VOGONS


First post, by Crinale0

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I've been trying to fit a mouse to my Windows 95 / DOS machine. It has a serial port but thats it. I got a serial to PS/2 converter and a conventional ball mouse as to my understanding serial isn't able to power optical mice?

This has not worked. So i looked in the board manual and it has a USB header! I added a dual port USB to the header, enabled USB controller in the BIOS and legacy USB keyboard support yet still nothing.

What am i missing here? I am using the Windows 95 version with USB support. I have tried add new hardware it does not find a USB controller nor a mouse. Over serial to PS/2 is does detech a PS/2 mouse but upon installing drivers the mouse does not work.

Ideally I'd like to use a USB optical mouse on this machine as ball mice are a nightmare and i have large hands and need a specific brand of mouse to be confortable. That said though, PS/2 would suffice.

Athlon XP 2400+ @2Ghz|512MB DDR RAM|QDI 7X/400|PNY Geforce 4 Ti 4200 128MB w/ AGP 8x|Sound Blaster Live

Reply 1 of 13, by dominusprog

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Remove previously installed USB supplements and install the eXtended USB supplement. But I believe that it works only with flash drives.

https://archive.org/details/XUSBSUPP

Duke_2600.png
A-Trend ATC-1020 V1.1 ❇ Cyrix 6x86 150+ @ 120MHz ❇ 32MiB EDO RAM (8MiBx4) ❇ A-Trend S3 Trio64V2 2MiB
Aztech Pro16 II-3D PnP ❇ 8.4GiB Quantum Fireball ❇ Win95 OSR2 Plus!

Reply 3 of 13, by dormcat

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Crinale0 wrote on 2024-08-23, 13:10:

I've been trying to fit a mouse to my Windows 95 / DOS machine. It has a serial port but thats it. I got a serial to PS/2 converter and a conventional ball mouse as to my understanding serial isn't able to power optical mice?

This has not worked. So i looked in the board manual and it has a USB header! I added a dual port USB to the header, enabled USB controller in the BIOS and legacy USB keyboard support yet still nothing.

I can use Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse (USB) under DOS 6.2 (mouse.com 8.20) with a green USB to PS/2 converter that comes with just about every Microsoft USB mouse. I also have a Logitech optical mouse with native PS/2 connector and an earliest generation of Artec optical mouse with serial connector that requires a metallic reflector plate with grids (very similar to Mouse Systems mice for Sun; almost like a clone). They function normally on my 430FX and TX boards. Therefore I don't think "serial isn't able to power optical mice" is true; all three major interfaces can power optical mice. Know that serial ports today still power many industrial devices with light sources and optical elements e.g. handheld barcode scanners.

Your Soyo SY-5VD motherboard does have a PS/2 header (J1) right next to its DIN-5 keyboard connector (J2). You might want to try that first instead of using the USB header; finding a PS/2 cable for that header could be more challenging, however. Unfortunately this was a common problem of many 430VX/TX boards in Baby AT form factor: they were ready with PS/2 and USB headers but either required user to purchase the cable or lost them after a quarter of a century. Therefore I really appreciate the standardization of ATX I/O panel.

Reply 4 of 13, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
dormcat wrote on 2024-08-23, 15:21:

Your Soyo SY-5VD motherboard does have a PS/2 header (J1) right next to its DIN-5 keyboard connector (J2). You might want to try that first instead of using the USB header; finding a PS/2 cable for that header could be more challenging, however.

It's pretty easy to rewire these PS/2 brackets to fit whatever header the board has if you use DuPont jumper wires. Determining the pinout of the header is a bit trickier if it isn't specified in the motherboard's manual.

Anyway, here's a nice video from a fellow Vogons user on this subject.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Core 2 Duo E8600 / Foxconn P35AX-S / X800 / Audigy2 ZS
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 5 of 13, by Crinale0

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Thank you all for the advice you guys are awesome!

