I *think* it might be more subtle than that. Those mice / keyboards that came with PS2 to USB adaptors were generally provisioned for that, eg, not all Mice / Keyboards are created equal?
Cheers, T i m
No.
PS/2 is interrupt driven, but USB runs in a polling mode. USB on keyboards can therefore be slower and not handle proper n-key rollover. Also USB has to go through layers of the operating system, PS/2 is much more hardware-ba sed.
Wikipedia:
Many keyboards and mice were specifically designed to support both the USB and the PS/2 interfaces and protocols, selecting the appropriate connection type at power-on. Such devices are generally equipped with a USB connector and ship with a passive wiring adapter to allow connection to a PS/2 port. Such passive adapters are not standardized and may therefore be specific t o the device they came with. They cannot be used to adapt other devices to PS/2 ports.[citation needed]
While combi-devices supporting USB and PS/2 are still available, most USB k eyboards and mice in the 2010s no longer come with or even support the PS/2 protocol.[citation needed] Connecting them to a PS/2 port would require an adapter, actively translating between the protocols. Such adapters only su pport certain classes of USB devices such as keyboards and mice, but are no t model- or vendor-specific.
Older PS/2-only peripherals can be connected to a USB port via an active ad apter, which generally provides a pair of PS/2 ports at the cost of one USB port.
Owain
If it's a mechanical switch you might get away with running USB1 signals through it just using 2 adaptors.
NT
Was that a 'No, they aren't all created equal' (as your other text seems to support)?
Ok, but not sure what that has to do with connectivity / functionality though?
Ok.
That's what I said isn't it?
And that. ;-)
And that! ;-)
And others have said that (and I have such an adaptor ('Trust' I think)). ;-)
Whilst USB keyboards and mice are generally good for flexibility (not all PC's have PS2 pots these days but most have USB if using a USB only KVM switch (like this Mac Mini for instance)), often (on older machines) you actually need a PS2 keyboard to be able to get into the BIOS to enable legacy support of the keyboard (for use in the BIOS etc). ;-)
So, if I'm working on a PC that is going to be left as-is and isn't particularly overburdened with USB ports, I'll often (still) choose PS2 keyboard and mouse for that.
Cheers, T i m
ds can therefore be slower and not handle proper n-key rollover.
hardware-based.
SB and the PS/2 interfaces and protocols, selecting the appropriate connect ion type at power-on.
passive wiring adapter to allow connection to a PS/2 port. Such passive ad apters are not standardized and may therefore be specific to the device the y came with. They cannot be used to adapt other devices to PS/2 ports.[cita tion needed]
B keyboards and mice in the 2010s no longer come with or even support the P S/2 protocol.[citation needed] Connecting them to a PS/2 port would require an adapter, actively translating between the protocols. Such adapters only support certain classes of USB devices such as keyboards and mice, but are not model- or vendor-specific.
adapter, which generally provides a pair of PS/2 ports at the cost of one USB port.
Yes, PS/2 is in reality a better option. Not all PCs support USB pre-boot.
NT
'Can be'.
But many can be set to, certainly for stuff on non USB3 ports (I think). ;-)
Cheers, T i m
Yup sorry fat fingers! Make that a "dumb" adaptor.
Yup those are what you could call dumb adaptors - in that they are just two connectors wired back to back with no electronics.
They work fine *if* the keyboard was designed to support both USB and PS/2 protocols, and can detect and switch to the right one depending on what it senses its connected to. Many modern keyboards no longer seem to support the PS/2 bit - so although the adaptor will let you physically connect it, it won't actually work.
Its an attractive idea, although I don't hold out much hope since the KVM itself is controlled* from the keyboard... It also has the capability to alter things like key repeat rate and delay.
Even those can be problematic. I found on one mobo upgrade I ended up with only one PS/2 port and had to use an adaptor. I found some would periodically lock up. Others that would not pass all key strokes (typically losing the backslash key on UK keyboards). In the end the best bet was finding one that odes not lockup too often and running the mouse on it, leaving the real port for the KB.
While that was true, I have not found any recent (i.e. last 5 years or more) mobos that can't use USB mice right from boot.
Modern Intel chip sets can be a PITA installing older versions (inc 7) of windows certainly, since they only have USB3 hardware - and that is not supported during a normal win7 install. Hence you have to play about with distribution packages and create a slipstreamed install to be able to get through the installation process.
temporary PCI card for USB2?
Yes, that no was a no, yes.
Owain
When you have space, that can work. Last one I needed to do was an Intel i5 NUC like:
(the whole thing is about the size of a stack of 3 CD cases, so not a lot of room for expansion!)
Yeah, I've used them (and the compute sticks) if only the AMT/vPro virtual KVM was easily accessible, rather than just sitting there as a security hole ...
I did find a very nice one in the end (a fiver on eBay, a tenner on Amazon). And it was the only one that didn't suffer from the 'lost backslash' problem.
(I use Model M keyboards, strictly 'old skool' PS/2, everywhere!)
Yup, second or third time lucky I got one that worked mostly. Still get the occasional lock up on it - but probably only once per year.
I was contemplating whether its worth going for a modern buckling spring switched one... I think cherry blue may suit me better though (especially as I do a fair bit of typing while on the phone!)
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