Modern USB mouse not working on PS2 port - wrong adaptor?
 

Would like to buy a KVM switch with PS2 plugs in the hope that it switches from one PC to another immediately (instead of taking several seconds like my present KVM switch with USB plugs).

A modern USB mouse would then be connected to the PS2 KVM switch. Got the adaptor but the mouse does not work when connected through this adaptor directly to the PS2 mouse port of a 533 MHz Celeron PC. Got another adaptor but this does not work either.

Is this because of a wrong USB-to-PS2 adaptor? Or must the mouse be replaced, if one must use a PS2 port because of a PS2 KVM switch?

What is an example of a proper optical wireless mouse that comes with a proper adaptor to connect to a PS2 port?

Yes, if you do not have a mouse that is labelled as PS2/USB or universal then a simple adapter will not work.

Not sure about wireless devices but here is one that lists both interfaces.
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Mic...FU8Q7Aod5WEA4w

Been there. Apparently the PS/2 port cannot provide enough power to the mouse.

Does a KVM switch exist with USB ports that can switch instantly between two PC's and not take several seconds for the mouse to become functional like a cheapo one that I have?

Ideally with manual controls on the front and sockets on the back?

Ideally with support for DVI-I (which includes analogue VGA, right? The VGA to DVI-I adaptor for the old PC I already have).

If no digital video switching can be found, does the DVI-I of the Asus P8C WS mobo with an i7-3770T cpu with onchip graphics include a VGA signal?

You may be asking too for much. However the Belkin Switch2 (google it) allows you to use a USB mouse and Keyboard on 2 PCs. Video is limited to VGA and switching is immediate as far as I remember.

As I said in my previous post the problem was that the PCs detected a "new" usb device each time I switched. This could be due to my setup. I haven't experimented again.

I have repaired stuff for a long time and have seen motherboards blown by bad adaptors. I stay as far away from them as possible - the only exception being AT keyboard - PS2 keyboard and vice versa.
USB and ps2 have different comms strategies. PS2 is synchronised (there is a clock) serial, and is only one directional half duplex, whereas usb has variable speed serial with bit stuffing, and is asynchronous and full duplex.

Did you delete that post? Was it about the same Belkin switch?

No, I didn't delete any posts. Either a post got deleted (it has happened to me here before) or the info got lost in an edit.

However: Yes I am referring to the same Belkin Switch. Every time I switched I got a "new USB device detected" message. This would ultimately create problems. As it was over a year ago I cannot remember any details. I solved the problem by giving my snazzy new Logitech laser mouse to my wife and reverting to PS/2.

So you used a PS2 mouse with an adaptor to the USB switch?

Mine does. It's a Belkin "Flip" I picked up at Radio Shack several years ago.

It switches almost instantaneously between two computers running Linux. When I have the dual-boot computer booted into Windows, though, there is a two- or three-second lag before it becomes active in Windows. The lag, therefore, is caused by Windows, not by the KVM switch. Q. E. D.

I shall try to tell the whole story in one go.

For years I have used a NewEgg 2 port KVM switch. This takes PS/2 mouse and Keyboard inuts and also a VGA monitor. I use 1280 x 1024 but I think it can go higher.

You switch by double tapping the Scroll Lock key. The screen goes black for, literally, 1 second and then you get the other machine, mouse working at once.

I then bought a Belkin USB keyboard. This plugged into the switch via a USB to PS/2 adapter with no problems.

At some time the switch began to misbehave after a long and honourable service so I replaced it with an identical one.

So far so very good.

I then bought a Logitech USB Laser Mouse. It worked OK when plugged directly into the PC, or to a powered hub, but not via the KVM switch. I was told that the PS/2 port could not provide enough power to drive the Laser Mouse.

I did the obvious and bought the Belkin Switch2 which is for USB devices rather than PS/2. You switch by pressing a button on a puck attached to the switch. The switching is fast but each time I switched the keyboard and mouse were detected as new devices. This would eventually lesd to problems. I cannot remember what they were but the matter was serious enough to make me go back to the NewEgg switch and a PS/2 mouse.

I hope this info helps.

Anything USB that works just as swiftly in windows and linux?

Any switch that takes input from a modern USB mouse giving it all the power it needs but sends the data to a PS/2 port?

Depending on:

1. How determined you are.
2. How good you are with a soldering iron

It MAY be possible to make a custom adapter.

USB uses 2 wires for the signal and 2 for 5V power. So one can conceive a setup where the mouse plugs into a box where the 2 data leads carry on to a PS/2 adapter and 5V are fed to the mouse.

USB is essentially a fieldbus variant and this is possible with, say, Profibus or ASIbus.