I REALLY need a PS/2 header that is the perfect solution. where can i buy one? I don't really have the tools to make one.

Athlon XP 2400+ @2Ghz|512MB DDR RAM|QDI 7X/400|PNY Geforce 4 Ti 4200 128MB w/ AGP 8x|Sound Blaster Live

Reply 6 of 13, by dormcat

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-08-23, 15:32:

It's pretty easy to rewire these PS/2 brackets to fit whatever header the board has if you use DuPont jumper wires. Determining the pinout of the header is a bit trickier if it isn't specified in the motherboard's manual.

That was why I called it "challenging" as the manual had no detailed pinout. An opposite example would be my Asus TXP4 manual:

TXP4_PS2.jpg
Filename
TXP4_PS2.jpg
File size
130.12 KiB
Views
451 views
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

I don't have the optional USB/MIR module in the photo; instead I only have the default parallel + PS/2 bracket. A PS/2 port uses pins 6, 7, 9, 15 for clock, ground, +5V, and data, respectively.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-08-23, 15:32:

Anyway, here's a nice video from a fellow Vogons user on this subject.

Wow I think you've nailed it: the pinout at 3:24 looks exactly like the one on Soyo SY-5VD.

PS2_header.jpg
Filename
PS2_header.jpg
File size
31.66 KiB
Views
451 views
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Reply 7 of 13, by Shponglefan

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
Crinale0 wrote on 2024-08-23, 16:47:

Thank you all for the advice you guys are awesome!

I REALLY need a PS/2 header that is the perfect solution. where can i buy one? I don't really have the tools to make one.

CablesOnline has them. I bought some from them via Ebay.

Note that they are pre-wired, so if you need to change the pinout you'll have to modify them by hand.

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 8 of 13, by Crinale0

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Thank you so much guys! It's insane how quick you find this information haha!

That said, I'm looking for a plug and play fix for this ideally, does anywhere sell PCI PS/2 boards or ISA ones?

Athlon XP 2400+ @2Ghz|512MB DDR RAM|QDI 7X/400|PNY Geforce 4 Ti 4200 128MB w/ AGP 8x|Sound Blaster Live

Reply 9 of 13, by dormcat

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Shponglefan wrote on 2024-08-23, 16:54:

CablesOnline has them. I bought some from them via Ebay.

Note that they are pre-wired, so if you need to change the pinout you'll have to modify them by hand.

Also found one with PS/2 and parallel on the same bracket from PCCables. The PS/2 connector is 2x4 and has one unconnected hole sealed for fool-proof, probably designed exactly for headers like Soyo's. I still recommend performing a continuity test, though.

Crinale0 wrote on 2024-08-23, 16:58:

That said, I'm looking for a plug and play fix for this ideally, does anywhere sell PCI PS/2 boards or ISA ones?

PS/2 on ISA:
PS2 port ISA card?
Another PS/2 Mouse ISA (ISA8) card adapter

PS/2 on PCI or PCIe x1 are readily available for purchase at many commercial venues.

Reply 11 of 13, by dormcat

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Crinale0 wrote on 2024-08-23, 17:41:

Do you have a link to one in PCI form please?

First, Google is your friend. Second, according to other VOGONS users those cards were driver-based and might not work well without OS support.

Reply 13 of 13, by jakethompson1

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Crinale0 wrote on 2024-08-23, 16:58:

That said, I'm looking for a plug and play fix for this ideally, does anywhere sell PCI PS/2 boards or ISA ones?

A PS/2 mouse interfaces with your motherboard's keyboard controller; that's why the port has to be directly on a board or on a dedicated header. There isn't a way to connect to the keyboard controller through the slot connector. The dedicated header is really your solution, and pinout differences aside, will solve this for you once and for all. It isn't that bad, the rearranging wires part in the connector just involves a tiny screwdriver/tweezers to release the part that grabs onto the wires without breaking it, so that you can reinsert the wire colors in a different order.