using old IBM keyboards

[trevor6088]

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif
I like the original (probably 15 years old) IBM type keyboards,no frills such as win 98 key usb but top quality click keys, heavy weight (no slide!)
When using on a recently built computer (WinME) the keyboard is not recognised unless after bootng up I unplug-replug then operational.
Any Ideas? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[mjc]

Hmm...not a good idea to unplug a keyboard when live...tends to fry the ps/2 port.

I am using one of those IBM model M keyboards to type this in...

Do you have one with the ps/2 connector or is it the larger AT style and an adapter?

If it is with an adapter you may want to either try to find a new cable or a new adapter.


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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[trevor6088]

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mjc
thanks for the advise about frying the port!
The keyboard I'm using plugs straight into the socket without an adapter,
so maybe it's the keyboard itself?
I have another identical keyboard so I will try to see if that's OK.
http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[Paleo Pete]

If it's not recognized, I agree with mjc, try a new cable or another keyboard. He is also right about unplugging it, that will fry a PS/2 port, keyboard or mouse. Been there, done that...The cables are usually removable and new ones probably are not easy to find, but it could be a bad cable, especially if it's been yanked around a few times.

I'm using the exact same keyboard as mjc, Model M dated 24 July 1991, built like a tank, weighs as much as my guitar, loud enough to hear in the next room...I've used it on everything from 286 machines to the P-III 700 I built for my sister, never had a minute's trouble with it on any of them, and this one was dropped on the sidewalk on the way inside with it.

5 years and it still works great, and it's been subjected to a lot of abuse...coffee spills included...I can't use anything else, soft touch keyboards absolutely STINK...I've typed over 4000 messages here on the forums with it, plus almost a year with another forum, and quite a few messages on the Obsolete Computer Museum forums as well, not to mention ICQ, IRC, email, word processing...Quake, Doom, Descent...By comparison I trashed out 3 new keyboards before I got this one, in a bit over a year. Yes, I type hard sometimes...

I use these because each one is identical, if I have to work on another computer I'm still on the exact same keyboard, no switching around so it's just like being on my main machine no matter which one I'm working on. Anyone who works on computers all day every day with a different keyboard every time knows what a headache it is to constantly try to get the feel of a different one. And because they can't be destroyed...

[Ctrl] + [Esc] opens the Start button menu, same as the Windows key. [Alt] [F] opens the File menu same as the other Windows key, (not necessary to press both at one time, [Alt] then [F] opens it in DOS or Windows) [Esc] closes either. Arrow keys navigate the start menu, [Enter] activates shortcuts. [Tab] alternates between desktop shortcuts or webpage links. [Alt] + [Tab] alternates between foreground and background windows.

Who needs a Windows key???? It's just a marketing gimmick, any keyboard will do the same and more. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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