Re: Old non-USB keyboard with USB-only PC?
- From: "David Cheatham" <spamtrap@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:49:46 -0400
Hula Baloo wrote:
I have a friend who recently got a new PC with ONLY USB ports (i.e.
legacy free - no PS2, serial, parallel, etc.) who would love to
continue using a really old keyboard. I got the hardware adaptors,
and plugged into several USB ports; however Windows XP fails to
recognize the old keyboard because it wasn't designed for plug and
play operation. If I remove the PS2 to USB adaptor and plug this KB
into another PC, it works fine, but I haven't been able to find a way
to make it work with the PS2 to USB adaptor. I tried the "Add New
Hardware" applet, reloading drivers from Device Manager, but haven't
found a workable solution. So if any of you fine knowledgable people
know of a way to do this, please let me know! I keep telling this
friend that she can buy a new USB keyboard for less than she's spent
on the adaptors, but she's in love with the dinosaur keyboard. If
any of you kind experts know how to make a non-plug and play KB work
with USB adaptors (with XP), please let me know. Thank you very much
in advance.
How big is this 'adaptor'?
If it's about the size of a five quarters on top of each other, and
came with a keyboard or mouse, and is probably green, it's not a
'adapter'...it's a *physical* plug convertor. This converts a USB plug
to a ps2 plug, which works fine on any keyboard (or mouse) that
expected that sort of thing.
If you have a keyboard that *doesn't* expect that, and doesn't know
what USB is, you need an *actual* ps2->USB converter, with circuitry in
it. These will honestly and truly convert *any* device that plugs into
a ps2 socket to work via USB. (At least, any keyboard or mouse device,
but I don't think anything else ever plugged into those.)
Think of it like electrical plugs. Computer power supplies have a
switch in the back for 110/220, so all you need to operate one, no
matter where you are, is a cable that will physically fit in the socket.
However, your TV probably doesn't talk the other voltage, so you need
an actual voltage adjuster. Even if you could physically plug your TV
into the socket, it wouldn't work. (And possibly explode, so don't test
that.)
Likewise, newer keyboards can do USB or ps2. Some have ps2 plugs that
can be altered to USB, some have USB plugs that can be altered to ps2,
so they physically fit in the socket, and then they talk whatever they
detect. Older keyboards can just do ps2, and must have electronics
inbetween them and any USB socket, because they can't talk USB at all.
I got a dual-plug adapter for both keyboard and mouse for 7 bucks a
tigerdirect.
--
My email address needs to have the left-hand side replaced with my
first name
.
- References:
- Old non-USB keyboard with USB-only PC?
- From: Hula Baloo
- Old non-USB keyboard with USB-only PC?
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