USB hardware problems. Microsoft keyboard and mouse with ASUS motherboard.

I have a handful of hardware questions/issues.

First, I got a new Microsoft keyboard and mouse
Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 v1.0 and Wheel Mouse Optical USB

these were replacing an ailing a Microsoft Digital Media Pro keyboard and
Intellimouse Explorer 3.0

I have a Linksys switchbox so I can control two computers. This switchbox
doesn't take USB connectors so I use converters to the old round
mice/keyboard connectors.
When I first plugged in the new mouse and keyboard NEITHER machine
recognized them. Huh?
I tried plugging them directly into my newer computer with an Asus P5K-E
motherboard, the mouse going directly into a USB port but the keyboard going
into the keyboard port. The mouse was recognized but the keyboard was not.
So I took the adaptor off the keyboard and plugged it into a USB port and it
worked.
So what's going on? The old (not that old) Microsoft keyboard and mouse
worked fine with the switchbox/USB converters but neither these new ones
do?? Is this older USB vs USB 2.0 thing?
I'm sitting here right now with two keyboards and mice on my desk. Ugh.

The other curious thing (with the old hardware) is that since I got my
newer machine (1 week ago) I noticed that when I shut the machine off that
the USB peripherals are still on. They are still getting power! The mouse
and keyboard lights are still on and my external harddrive is as well even
though both machines are off. It must be this new Asus motherboard no?
Anyone have any idea of bios settings for an Asus P5K-E to shut off the USB
power when the machine is shut down?? One machine is an older PIII running
WinXP SP2 and the other is a newer machine running Vista Ultimate. Is this a
Vista thing?

thanks
mike

"mike" <> wrote in message
news:WP9mj.809$ rio.net...
>
> I have a handful of hardware questions/issues.
>
> First, I got a new Microsoft keyboard and mouse
> Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 v1.0 and Wheel Mouse Optical USB
>
> these were replacing an ailing a Microsoft Digital Media Pro keyboard and
> Intellimouse Explorer 3.0
>
> I have a Linksys switchbox so I can control two computers. This switchbox
> doesn't take USB connectors so I use converters to the old round
> mice/keyboard connectors.
> When I first plugged in the new mouse and keyboard NEITHER machine
> recognized them. Huh?
> I tried plugging them directly into my newer computer with an Asus P5K-E
> motherboard, the mouse going directly into a USB port but the keyboard
going
> into the keyboard port. The mouse was recognized but the keyboard was not.
> So I took the adaptor off the keyboard and plugged it into a USB port and
it
> worked.
> So what's going on? The old (not that old) Microsoft keyboard and mouse
> worked fine with the switchbox/USB converters but neither these new ones
> do?? Is this older USB vs USB 2.0 thing?
> I'm sitting here right now with two keyboards and mice on my desk. Ugh.
>
> The other curious thing (with the old hardware) is that since I got my
> newer machine (1 week ago) I noticed that when I shut the machine off that
> the USB peripherals are still on. They are still getting power! The mouse
> and keyboard lights are still on and my external harddrive is as well even
> though both machines are off. It must be this new Asus motherboard no?
> Anyone have any idea of bios settings for an Asus P5K-E to shut off the
USB
> power when the machine is shut down?? One machine is an older PIII running
> WinXP SP2 and the other is a newer machine running Vista Ultimate. Is this
a
> Vista thing?
>
> thanks
> mike
>
>
I am having the same problem with a new Dell USB keyboard I was given yester
day. I put a converter onto it and plugged it into my KVM switch and nothing
works. I don't have a solution as yet.

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.misc mike <> wrote:

> I have a handful of hardware questions/issues.

> First, I got a new Microsoft keyboard and mouse
> Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 v1.0 and Wheel Mouse Optical USB

> these were replacing an ailing a Microsoft Digital Media Pro keyboard and
> Intellimouse Explorer 3.0

> I have a Linksys switchbox so I can control two computers. This switchbox
> doesn't take USB connectors so I use converters to the old round
> mice/keyboard connectors.

Hmm. PS/2 is not hotpluggable. You may run into issues there.
And the converters themselves may also be an issue, since they
need to act as device emulatoprs on one side and devece driver
on the other.

> When I first plugged in the new mouse and keyboard NEITHER machine
> recognized them. Huh?

Not surprising. PS/2 cannot be ''recognized'' in a strict sense. There
is some very limited communication capability towards the keyboard,
but nothing like what USB offers.

> I tried plugging them directly into my newer computer with an Asus P5K-E
> motherboard, the mouse going directly into a USB port but the keyboard going
> into the keyboard port. The mouse was recognized but the keyboard was not.
> So I took the adaptor off the keyboard and plugged it into a USB port and it
> worked.

See above.

> So what's going on? The old (not that old) Microsoft keyboard and mouse
> worked fine with the switchbox/USB converters but neither these new ones
> do?? Is this older USB vs USB 2.0 thing?
> I'm sitting here right now with two keyboards and mice on my desk. Ugh.

The only real solution is to get an USB-enabled switchboz. The converters
are not general converters and cannot be. Also you should not hot-plug
PS/2 connectors. They are not designed for that. You can (in the worst
case) destroy the mainboard and the keyboard doing that. Mine (e.g.)
has fuses so there is at least no fire hazard, but if they blow,
soldering is required to make the connector work again.

That said, the risk is relatively small, since only one supply
voltage goes to the keyboard and reverse voltage (a sure chip-killer)
is not possible.

