riceboi

hi, i'm new to linux, i am currently dual booting with windows xp and linux mandrake 9.2 when the boot up screen comes up, i cant choose any options using a usb keyboard. so i hafto use a keyboard that plugs into the keyboard port. is there any way that i can use the usb port for my keyboard?? also is there a way to set windowsxp as default boot up?? thank you