chrisNova777 wrote:

i just unscrewed both cables + looked inside the black endcap and u are 100% correct ! the cables are wired completely different […]
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alexanrs wrote:

chrisNova777 wrote:

-REPLACED THE 10pin IDC- to 9pin serial connector ribbon cable!!!!!!!!!

Those serial cables can be hell. The pinout, just like PS/2 stuff, wasn't standard back then.

i just unscrewed both cables + looked inside the black endcap and u are 100% correct !
the cables are wired completely different!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the kind that work is in an alternating pattern top row vs botom row left to right
and the ones that didnt work well they are wired complete row to complete row 12345 + 6789
how can this be??

This was mentioned previously.

feipoa wrote:

Also, there are two standard pin-outs for serial cable headers that I am aware of. SiS and UMC-based PCI boards tend to use different ones. Use a multi-meter to determine where the pins are going. ..

now that i got my mouse working i might have to find a copy of martian dreams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima:_Worlds_ … _Martian_Dreams

and savage empire!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worlds_of_Ultim … e_Savage_Empire

i remember thees games blowing my mind after being used to Ultima IV, V + VI (4,5,6)

then ultima VII (7) was like the lats one i ever played.. by the time 8 came out i was more interested in girls + parties + stopped playing games!!!!
the black gate was a helluva last game to play tho... i think i was in grade 9 in high school when it came out.. i remember skippin class to play it 🤣

i dont think i ever played ultima 8.. i remember seeng a preview of ultima 9...

im trying to remember if i ever played ultima online... i think i might have???
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_Online
vaguely remember this beign the first mmorpg and it was flawed bigtime??
i guess this was the granddaddy of WOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txsNn6PEaFo

not sure if these are the original requirements.. http://uo.com/system-requirements/
pentium II? 1998? i guess thats about right..

i still have not heard back from startech - they told me they would be in touch with the info about the pin out for the PLATE6F - i will make sure to post this info when i get it from them
for other people that have hte PLATE6F - if anyone else has already figured it out.. please share this info!!!!!

IK so they finally got back to me and apparently they don't have the information for the backplate pinout either but they sent me a brand-new one the second one that I might cut it up to see the pinout. Here's a picture to document the original configuration of the ten pin header

i still havent got a multimeter + i still have no idea which wire color is which
is there a standard 10pin ps/2 header configuration i can look up somehow that correlates to this config?

does anyone else remember seeing any documentation about a 10pin IDC connector ?
i mean these plate6f devices must have been made specifically for some purpose?
i wonder which motherboard maker? perhaps its not even pc? because im checking asus manuals for
boards and i cant find any that use this config

There was no standard for this kind of connector so it's anyone's guess. You might be lucky and they did it properly, with pin 1 going to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, etc. But the only way to know for sure (without destroying the cable) is to use a multimeter. You can get them from China for $5 or less and once you have it, it'll take you maybe two minutes to figure out the pinout, so that's by far the quickest option. If you have a hackerspace near you, you could also ask them if they can help - most will probably oblige because it's only a couple of minutes' effort and they already have plenty of multimeters.

Just a thought: Is the other side of the cable (the one with the PS2 jack) covered by hot glue? If that is so, just peel it off and see which cable goes to what pin

Malvineous wrote:

There was no standard for this kind of connector so it's anyone's guess. You might be lucky and they did it properly, with pin 1 going to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, etc. But the only way to know for sure (without destroying the cable) is to use a multimeter. You can get them from China for $5 or less and once you have it, it'll take you maybe two minutes to figure out the pinout, so that's by far the quickest option. If you have a hackerspace near you, you could also ask them if they can help - most will probably oblige because it's only a couple of minutes' effort and they already have plenty of multimeters.

Good luck with suggesting such things to him..🤣 (hint: read the topic from the beginning)

@tayyare: Oh wow I just assumed this problem was new, I didn't realise there were five pages of chrisNova777 refusing to spend five bucks and two minutes to figure out the pinout on his own. No wonder you've given up. Amazing that some people just ignore everyone's advice and then blame them for not helping in the first place. Obviously all those people using the same motherboard and hiding the information still haven't shared it 😉 It'll be fun to see how much longer this goes on - how many weeks can you waste on a forum to save a couple of minutes with a multimeter...!

alexanrs wrote:

Just a thought: Is the other side of the cable (the one with the PS2 jack) covered by hot glue? If that is so, just peel it off and see which cable goes to what pin

its sealed i would have to cut thru the plastic to see

tayyare wrote:

Malvineous wrote:

There was no standard for this kind of connector so it's anyone's guess. You might be lucky and they did it properly, with pin 1 going to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, etc. But the only way to know for sure (without destroying the cable) is to use a multimeter. You can get them from China for $5 or less and once you have it, it'll take you maybe two minutes to figure out the pinout, so that's by far the quickest option. If you have a hackerspace near you, you could also ask them if they can help - most will probably oblige because it's only a couple of minutes' effort and they already have plenty of multimeters.

