Keyboard Failure with PS2/USB Adapter

I was reading a post from yesterday (1/6/07)
<>
about freeing up USB ports by using PS2 to USB adapters.

I've had the same problem, and the post prompted me to ask this.

My 4550 has two PS2 ports, one marked for a mouse, the other marked for a
keyboard. I've got a USB mouse connected to a PS2 adapter (that aqua
colored converter that comes with most USB mice, and has a mouse symbol
engraved on it), and plugged into the PS2 port. It works fine.

I was using the original Dell PS2 keyboard, but now have a slimmer Dell
keyboard that is USB. I don't want waste a USB connector, though. If I
connect the same PS2 adapter (above) to the keyboard, and plug it into
the PS2 keyboard port, I get Keyboard Failure on boot up.

Is the problem the adapter, or will no adapter work?. Are the ports
mapped on the motherboard to accept only certain peripherals?

There's two more USB ports in the front, under that hood where you have
to lay on the ground to plug anyting in thing, but I don't want to use
those ports. I may just have to get a USB hub for the back.

Boris wrote:
> I was reading a post from yesterday (1/6/07)
> <>
> about freeing up USB ports by using PS2 to USB adapters.
>
> I've had the same problem, and the post prompted me to ask this.
>
> My 4550 has two PS2 ports, one marked for a mouse, the other marked for a
> keyboard. I've got a USB mouse connected to a PS2 adapter (that aqua
> colored converter that comes with most USB mice, and has a mouse symbol
> engraved on it), and plugged into the PS2 port. It works fine.
>
> I was using the original Dell PS2 keyboard, but now have a slimmer Dell
> keyboard that is USB. I don't want waste a USB connector, though. If I
> connect the same PS2 adapter (above) to the keyboard, and plug it into
> the PS2 keyboard port, I get Keyboard Failure on boot up.
>
> Is the problem the adapter, or will no adapter work?. Are the ports
> mapped on the motherboard to accept only certain peripherals?
>
> There's two more USB ports in the front, under that hood where you have
> to lay on the ground to plug anyting in thing, but I don't want to use
> those ports. I may just have to get a USB hub for the back.


The usb->ps2 mouse adapters are wired different form the ones for the
keyboard.

<Boris> wrote in message
news:. ..
>I was reading a post from yesterday (1/6/07)
> <>
> about freeing up USB ports by using PS2 to USB adapters.
>
> I've had the same problem, and the post prompted me to ask this.
>
> My 4550 has two PS2 ports, one marked for a mouse, the other marked for a
> keyboard. I've got a USB mouse connected to a PS2 adapter (that aqua
> colored converter that comes with most USB mice, and has a mouse symbol
> engraved on it), and plugged into the PS2 port. It works fine.
>
> I was using the original Dell PS2 keyboard, but now have a slimmer Dell
> keyboard that is USB. I don't want waste a USB connector, though. If I
> connect the same PS2 adapter (above) to the keyboard, and plug it into
> the PS2 keyboard port, I get Keyboard Failure on boot up.
>
> Is the problem the adapter, or will no adapter work?. Are the ports
> mapped on the motherboard to accept only certain peripherals?
>
> There's two more USB ports in the front, under that hood where you have
> to lay on the ground to plug anyting in thing, but I don't want to use
> those ports. I may just have to get a USB hub for the back.
>

It's giving you a failure as it isn't seeing a keyboard. If you go into
the BIOS and disable the reporting of keyboard failures, it should work.

The USB to PS/2 adapters that come with a mouse will only work with a mouse.
They won't work with a keyboard.

You need an adapter that's marked specifically for use with a keyboard.

Like this one...

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0235285
(this one I've used)
or perhaps this one.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0233513
Which I've never used.



