Is there a way to load PS/2 Keyboard driver (only) in WinXP at bootup?

[Tiger-Heli]

I am using a KeyWiz (PS/2) in a desktop control panel, with a separate keyboard plugged into the USB port using a PS/2>USB adapter.

Under Win98, the PS/2 Keyboard driver was always loaded, so I could start the computer with no PS/2 Keyboard installed, hot-plug in the KeyWiz and all was fine.

I have been testing out WinXP, and all works fine, except the KeyWiz will not work unless it or a PS/2 keyboard is connected at bootup.

I tried turning off USB keyboard support in BIOS and that didn't help.

I plugged the keyboard into the PS/2 port, restarted the computer, and the keyboard

[jcrouse]

Be aware that a PS2 port carries power. It is not a good idea to "hot-swap" PS2 devices while the system is powered on. Many mobo's have been fried that way.

Just a heads up,
John

[Tiger-Heli]

Be aware that a PS2 port carries power. It is not a good idea to "hot-swap" PS2 devices while the system is powered on. Many mobo's have been fried that way.

Understood - still want to find a way to do it - - -.

[RandyT]

Be aware that a PS2 port carries power. It is not a good idea to "hot-swap" PS2 devices while the system is powered on. Many mobo's have been fried that way.

The USB port carries power too, but that's not the issue.  The keyboards were most likely the cause of these events.  In the old days, keyboards were heavy-duty beasts of steel, epoxy and power-hungry discreet logic.  Plugging and unplugging them with the power on caused surges that were just too much for the wimpy fuses on the motherboards.

Todays keyboards require a tenth or less the power, have circuitry to buffer surges and many motherboards even have self-resetting fuses on the PS/2 lines.

The chance of anything bad happening to a motherboard built in the last 7 or 8 years is very, very slim.  In fact, every instance I have ever heard of involved not the more modern PS/2 style keyboards, rather the old 5-pin DIN style AT and XT keyboards and motherboards of similar age / decrepitude.

This has been discussed at length in other threads.  As I've stated before, I have personally hotswapped PS/2 devices on my test system no less than 7,500 times at current and it's still working fine (although the connector is not as tight as it used to be for obvious reasons.)

But YMMV

RandyT

[_Iz-]

what happens if you leave the keyboard connected to the ps/2 port and hot swap the keywiz control panel using the ps/2->usb converter?

-or-

just don't boot the computer without either the keyboard or the keywiz connected to the ps/2 port...

[Tiger-Heli]

what happens if you leave the keyboard connected to the ps/2 port and hot swap the keywiz control panel using the ps/2->usb converter?

Good thought.  I am sure that would work, and might be a viable solution.  RandyT has posted (and I don't doubt) that there are performance issues with this, but I did some independent tests here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=35840.msg321640#msg321640 and got fairly good results.

I may try that at least in the short-run.  It has an advantage in that the PS/2>USB adapter has some problems with normal Keyboard input, and since I use it primarily as a computer and only occasionally for gaming it might work out well for me.

Main thing is it would be free and something to make it work until I come up with something better.  (And it's one of those things that I probably would have suggested to someone else but wouldn't have come up with on my own, so I really do appreciate the suggestion.)

just don't boot the computer without either the keyboard or the keywiz connected to the ps/2 port...

Yes, that was an obvious solution to me, but the problem is, as I said, I use the computer only 30% for gaming, if that, and it gets restarted each day.  I'm not crazy about pulling out the CP every time I restart it.  Also, the computer is on the floor and I leave the 6-foot M-M PS/2 cable connected to it, so I don't have to dig behind it to hook it up.  Now if the keyboard also had an unpluggable (not a word?) cable at the keyboard end so I could unplug it and plug in the CP from the desktop, that would be ideal, but I've never seen (an inexpensive) one like that.

[_Iz-]

Now if the keyboard also had an unpluggable (not a word?) cable at the keyboard end so I could unplug it and plug in the CP from the desktop, that would be ideal, but I've never seen (an inexpensive) one like that.

Here's another approach along the same lines. Open the keyboard, remove the existing cable and replace it with one that has a female end instead of male (you'd have to buy another extension cable, and cut one end off to wire into the keyboard instead of the original cable).

[Spartan]

Be aware that a PS2 port carries power. It is not a good idea to "hot-swap" PS2 devices while the system is powered on. Many mobo's have been fried that way.

The USB port carries power too, but that's not the issue.  The keyboards were most likely the cause of these events.  In the old days, keyboards were heavy-duty beasts of steel, epoxy and power-hungry discreet logic.  Plugging and unplugging them with the power on caused surges that were just too much for the wimpy fuses on the motherboards.

Todays keyboards require a tenth or less the power, have circuitry to buffer surges and many motherboards even have self-resetting fuses on the PS/2 lines.

The chance of anything bad happening to a motherboard built in the last 7 or 8 years is very, very slim.  In fact, every instance I have ever heard of involved not the more modern PS/2 style keyboards, rather the old 5-pin DIN style AT and XT keyboards and motherboards of similar age / decrepitude.

This has been discussed at length in other threads.  As I've stated before, I have personally hotswapped PS/2 devices on my test system no less than 7,500 times at current and it's still working fine (although the connector is not as tight as it used to be for obvious reasons.)

But YMMV

RandyT

hehe -- reminds me of the time I blew up my Amiga 500 motherboard by plugging in my parallel port printer while it was on...

[Tiger-Heli]

Here's another approach along the same lines. Open the keyboard, remove the existing cable and replace it with one that has a female end instead of male (you'd have to buy another extension cable, and cut one end off to wire into the keyboard instead of the original cable).

Or just get one of these to connect the keyboard to the extension cable:
http://www.connecttech.net/product_info.php?products_id=1578

Good thoughts - much appreciated.

[_Iz-]

The gender changer had also crossed my mind but swapping the keyboard cable seemed more in spirit with the board... 

[Tiger-Heli]

The gender changer had also crossed my mind but swapping the keyboard cable seemed more in spirit with the board...

[_Iz-]

LOL   

[Tiger-Heli]

I did some testing with the KeyWiz connected to the USB adapter and posted the results in the thread I linked to above earlier.

Let's just say I'm in the market for a PS/2 gender changer. . .

So far, I haven't found one locally, but the company I linked to earlier is being very co-operative, if nothing else pans out.