EdmondDantes wrote:

So recently the Ps/2 ports on my motherboard went bad. Okay, maybe not the keyboard one but definitely the mouse. It receives […]
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So recently the Ps/2 ports on my motherboard went bad. Okay, maybe not the keyboard one but definitely the mouse. It receives power, but Windows doesn't detect it, neither does DOS. It's an optical mouse by the way--I don't have a normal ball mouse to test with.

My dad tried soldiering the solder points on the motherboard and now the ports are less wiggly, but the symptoms persist, making me think the problem is underneath the metal box thing these ports are always hidden in.

Currently I'm using one of those PCI cards that adds new ps/2 ports (which unfortunately only read as USB and thus can't be used in DOS) but if I can't fix the real ps/2 ports (which CAN be used in DOS) then it's time to break out the serial mice.

So anyway, is this fixable or am I better off just going with the serial optical mice (or getting matze's adapter) and being more protective of the next motherboard that comes into my possession?

Well ps/2 ports can be a bit wierd sometimes when you use with cheap ps/2 device, if you have another drvice to test with(in my country ps2 mouse and keyboard still being sold).
If still dont work you could use some thin jumper wire, (with the motherboard powered off) and with one multimeter you could test the continuity between all ps2 pins to the solder joints to be sure that the connector isnt the issue, you can also check for damaged traces,

I suggest you use serial mice anyways, as compatibility is higher, especially in DOS.

Ampera wrote:

I suggest you use serial mice anyways, as compatibility is higher, especially in DOS.

I have never found anything that doesn't work with a ps2 mouse and requires a serial one.

Plus in windows 9x, mice are "lagging" : they're refreshed at a 40Hz rate. However, using PS/2 rate, you can increase this up to 200Hz thus making the mouse much smoother (this is excellent especially for FPS). But you can't do this on serial mice unfortunately. I don't know any program that can do the same to PS2 mice under DOS though

keropi wrote:

I have never found anything that doesn't work with a ps2 mouse and requires a serial one.

Kind of marginal I know, but if you try to play Settlers 2 with two players on one PC, it requires the 2nd mouse to be serial mouse 😀

EdmondDantes wrote:

So recently the Ps/2 ports on my motherboard went bad. Okay, maybe not the keyboard one but definitely the mouse. It receives […]
Show full quote

So recently the Ps/2 ports on my motherboard went bad. Okay, maybe not the keyboard one but definitely the mouse. It receives power, but Windows doesn't detect it, neither does DOS. It's an optical mouse by the way--I don't have a normal ball mouse to test with.

My dad tried soldiering the solder points on the motherboard and now the ports are less wiggly, but the symptoms persist, making me think the problem is underneath the metal box thing these ports are always hidden in.

Currently I'm using one of those PCI cards that adds new ps/2 ports (which unfortunately only read as USB and thus can't be used in DOS) but if I can't fix the real ps/2 ports (which CAN be used in DOS) then it's time to break out the serial mice.

So anyway, is this fixable or am I better off just going with the serial optical mice (or getting matze's adapter) and being more protective of the next motherboard that comes into my possession?

Any board mounted fuses for the port?

keropi wrote:

Ampera wrote:

I suggest you use serial mice anyways, as compatibility is higher, especially in DOS.

I have never found anything that doesn't work with a ps2 mouse and requires a serial one.

For me, the original Lemmings refuses to accept mouse inputs from a PS/2 mouse and demands a serial one.

The support benefits are marginal. At the end of the day, the interface doesn't really matter. The only reason why I suggest a serial mouse is that it's usable on every single IBM PC ever released, normally without an expansion card, while USB and PS/2 mice do not have the same universal compatibility. Any PC can use an RS232 card and use the same mouse without any problems whatsoever. They are also incredibly cool. Say what you will about PS/2 mice, but I have a special place in my (heart?) for serial mice.

I actually have had issues with games not liking my ps/2 mouse--Space Quest IV, King's Quest V, and Laura Bow II (all editions from the "Collection Series" box sets, I don't have different releases to test against except in SQ4's case tho I never did test).

