same time.
Many hilarous fines outside stations and quite a few interesting moments during landing.
Workaround: Get a new computer, OS and try again.

Problem c) ... on all editions.
At times up until 1.3, I've seen the keyboard and mouse input lock up - at some random stage (once a week+) if you click some part of the cockpit, some inputs may no longer work. Eg. Up / Down in th left / right panels not working. Pressing ESC to get back to the main menu always worked though.
Workaround: Restart the game

Old spec was Nvidia 680 SLI, Intel i7 35xx something, 850w Gold certified. Win 8.1. ~3 year. Problem a,b,c
New spec is Nvidia Titan X 12gb, Intel 5930k, 1200w platinum certified. Fresh Win 8.1. ~2 weeks. Problem a
Problem b not seen, event though these are the same input devices.
Waiting to see if problem c is present.

 

[Ben Ryder]

Mine was in borderlands view on dual screen and it locked up the keyboard input completely no matter weather I was actively in game or browsing on my second screen. So I've switched to full screen to see if it makes a difference. Have had to reset the pc via the box button each time the keyboard and mouse become unresponsive.

 

[John Stoutbeard]

Ben.
If you unplug all USB devices (I mean ALL) when the problem happens .. and then reinsert Keyboard + Mouse into a new USB slot, then what? Will it work?
Using a new USB port is essential, since it will force windows to re-enumrate the port & drivers, and reset it.
And not plugging in all the other devices at least will tell you whether you have a device issue or a power-usage (for the USB channel) issue.

 

[Aewarin Jameson]

When it locks, and you say the KB / Moue does not work ... I assume when you repeatedly press the capslock key the light doesn't go on or off ?

If not, then from my experience that's a HW lockup and (again, from my experience) was thermal related. Check the CPU / GPU cooling system is OK and firmly attached, plus consider downloading an app to sit in your taskbar to tell you the temp of CPU & GPU when running.

 

[Evil]

Yeah that sounds strange, maybe keep device manager open, see if it changes.

 

[Ben Ryder]

I'll try tye above. Heat shouldn't be a problem as it's happening within 30 minutes if the pc being turned on and the keyboard remains fully lit up. Will swap ports around again and double check caps lock. It is a very strange one. I can see the clock in the station ticking on and the little cars, radar dishes etc moving and contacts updating so the game hasn't frozen just keyboard and mouse becoming completely unresponsive.

 

[Evil]

I'll try tye above. Heat shouldn't be a problem as it's happening within 30 minutes if the pc being turned on and the keyboard remains fully lit up. Will swap ports around again and double check caps lock. It is a very strange one. I can see the clock in the station ticking on and the little cars, radar dishes etc moving and contacts updating so the game hasn't frozen just keyboard and mouse becoming completely unresponsive.

Oh yeah, have you tested different display modes? is this in full screen and windowed ?

 

[Aewarin Jameson]

I can see the clock in the station ticking on and the little cars, radar dishes etc moving and contacts updating so the game hasn't frozen just keyboard and mouse becoming completely unresponsive.

and neither has your PC HW locked up then as the display continues working ... unlikely to be thermal Ben.

 

[Phil^]

If its only recently started happening, it could have been a recent windows update from the last patch tuesday. those normally create system restore points before installing so it might be worth taking the system back to one?