Good luck with suggesting such things to him..🤣 (hint: read the topic from the beginning)

please shut up - u dont know me or what im up to in my life.. so get your own life and stop commenting on mine if u are going to behave like a child..
ive done my best to share my information for the benefit of everyone else.. your condescending remarks are not appreciated.

Guess Startech is quality stuff. The cheapest ones just put some hot glue to keep the wires from breaking and call it a day

yes i dont have a multimeter and geeking around with old computers is not my sole concern.. i have many other avenues of interest this is just but one of many pieces to the puzzle im trying to unravel.

the point is.. SOMEONE Designed this PLATE6F product.. and it must have been designed this way (with a 10 pin IDC rather than an 8 pin IDC) for some specific purpose
compatibility with a certain product.
if i could find out what th product is then it would help a great deal to determine which color wire goes to which pin. (without having to use a multimeter)
im not trying to deny that having a multimeter would work.. obviously it would work.. and i may have to resort to getting one to get this solved once and for all but as of yet, i have not got one

chrisNova777 wrote:

tayyare wrote:

Malvineous wrote:

There was no standard for this kind of connector so it's anyone's guess. You might be lucky and they did it properly, with pin 1 going to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, etc. But the only way to know for sure (without destroying the cable) is to use a multimeter. You can get them from China for $5 or less and once you have it, it'll take you maybe two minutes to figure out the pinout, so that's by far the quickest option. If you have a hackerspace near you, you could also ask them if they can help - most will probably oblige because it's only a couple of minutes' effort and they already have plenty of multimeters.

Good luck with suggesting such things to him..🤣 (hint: read the topic from the beginning)

please shut up - u dont know me or what im up to in my life.. so get your own life and stop commenting on mine if u are going to behave like a child..
ive done my best to share my information for the benefit of everyone else.. your condescending remarks are not appreciated.

In short: This is a public forum, of which I'm a member, and I will continue to post whatever pleases me, childish or not, until somebody from the forum management tells not to, whether it is appreciated by you or not.

A hint: My reply was to Malvineous, not you.

which is why you are on my ignore list.

Hah, I helped sell Startech products as a reseller back in the day, and they never had what I would call decent reliable info on any of their products - maybe the big ticket items but not little twitchy adapters such as these.

i mean these plate6f devices must have been made specifically for some purpose?

I think this is an incorrect assumption.

If I had to guess, I'd guess that the block is not wired to any standard (indeed there is no PS/2 header standard) and they provided the wires in the block for organizational purposes, so as not to sell something with bare dangling wires - knowing that most purchasers would be getting out their voltmeters or multimeters to determine how it should be wired up and rearranging the block. They'd bag whatever they had available provided it met the general description (PS/2, 6 pin, Female) hence why Artex's and yours were the same part number from the same mfg. but wired differently. So they likely used 5x2 just because that's what they had on hand that could hold all the pins (and they were making those in the era of USB headers, so this makes sense to me! 😀 )

chrisNova777 wrote:

which is why you are on my ignore list.

So, why you are not just ignoring me? 🤣

Hint: You are not in mine.

i would like to solve the pinout problem - simply because id like to help other people not endure the frustration that i had to go thru..
but for me, its not a priority to go out + get the multimeter because after much frustration i managed to get my serial based mouse to work 100% correctly
like i said, when time permits, id like to solve this for other peoples benefit, and the ability for me to use a ps/2 mouse aswell...

I do not think many people will benefit from your findings because not all PS/2 cables are colour coded the same. Anyone who buys or finds a PS/2 breakout cable with header will still need to use a multi-meter to find where the pins are going. I have about a dozen PS/2 cables, all with different pinouts on the header and colours of wires. There was no standard. Startech will also likely sell cables with different pinouts in the future, depending on what their supplier sends them.

Exactly. chrisNova777 could work out the *exact* pinouts for his Startech PLATE6F but so long as they keep selling them, they will be wired differently from each other. I bet in 100 PLATE6F's you buy online, since resellers these days are pulling from new-old stock, you'd get at least three different wiring schemes to the header block, maybe more.

chrisNova777 wrote:

but for me, its not a priority to go out + get the multimeter

You can order one online - here's a continuity tester, which is like a multimeter but without all the other functions, only the function you need for this issue:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131589714060

It's US$0.93 with free shipping. 93 cents! Delivered to your door! It will cost you 93 cents to solve your PS/2 port pinout problem and you don't even have to leave the house.

When you get it, you stick it in one of the holes in the PS/2 socket, and hold onto it with one hand. Then you touch each wire with a finger on your other hand until it beeps or the tiny LCD screen changes. When it does, you know that wire goes to that pin and you write it down. Then you repeat for the rest of the holes in the socket and all up it will take you a minute or two, then you'll know the pinout for certain.