The sitch with those is strange. In both an older machine and my current rig (different motherboard and processor but the sound and video card are both from the older rig) had this issue where in those games sound effects wouldn't work/would cause the games to glitch or lock up unless I disabled the CPU Cache AND set the SFX card type to "Thunderboard" (I don't even know what a Thunderboard is but the install said it was a valid option). This was all well and good but once I started using a ps/2 mouse the games would always lock up with it, but if I plugged in the serial mouse they were just fine.

And yes, I tried the various alternate drivers/fan-made patches that exist including the one that basically turns SQ4 into the floppy version. Those didn't help. Oddly tho the games play just fine in Dosbox, so that's what I wound up doing for them. Nobody has ever been able to come up with an explanation for this situation, tho I'm suspecting something to do with drivers, IRQ, or those three games being hipsters who only like serial mice.

But because Dosbox worked I always considered this a minor issue at best. Still thought it was worth bringing up.

As it happens I've pretty much decided--at least for the time being--that I will just go with a serial mouse and ordered another Q500 Optical Mouse (the one I currently have has an over-sensitive left-click. It seems like I should be able to fix this but I'm unwilling to risk breaking it until I have a replacement lined up, which is actually why I'm reluctant to repair the mobo too). I'd love to get a Mouse Systems PC Mouse but those all go for stupid expensive prices on ebay and other online retailers and then a lot of them are ps/2 as well. Basically, the one scruple I have is I won't use a ball mouse--I hate how they seem to always get hung up on things and don't roll smoothly, always at times where I need to point only a pixel to the side.

One reason I DO eventually want to repair the ps/2 ports tho, is simply ease of replacability--if a ps/2 mouse goes bad I can find lots of dozens on ebay for a low price, but serial stuff is hard to find and I'm not sure I could mod/repair it to make it more durable, especially since I'm kinda/sorta a complete idiot and klutz.

Anyway, yeah, now that you've heard my story I wonder if anyone has more thoughts about the SQ4/KQ5/LB2 issue.

Since when were serial mice hard to come by? I got mine for 10ish bucks.

Deksor wrote:

Plus in windows 9x, mice are "lagging" [..]

Windows 3.1 also has that "feature" - but it's only available for PS/2 mice. 😉
http://www.os2museum.com/wp/jumpy-ps2-mouse-i … de-windows-3-x/

Serial OPTICAL mice are hard to come by. Normal ball mice aren't, but I would only use those as an absolute last resort.

Ampera wrote:

For me, the original Lemmings refuses to accept mouse inputs from a PS/2 mouse and demands a serial one. [...]

Weird, must be a machine and/or driver qwirk... Lemmings works fine on my PS1/pro and clone 286/16 systems that have motherboards with PS2 ports.
It doesn't surprise me much though, I have seen way stranger things happen 🤣

EdmondDantes wrote:

Serial OPTICAL mice are hard to come by. Normal ball mice aren't, but I would only use those as an absolute last resort.

Yup, esp. real optical mice. Back in the day, something sold as "optical serial mouse" often had a ball and
a photoelectric beam barrier (a light gate, photocell). The photocell was used as a replacement of the mechanical wheel potentiometers.

Last time I've gotten that type of mouse was in 2004 or so. It was sold in an electronics shop, which sold resistors, soldering stations, and other electronic parts.
The mouse had a transparent shell and was adverticed as "optical mouse", both on the package and shelf's label.
No word was mentioned about a ball or an opto-mechanical mechanism. I didn't notice until I unboxed the whole thing at home.
(But to be fair, the mouse was kinda okay. I was just a bit dissappointed, though, because I got fooled.)

keropi wrote:

Ampera wrote:

For me, the original Lemmings refuses to accept mouse inputs from a PS/2 mouse and demands a serial one. [...]

Weird, must be a machine and/or driver qwirk... Lemmings works fine on my PS1/pro and clone 286/16 systems that have motherboards with PS2 ports.
It doesn't surprise me much though, I have seen way stranger things happen 🤣

It was a Sound Blaster demo diskette, so it's possible it was just that version.

I actually like ball mice better than optical. It's a bit of a shame they aren't made today. I've never had problems with them (as I normally don't load my mouse up with hair and gunk)