However check your piggy bank level before you start playing in this area. You may end up needing a new motherboard, if not more.

I specifically disclaim any responsibility for any damage this hack can cause. I'm just blueskying. OTOH, some rainy winter evening....

Usb does use two wires for send/receive, and two for clock.

May I remind folks that the PS/2 system has a clock lead. PS2/USB mouses (meece? mice?) may function wiothout the clock.

A better adapter to go for imho is a usb expander port. I have one for my Raspberry Pi and it takes 4 usb devices - enough for a keyboard and mouse certainly. There is the 100mA limit on each port to watch out for, but that aside3 it's the way forward.

Or use an existing USB to PS2 adapter, cut a USB cable to expose the power wires, connect them to the exposed power wires of another USB cable and plug this to a free USB port. Then any USB mouse can be powered from the USB port while sending data to the PS2 port.

Hopefully clocking is taken care of by the existing adapter. One clue about clocking: the adapters I have that do not work with a modern USB mouse, work with modern USB keyboards. What does this tell us? These adaptors are green and have a drawing of a mouse on them, if this says anything.

USB does not have a separate clock signal, Just data (two wire differential) and power. A PS/2 has both data and clock which are single ended signals. The mouse or keyboard must support both interfaces for those small adapters to work. If the device does not support both interfaces you can not just wire a differential signal into a single ended and expect it to work.

Here is a real converter. Check out the price...
http://www.blackbox.com/Store/Detail...KVUSB%C4%82PS2

We may be talking about different versions of the USB spec but in 1 and 2 one of the wires is +5V.

I charge my eReader, MP3 players and phone via USB.

Thanks for that adaptor link, this does what I thought my little green adaptors were doing.

Just out of curiosity, how can a keyboard support both PS2 and USB when it only has a USB cable and a little green adaptor with no electronics inside?

I don't know how it works except the mouse figures it out...

Hummm Very Interesting. I run a small PN (Personal Network) which consists of a Gateway/Firewall behind which 2-3 other computers are running -- usually a workstation, and "legacy" backup computer, and maybe a data storage computer. Having multiple keyboards and mice was a giant PITA. I bought a IOGEAR 4 port KVM (+A) controler. I use an old IBM 102 Model M Keyboard, and a Logitech TrackBall Mouse. I have Parkinson's Disease and Heavy and Stationary is important. The Logitech Mouse is a USB mouse, but comes with a USB --> PS/2 adapter. The Keyboard is a PS/2 keyboard plugs right in the PS/2 port of the KVM switch box; the PS/2 adapter plugs into the PS/2 Mouse port on the KVM switch box and the Logitech trackball mouse plugs into the adapter. The monitor hooks in, and so does the audio. Run the 4 pigtails to each of the computers. Each pigtail consists of a PS/2 Keyboard, PS/2 Mouse, Monitor, and Audio set of cables. to switch between computers simply hit [Ctrl] --> [Alt] --> [Shift] in that order -- FAST!!! Do it too SLOW and it does not record the entry sequence. If done correctly the Caps Lock and Scroll Lock lights will start to flash then enter the number of the computer (1-4) you wish to access and it will switch to that computer. This sure beats my former switch box which was via rotor dial. plus that did not have audio. The Logitech Trackball Mouse comes with its own adapter which is GREEN, so don't lose it.

What didn't you like about the rotor dial? The keyboard key sequence seems very counter-intuitive in comparison.

What about switch boxes that have 2 to 4 sticky buttons on them? Wouldn't like these either?

Actually the rotor dial was fine but it was manual which meant getting up, flip the switch to the desired computer, sit down, etc.. Standing up and sitting down has become harder as my Parkinson's has progressed, but actually the reason for switching was since it was a mechanical, something somewhere was no longer making a connection, and when it did connect it did some strange thing to the monitor image, until it got so bad I went in search of a new box. The IOGEAR was cheap enough so I went with my first , electronic KVM box -- now I don't even have to have to reach somewhere to punch a button, everything is done right from the keyboard: Entering Ctrl, Alt, Shift one at a time until the Caps Lock and Scroll Lock lights flash back and forth and entering the number of the computer (1-4) you want to access to is quite easy. The trick is entering the Ctrl, Alt, Shift sequence FAST so the the cap and scroll lights start flashing.

Without the cords etc the unit is about the size of a deck of playing cards which great. Probably the only thing I don't like about the unit is for some odd reason, they put the input connectors up front with the pigtail cables coming out the back. It would have been nicer if they had put two of the inputs -- say the PS/2 Keyboard and mouse on one side, and say the Monitor and Audio input on the other side, rather than front mounting all four. Still all in all this has proved to be an excellent little box.