My bro got an old computer from the school...

Plugged monitor in and it turns on but i get "Keyboard error: no keyboard detected, press F1 to continue!" ahah..

So im not sure which port is even the keyboard!

There's a port with "Scanman - printer" written on it that has a picture of a mouse by it and a mouse would indeed fit there..

So i took some pics...

I know they're bad ;-;

But what can you tell me about it?

http://cait.netdojo.com/pix/Comp1.jpg
http://cait.netdojo.com/pix/Comp2.jpg
http://cait.netdojo.com/pix/Comp3.jpg

The last pic you posted, seems to show an old type keyboard socket at the upper right of the cutout, just above the 2 "D"type connectors. Most keyboards now come with either a PS/2 or USB connector, but there are adapters about. (I have a couple myself!) Or, perhaps you could find an old type keyboard with the right plug.

I am not sure what is meant by scanman, but it doesn't look like a keyboard port to me, nor a mouse for that matter. (both are actually the same, I think it does matter which port is which on some old computers and maybe the same with new...) I agree, the port next to the two D type connectors could be the right plug.

I agree with the general feeling of others here, in that the 5-pin DIN socket beside the "D" plugs is your keyboard connector. This appears to be an very old AT-based machine, as all the ATX, Mini-ATX and other breeds of motherboard use PS/2 for keyboard and mouse. You will need either an older AT keyboard with the 5-pin DIN plug on the end of it's lead, or as do as david_eaton suggested and buy an adapter - they are very cheap. Any PS/2 keyboard will work with an adapter on this machine. As for the socket marked "Mouse", I also agree with others in that I don't think this is a mouse connector. Me thinks that the socket has actually been mis-labeled. It looks like it could be the input for a video-capture adapter - I have seen these strange kind of adapters on video capture cards, but if this machine is indeed AT-hardware based, no capture card would work with it, as the machine would simply be too slow, so it's a curiosity for sure!

any idea what the port labeled "computer eyes" are for? I don't recognize the port for any camera device I've dealt with. It almost looks like a possible port for a keyboard/mouse, but it looks more like an S-Video port, it's kind of hard to tell.

The one labeled Scanman is quite probably for an older hand held scanner. Logitech had a line of them under the Scanman name.

The larger connector, the AT one, is a keyboard connector.

The mouse one may or may not be a PS/2 add in...probably is PS/2.

The one labeled 'computer eyes'...that one is a head scratcher.

Azalie, do you happen to know what was plugged into this computer?

Azalie, do you happen to know what was plugged into this computer?

Uh.. Before we got it? No idea.. in the pic the monitor is plugged in...

We got it from my brother's teacher at school.. It was one of the computers I used when I was in 7th grade!!


The spot that says "camera's eyes" im pretty sure is a port that is used to hook up to a TV... as Im looking into getting one of those for my laptop <3

My dad's gunna see if anyone at work has an old keyboard/mouse that'd work for this comp as they use a lot of super old stuff like this!

We have a lot of super old computers too.. (I've got a couple of windows 3.1s!) and /THEY/ didnt even use a keyboard that old! They used the PS/2 stuff..

Umm.. so ill tell my dad you guys said 5-pin DIN plug! :D

Thanks!

the 5-pin din port is your keyboard (the one that everyone else said) and if i were you i would ditch all the unknown ports and use a serial port mouse

Uh.. Before we got it? No idea.. in the pic the monitor is plugged in...

We got it from my brother's teacher at school.. It was one of the computers I used when I was in 7th grade!!


The spot that says "camera's eyes" im pretty sure is a port that is used to hook up to a TV... as Im looking into getting one of those for my laptop <3

My dad's gunna see if anyone at work has an old keyboard/mouse that'd work for this comp as they use a lot of super old stuff like this!

We have a lot of super old computers too.. (I've got a couple of windows 3.1s!) and /THEY/ didnt even use a keyboard that old! They used the PS/2 stuff..

Umm.. so ill tell my dad you guys said 5-pin DIN plug! :D

Thanks!

that still looks like "computers eyes" to me

Holy cr@p!! :eek: That takes me back!!


From left to right:

- Looks like an old ISA Sound Blaster audio card, or another variant. 3 audio connectors; standard line-in, line-out, mic, with a standard DA-15 MIDI port. If you're lucky, it's one of the versions with a built-in IDE controller for connecting a CD-ROM drive! :p (Perhaps part of a CD-ROM upgrade kit.)

- TV card, hardware-based. (Remember that scanline deinterlacing was done by color TV's long before Pentium4's existed!) Bottom connector looks like coax, top one looks like a 4-pin mini-DIN S-Video port.

- 9-pin mini-DIN? If I had to guess... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_mouse)

- < EMPTY SLOT >

- Some type of display card with a DE-15 VGA port, obviously.

- < EMPTY SLOT >

- Must be the Scanman thing that mjc talked about.

- < BLANK SLOT >

- 2 DB-25 connectors, most likely configured for RS-232 serial interfaces. Above those is the infamous AT keyboard 5-pin DIN connector.

- Right before the AT PSU, you'll see a standard DE-9 serial port (bottom) and a DE-15 VGA port (top). Considering their location, these two are most likely just ports bolted to the case with cables coming out of them that connect to the appropriate device.

See DIN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_connector), mini-DIN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini-DIN_connector), D-sub (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-subminiature), VGA connector (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA_connector).


If I had to guess at the heritage of such a machine, I'd say '84-'88, with several upgrades along the way. 286- or 386-class system, 16-33MHz (originally).