Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Question: What do you do when your PC wants you to press F1 on boot, but you have no keyboard?
Answer: Hack together a USB dongle that does nothing but F1.
I admit that this is a silly problem and an even sillier solution, but the mind boggles at the possibilities: custom keypads for gaming, a Control+Alt+Delete "easy" button...
...any key or combination of keys can be broken out into an apparatus as keyboardy or keyboardless as you like, and used to do anything a keyboard can do!
Answer: Hack together a USB dongle that does nothing but F1.
I admit that this is a silly problem and an even sillier solution, but the mind boggles at the possibilities: custom keypads for gaming, a Control+Alt+Delete "easy" button...
...any key or combination of keys can be broken out into an apparatus as keyboardy or keyboardless as you like, and used to do anything a keyboard can do!
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1Why?
"Why not just fix the error, stupid?" you might ask, "These errors are there for a reason!"
Well, you are absolutely right (though calling me names was kind of mean).
The problem is, I'm building a publicly-accessible PC kiosk* (mouse only, no keyboard), and the components are squeezed into a rather small space. The donor PC featured a very tall heat sink/fan that just wouldn't fit, so I had to swap it out for a smaller one. The problem: the original fan was a four-wire model that talked to the motherboard, telling it soothing things like "I'm working." The replacement one I had on hand was a two-wire fan that refused to discuss anything with the motherboard. So on startup, the bios would report a failed CPU fan, and stop at a prompt: F1 to continue, F2 to enter startup... so my kiosk would sit there waiting for someone to press F1, and would be the lamest kiosk in history.
Of course, some of the warnings that show up during startup can be turned off in the BIOS (like the "keyboard error"), but my BIOS had no option for "don't worry about the CPU fan." If I knew more about the world, I may have been able to grab the two unused wires from the CPU fan swap, and add a resistor or some other little bit of hardware that would fool the motherboard. Instead, a dim light-bulb flickered above my head, and I performed the following test:
Plug in a USB keyboard, hold down F1, start PC, keeping F1 pressed.
Results:
I watched as the error popped onto the screen, then vanished.
The OS loaded fine, the browser opened fine; no "Help" pop up... in short, no ill effects from holding down F1.
So I assumed that the OS was smart enough to accept the F1and then ignore a "stuck key," and I decided that my silly plan was worth doing.
*'ible for that kiosk is now in progress...
Well, you are absolutely right (though calling me names was kind of mean).
The problem is, I'm building a publicly-accessible PC kiosk* (mouse only, no keyboard), and the components are squeezed into a rather small space. The donor PC featured a very tall heat sink/fan that just wouldn't fit, so I had to swap it out for a smaller one. The problem: the original fan was a four-wire model that talked to the motherboard, telling it soothing things like "I'm working." The replacement one I had on hand was a two-wire fan that refused to discuss anything with the motherboard. So on startup, the bios would report a failed CPU fan, and stop at a prompt: F1 to continue, F2 to enter startup... so my kiosk would sit there waiting for someone to press F1, and would be the lamest kiosk in history.
Of course, some of the warnings that show up during startup can be turned off in the BIOS (like the "keyboard error"), but my BIOS had no option for "don't worry about the CPU fan." If I knew more about the world, I may have been able to grab the two unused wires from the CPU fan swap, and add a resistor or some other little bit of hardware that would fool the motherboard. Instead, a dim light-bulb flickered above my head, and I performed the following test:
Plug in a USB keyboard, hold down F1, start PC, keeping F1 pressed.
Results:
I watched as the error popped onto the screen, then vanished.
The OS loaded fine, the browser opened fine; no "Help" pop up... in short, no ill effects from holding down F1.
So I assumed that the OS was smart enough to accept the F1and then ignore a "stuck key," and I decided that my silly plan was worth doing.
*'ible for that kiosk is now in progress...
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw80nMPv1Wc
I am a mechanical designer and run CAD programs all day with my right hand on the mouse and my left hand on a SpaceNavigator ( http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spacenavigator.html ). Often have to reach over and hit the F8 key to reset a view. Going to make one of these had have it right were I can hit it with my thumb without taking my hand off the SpaceNavigator.
Build it - they will come.
One line script;
Xbutton1::send {F8}
Is there a mouse available that has extra buttons?
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/mice-pointers/mice/devices/7244
If you're on OS X, I highly recommend ControllerMate, which allows you customize the behavior of almost all mice, keyboards, and joysticks (esp. ones w/o Mac drivers).
tnx!!!
You might actually benefit from something like this:
http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.169418900
17 buttons. "MMO optimized", but I use a DeathAdder for work (non-gaming) simply because it's more comfortable & works better than other mice I've tried. I have 5 buttons (including the mousewheel), and sometimes I wish I had a few more so I could bind them using AutoHotkey. I don't recommend razer's keyboards, but I've loved their mice.
You could also try something like this, but I think it looks awfully-designed:
http://www.warmouse.com/
Good luck!
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/comfort-mouse-4500/4FD-00006#n
In autohotkey the buttons a Left, Right, Middle, Xbutton1 & Xbutton2.
Also many (incl the above) come with software to program the buttons if you don't want to use autohotkey
Sorry for the confusion
Seems way easier.
Another possible option is to edit the bios, if there is an editor you can find that handles the core version and brand (Phoenix, Award, AMI, etc.), there is probably a setting that is hidden from the user interface, although there might even be a key combination that will get you to full control page when the system POSTS prior to booting, but it is harder to find this info as it can vary.
A note to other people: A constant *on* key can cause very weird behavior on some OS (including windows) depending on which it is, or constant beeping, or especially with PS2, loss of use of the other PS2 connected input device as the buffer is full from the /stuck/ key signal.
i can see it.
I did test the F1behavior before I went down this silly road, but I can see how the stuck key syndrome could truly bork things up in other circumstances...
Now, this assumes that the new fan/sink can shed enough heat to reliably run this thing.
Look in the BIOS for something like "HALT ON" or POST-Errors.