On Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:12:36 -0800, "mike"
wrote:
>
> I have a handful of hardware questions/issues.
>
> First, I got a new Microsoft keyboard and mouse
> Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 v1.0 and Wheel Mouse Optical USB
>
> these were replacing an ailing a Microsoft Digital Media Pro keyboard and
>Intellimouse Explorer 3.0
>
> I have a Linksys switchbox so I can control two computers. This switchbox
>doesn't take USB connectors so I use converters to the old round
>mice/keyboard connectors.
> When I first plugged in the new mouse and keyboard NEITHER machine
>recognized them. Huh?
> I tried plugging them directly into my newer computer with an Asus P5K-E
>motherboard, the mouse going directly into a USB port but the keyboard going
>into the keyboard port. The mouse was recognized but the keyboard was not.
>So I took the adaptor off the keyboard and plugged it into a USB port and it
>worked.
> So what's going on? The old (not that old) Microsoft keyboard and mouse
>worked fine with the switchbox/USB converters but neither these new ones
>do?? Is this older USB vs USB 2.0 thing?
> I'm sitting here right now with two keyboards and mice on my desk. Ugh.
>
> The other curious thing (with the old hardware) is that since I got my
>newer machine (1 week ago) I noticed that when I shut the machine off that
>the USB peripherals are still on. They are still getting power! The mouse
>and keyboard lights are still on and my external harddrive is as well even
>though both machines are off. It must be this new Asus motherboard no?
>Anyone have any idea of bios settings for an Asus P5K-E to shut off the USB
>power when the machine is shut down?? One machine is an older PIII running
>WinXP SP2 and the other is a newer machine running Vista Ultimate. Is this a
>Vista thing?
>
> thanks
>mike
>
Please tell us the brand of KVM you're using.
I, too, have a PS/2 KVM. It's an Iogear 4-port model, and it
recognizes and works nicely with the PS/2 keyboard I have connected to
it via a USB-PS/2 adaptor. However, the reason I got it is that the
older Linksys switch I had did not work well this way. (I stayed with
a PS/2 KVM because one of the computers connected to it has only one
USB port, and I didn't want to complicate the setup with a hub for
that.)
Your problem may well be solved by updating your KVM switch to a later
model. If all the computers are USB capable, then certainly it would
be solved by getting a USB KVM switch.
Regarding your last question, in XP's Device Manager, you do have the
ability to "allow the computer to turn off" the USB Root Hubs "to save
power," but I do not know if that would solve your problem. In fact,
I think that option is checked by default. I don't know how Vista
works in this area. At any rate, I'm guessing that you probably want
to look to the OS for a solution rather than the BIOS.
Ron
>> Stay informed about: USB hardware problems. Microsoft keyboard and mouse with A.. 
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