> The other curious thing (with the old hardware) is that since I got my
> newer machine (1 week ago) I noticed that when I shut the machine off that
> the USB peripherals are still on. They are still getting power!

You have the option to put USB-power on the stanby bower line.
Some mainboards let you change that, e.g. with a jumper.

> The mouse and keyboard lights are still on and my external harddrive
> is as well even though both machines are off. It must be this new
> Asus motherboard no?

For the PS?2 typically this is jumper-selectable. It is on mu ASUS board.

> Anyone have any idea of bios settings for an Asus P5K-E to shut off
> the USB power when the machine is shut down?? One machine is an
> older PIII running WinXP SP2 and the other is a newer machine
> running Vista Ultimate. Is this a Vista thing?

No connection to VIsta. This is hardware. And usually not a BIOS
setting.

Arno

On Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:12:36 -0800, "mike"
<> wrote:

>
> I have a handful of hardware questions/issues.
>
> First, I got a new Microsoft keyboard and mouse
> Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 v1.0 and Wheel Mouse Optical USB
>
> these were replacing an ailing a Microsoft Digital Media Pro keyboard and
>Intellimouse Explorer 3.0
>
> I have a Linksys switchbox so I can control two computers. This switchbox
>doesn't take USB connectors so I use converters to the old round
>mice/keyboard connectors.
> When I first plugged in the new mouse and keyboard NEITHER machine
>recognized them. Huh?
> I tried plugging them directly into my newer computer with an Asus P5K-E
>motherboard, the mouse going directly into a USB port but the keyboard going
>into the keyboard port. The mouse was recognized but the keyboard was not.
>So I took the adaptor off the keyboard and plugged it into a USB port and it
>worked.
> So what's going on? The old (not that old) Microsoft keyboard and mouse
>worked fine with the switchbox/USB converters but neither these new ones
>do?? Is this older USB vs USB 2.0 thing?
> I'm sitting here right now with two keyboards and mice on my desk. Ugh.
>
> The other curious thing (with the old hardware) is that since I got my
>newer machine (1 week ago) I noticed that when I shut the machine off that
>the USB peripherals are still on. They are still getting power! The mouse
>and keyboard lights are still on and my external harddrive is as well even
>though both machines are off. It must be this new Asus motherboard no?
>Anyone have any idea of bios settings for an Asus P5K-E to shut off the USB
>power when the machine is shut down?? One machine is an older PIII running
>WinXP SP2 and the other is a newer machine running Vista Ultimate. Is this a
>Vista thing?
>
> thanks
>mike
>

Please tell us the brand of KVM you're using.

I, too, have a PS/2 KVM. It's an Iogear 4-port model, and it
recognizes and works nicely with the PS/2 keyboard I have connected to
it via a USB-PS/2 adaptor. However, the reason I got it is that the
older Linksys switch I had did not work well this way. (I stayed with
a PS/2 KVM because one of the computers connected to it has only one
USB port, and I didn't want to complicate the setup with a hub for
that.)

Your problem may well be solved by updating your KVM switch to a later
model. If all the computers are USB capable, then certainly it would
be solved by getting a USB KVM switch.

Regarding your last question, in XP's Device Manager, you do have the
ability to "allow the computer to turn off" the USB Root Hubs "to save
power," but I do not know if that would solve your problem. In fact,
I think that option is checked by default. I don't know how Vista
works in this area. At any rate, I'm guessing that you probably want
to look to the OS for a solution rather than the BIOS.

Ron

> Please tell us the brand of KVM you're using.
>
> I, too, have a PS/2 KVM. It's an Iogear 4-port model, and it
> recognizes and works nicely with the PS/2 keyboard I have connected to
> it via a USB-PS/2 adaptor. However, the reason I got it is that the
> older Linksys switch I had did not work well this way. (I stayed with
> a PS/2 KVM because one of the computers connected to it has only one
> USB port, and I didn't want to complicate the setup with a hub for
> that.)
>
> Your problem may well be solved by updating your KVM switch to a later
> model. If all the computers are USB capable, then certainly it would
> be solved by getting a USB KVM switch.

Linksys 2-Port Compact

I never suspected with KVM. thanks
and had already thought it would be much simpler, with many fewer little
converters if the KVM was had USB connectors

mike

On Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:18:06 -0800, "mike"
<> wrote:

>
>> Please tell us the brand of KVM you're using.
>>
>> I, too, have a PS/2 KVM. It's an Iogear 4-port model, and it
>> recognizes and works nicely with the PS/2 keyboard I have connected to
>> it via a USB-PS/2 adaptor. However, the reason I got it is that the
>> older Linksys switch I had did not work well this way. (I stayed with
>> a PS/2 KVM because one of the computers connected to it has only one
>> USB port, and I didn't want to complicate the setup with a hub for
>> that.)
>>
>> Your problem may well be solved by updating your KVM switch to a later
>> model. If all the computers are USB capable, then certainly it would
>> be solved by getting a USB KVM switch.
>
> Linksys 2-Port Compact
>
> I never suspected with KVM. thanks
> and had already thought it would be much simpler, with many fewer little
>converters if the KVM was had USB connectors
>
>mike
>
As a matter of fact, the switch I replaced was a small Linksys as
mentioned above. I think you're going to need a new switch.
Interestingly, I use a MS mouse and keyboard that employ Intellitype
and Intellipoint software. Many of the special capabilities of this
software didn't work with the old Linksys switch, but all of them do
with the new Iogear. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with
Linksys. My problem was likely cause by the fact that the Linksys
switch was old. Updating to a late-model switch, regardless of
manufacturer, would probably have solved it.