Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: jimmyjet on April 24, 2004, 12:00:15 pm
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I just picked up this old computer for $4.00 at a garage sale today. The only thing I know about it is it was manufactured in 1993.
When I plugged it in the message on the monitor said "keyboard error, press F1 to continue." I plugged an old ps2 keyboard into a ps2 to serial adapter, and then plugged that into #7 on the back of the dinosaur. I press F1, but nothing.
Question: Am I plugging in the keyboard in the wrong spot? Do I need a different adapter? Do I need to find an older keyboard this thing will recognize?
Thank you all in advance.
jimmyjet
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It probably has a large circle hole that isn't on this picture where the keyboard goes in. If you don't have an old style keyboard you'll need an adapter.
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In the upper left hand corner of that picture I can see the outline of where you're supposed to plug a keyboard into. A PS/2 to serial won't work, because a keyboard is not a serial device. That's for mice.
You'll need PS/2 to AT keyboard adaptor.
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Here's a link with pictures of the two different types of keyboard connectors...
http://www.bbdsoft.com/keyboard.html (http://www.bbdsoft.com/keyboard.html)
To use a PS/2 keyboard with an AT style motherboard, you need an adapter.
You can get an all-in-one adapter....
http://www.cablesamerica.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=802&sku=02475 (http://www.cablesamerica.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=802&sku=02475)
(http://www.cablesamerica.com/images_ca/product_images/02475.jpg)
...or an adapter that has a short cable between the two connectors...
http://www.cablesamerica.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=802&sku=02478 (http://www.cablesamerica.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=802&sku=02478)
(http://www.cablesamerica.com/images_ca/product_images/02478.jpg)
I strongly recommend that you get the kind with the short length of cable. Because of the length of the other type of adapter, a small pull on the cable is leveraged into quite a bit of force on the motherboard connector. Over time, this can damage the motherboard. The kind of adapter with the short cable doesn't have this leverage problem and offers some strain relief. If you pull hard on the keyboard cable, the worst that will happen is the keyboard will come unplugged from the adapter.
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Thank you all. Now that you tell me the answer, I do remember seeing keyboards with that cable. There is a round cable connection that I thought was for a microphone or something.
jimmyjet
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An easy mistake. An AT keyboard port does look similar to an XLR microphone connector...
(http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/encyclopedia/img/PLGXLR.GIF)
It also looks a lot like a MIDI port....
(http://p.hostingprod.com/@studentsoftwarestore.com/midi/12.gif)
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Also, forget the adaptor, go to the thrift store and find a keyboard that has that style of connector, it will be cheaper than the adaptor would be anyway.
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Wow. This makes me feel really old.