VOGONS


First post, by 5u3

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Finding an optical mouse with wheel for PS/2 seems to be a very trivial matter at first, but in my case, there is a string attached 😈
The problem is, my KVM switch does not work with USB combo mice that come with an adapter for PS/2. Only "real" PS/2 mice are supported, the ones that also work with USB are not initialized correctly.
Currently I'm using a very cheap optical PS/2 mouse that works with my setup, but the poor thing is already falling apart. I've tried to find a replacement, but nowadays every mouse seems to have USB support.

So here is my question: Does anyone know an optical PS/2 wheelmouse without USB support? Maybe some older model? I'd appreciate any tips!

Reply 1 of 5, by eL_PuSHeR

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Yesterday I bought one of these USB/PS2 one. It works fine for me using the adaptor in the PS/2 port. Have you thought that the bios on your machine may need updating?

By the way. In the shop there were also true PS/2 mice. The one I bought (Logitech - OEM) costed me about 6€. I live in Spain. Where are you from?

Did you also tried getting one online?

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Reply 2 of 5, by HunterZ

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You could plug a separate mouse into each computer as well.

Most PS/2-only optical wheel mice that I've seen are very poor quality, but I haven't seen any for a few years.

Reply 4 of 5, by HunterZ

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Another thought: Are you (5u3) using the USB-to-PS/2 adapter that came with the mouse? I've noticed that trying to mix-and-match adapters with mice that they didn't come with will sometimes not work.

Reply 5 of 5, by 5u3

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Thanks for all the replies! It's quite difficult for me to describe this mouse problem, please excuse my moderate English skills.

eL_PuSHeR wrote:

Have you thought that the bios on your machine may need updating?

No, because when I connect any mouse directly to the computer (without the KVM switch in between), it all works fine, even on my 486.

eL_PuSHeR wrote:

Did you also tried getting one online?

Not yet, I think a suitable mouse would be easy to get online, if I only knew which one is compatible with my KVM.

HunterZ wrote:

You could plug a separate mouse into each computer as well.

Yeah, I already had this kind of setup before I got the KVM. However, having to grab the correct mouse after each switch tends to get annoying after a short while 🙄

HunterZ wrote:

Most PS/2-only optical wheel mice that I've seen are very poor quality, but I haven't seen any for a few years.

I'm using one of these right now, that's why I want to find a replacement. The casing is disintegrating, the mouse wheel gets mechanically stuck, and I've already fixed the cable three times... 😒

collector wrote:

I have a USB mouse with a PS/2 adapter on a KVM and have no problems with it.

May I ask which brand/model that is? Maybe it would also work with mine.

HunterZ wrote:

Another thought: Are you (5u3) using the USB-to-PS/2 adapter that came with the mouse? I've noticed that trying to mix-and-match adapters with mice that they didn't come with will sometimes not work.

Hmmm, good idea. I'm pretty sure I have the right adapter, but it might be worth a try. Somewhere at work I have a box with about 50 USB-to-PS/2 adapters 🤣

I have my own theory why combo mice do not work with my KVM: It has to do something with the initalization and determining in which mode (USB or PS/2) the mouse should work. Maybe the mouse first tries to communicate via one of the two protocols, and if there is a specific reaction from the port (which my KVM fails to emulate), it decides in which mode to operate.
When connected to my KVM (Aten MasterView Plus CS-114), combo mice seem to operate in the wrong mode after initialization.
I don't know if this sounds reasonable, but I've not been able to come up with a better explanation yet.