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Old December 7th 17, 05:40 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
KenK
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Posts: 444
Default Keyboard problem

Paul wrote in news
KenK wrote:
Can't install a new Ideas in Motion keyboard - XP can't find driver.
Buy a different one? Ay ideas making this one work?

The old keyboard is full of dust and cleaning it just makes keys
stick worse.

TIA


A keyboard should declare itself as a HID device in the
Plug and Play information it presents.

This causes the in-box HID driver to be used. The OS
has HID keyboard and HID mouse drivers.

That means *every* keyboard, whether PS/2 or USB,
works out of the box. At least, as long as they align
with some standards for such things. There are occasional
problems (like I think Win10 botched something with
regard to keyboards at some point).

Exceptions include bindings for "multimedia keys".
If a keyboard has those (the keyboard I'm typing on
right now does), the driver for those keys is separate.
I don't have that driver installed, and the "basic"
keyboard matrix is working just fine.


Nope, this one is normal.

And a lot of HID notions work like that. For example,
on a mouse, the three standard buttons are recognized
by the OS. However, if you have additional "side" buttons
on a mouse, those need a separate driver (as such buttons
are then considered "custom" and an added driver is a
filter driver and detects the "unknown" codes).

The multimedia buttons on my keyboard, aren't keyboard keys,
they're "gum" buttons, dome style, labeled

Volume- Volume+
Internet Email Search Mute

The separate software controls the binding between
the button and some command. And the separate software
is needed, because they're not ordinary letters, and
they're not Fkeys either.

Keyboards come in a couple standard matrix sizes,
which is why the in-box driver can work with them.
To reduce the pin count on the keyboard chips,
the chip uses a 7x17 switch closure matrix. There
are 24 pins, one set of pins sends signals, the
other set of pins listens for them. And that gives
the possibility of 109 keys. As an example. There
is at least a matrix for standard sized keyboards,
as well as compact (no F-key keyboards). There are
web pages with more details (too complicated for
me to even begin to repeat...).

When you have an electronics failure in a keyboard,
a "group" of keys fail, and that "group" of keys
corresponds to the wiring of the 7x17 matrix.
So you find maybe 7 keys failing at the same time,
that sort of thing. And that means some aspect of
one of the wires is "jammed".

*******

I can't find a URL for your keyboard, so cannot determine
whether there is anything unique or non-standard about
it or not.

And keyboards and mice work in parallel, so you are allowed
to have two or more keyboards plugged in at the same time.
As long as there are physical ports for them of course.
You can even have a PS/2 keyboard and a USB keyboard
at the same time. The only trouble-maker, is Windows 10,
which has some crazy notions of "first-detected" devices,
that varies with Windows 10 release number.

On modern computers, some PS/2 connectors come with "bi-colors".
There are sufficient pins on the miniDIN connector in such
cases, to support two electrical interfaces. If a device
doesn't work when plugged into such a thing, then you
have to track down the details of whether the design
requires some sort of adapter or not (if you want to use
both interfaces at the same time or not).

The keyboard uses 1,3,4,5. If a Y adapter is used, it
wires 2 from the computer to 1 on the mouse. And it
wires 6 on the computer, to 5 on the mouse. The keyboard
works by default when plugged into the computer, but the
mouse would only work if connected via the Y adapter.
And there are some variants on this, as there also
seem to be cases where it's "dual personality", and
either device works when plugged in, without an adapter,
and it's just the Y cabling and two device usage
that isn't supported.

This diagram shows the six pin connector, has enough
pins to drive a mouse and keyboard at the same time.

Pin 1 Data_keyboard
Pin 2 (Data_mouse on bicolor)
Pin 3 GND
Pin 4 VCC+5
Pin 5 Clock_keyboard
Pin 6 (Clock_mouse on bicolor)

The ascii art diagram for the multiplexed bi-color
connector looks like this.

http://www.burtonsys.com/PS2_keyboar...6_connector_pi
nouts.html

Computer (M)
Keyboard (F) -- End Of Y -- Mouse (F)
------------ ------------ ------------
pin function pin function pin function

1=data ---------- 1=data +--- 1=data
2 n.c. 2 -----------+ 2 n.c.
3=gnd ----------- 3=gnd ----------- 3=gnd
4=+5v ----------- 4=+5v ----------- 4=+5v
5=clock --------- 5=clock +------ 5=clock
6 n.c. 6 --------+ 6 n.c.

HTH,
Paul


Thanks.

Found a couple of old PS/s (the new on is USB) with two old pre-XP
systems (can't recall Win O/S name). My Emachine hsa PS/2 socket. I'll
shut off and try one aftr I go off line this morning. Hope it works. This
one is a royal pain to use. Have to press some keys VERY hard!




--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.






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