<Boris> wrote in message
news:. ..
>I was reading a post from yesterday (1/6/07)
> <>
> about freeing up USB ports by using PS2 to USB adapters.
>
> I've had the same problem, and the post prompted me to ask this.
>
> My 4550 has two PS2 ports, one marked for a mouse, the other marked for a
> keyboard. I've got a USB mouse connected to a PS2 adapter (that aqua
> colored converter that comes with most USB mice, and has a mouse symbol
> engraved on it), and plugged into the PS2 port. It works fine.
>
> I was using the original Dell PS2 keyboard, but now have a slimmer Dell
> keyboard that is USB. I don't want waste a USB connector, though. If I
> connect the same PS2 adapter (above) to the keyboard, and plug it into
> the PS2 keyboard port, I get Keyboard Failure on boot up.
>
> Is the problem the adapter, or will no adapter work?. Are the ports
> mapped on the motherboard to accept only certain peripherals?
>
> There's two more USB ports in the front, under that hood where you have
> to lay on the ground to plug anyting in thing, but I don't want to use
> those ports. I may just have to get a USB hub for the back.
>

"HDRDTD" <> wrote in
news: :

> http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...roduct_id=0235
> 285

Uh, don't think those are what I need. I want to connect to the PS2
connection on the back of the tower. I don't want to plug into a USB port
on the tower.

"HDRDTD" <> wrote in
news: :

> The USB to PS/2 adapters that come with a mouse will only work with a
> mouse. They won't work with a keyboard.
>
> You need an adapter that's marked specifically for use with a
> keyboard.
>
> Like this one...
>
> http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...roduct_id=0235
> 285 (this one I've used)
> or perhaps this one.
>
> http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...roduct_id=0233
> 513 Which I've never used.
>
>
>
> <Boris> wrote in message
> news:. ..
>>I was reading a post from yesterday (1/6/07)
>> <>
>> about freeing up USB ports by using PS2 to USB adapters.
>>
>> I've had the same problem, and the post prompted me to ask this.
>>
>> My 4550 has two PS2 ports, one marked for a mouse, the other marked
>> for a keyboard. I've got a USB mouse connected to a PS2 adapter
>> (that aqua colored converter that comes with most USB mice, and has a
>> mouse symbol engraved on it), and plugged into the PS2 port. It
>> works fine.
>>
>> I was using the original Dell PS2 keyboard, but now have a slimmer
>> Dell keyboard that is USB. I don't want waste a USB connector,
>> though. If I connect the same PS2 adapter (above) to the keyboard,
>> and plug it into the PS2 keyboard port, I get Keyboard Failure on
>> boot up.
>>
>> Is the problem the adapter, or will no adapter work?. Are the ports
>> mapped on the motherboard to accept only certain peripherals?
>>
>> There's two more USB ports in the front, under that hood where you
>> have to lay on the ground to plug anyting in thing, but I don't want
>> to use those ports. I may just have to get a USB hub for the back.
>>
>
>
This may be what I need. But, the description says for a kbd, while the
'instructions' say "Simply plug this compact adapter into any PS/2 port,
then connect your mouse." Note the word 'mouse'.

Boris <Boris> wrote in
newsIednU-:

snip

> This may be what I need. But, the description says for a kbd, while
> the 'instructions' say "Simply plug this compact adapter into any PS/2
> port, then connect your mouse." Note the word 'mouse'.
>
Upon further inspection, I think it is the proper adapter, because it's
colored purple, which is the kbd color code. Plus, on the same webpage,
they show the green colored connector, a different P/N, for the mouse.
I think they must have just (incorrectly) pasted the instructions for
the mouse to the instructions for the kbd.

Hi!

> Is the problem the adapter, or will no adapter work?. Are the ports
> mapped on the motherboard to accept only certain peripherals?

The problem is likely the keyboard. You see, devices that ship with the USB
to PS/2 port adapters in the box are designed to accept at least two
different kinds of signalling and adapt their communications accordingly.

The Dell keyboard you have with the USB connector on it was probably never
designed to understand communications over a PS/2 port. Therefore, with the
adapter installed, it doesn't understand how to respond in a way that your
computer can understand.

I'm not sure why there are posters stating that the little (and usually
green) adapters coming with a mouse won't work with a keyboard. All the USB
to PS/2 port adapters I've seen seem to have the same internal wiring. I've
purchased some keyboards that came with that same green adapter. Some even
still had the mouse symbol on them, while others were black and had no
symbol on them at all.

William