PS/2 to USB
I'd long had a PS/2 mouse (via USB converter) and a PS/2 keyboard. I liked the hardware compatibility with GNU/Linux & Windows, it seemed simple & without hassles.
In the past I've enjoyed the original MS natural keyboard, I had one at work and one at home. Since moving, I got a new PC last year and had the plain HP keyboard which worked well (PS/2).
I decided to try out the new MS Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000.
Instead of following the instructions, which mentioned requiring software installation prior to using the hardware, I decided to just switch from PS/2 to USB, plug in and reboot to see what happens.
I plugged USB mouse into USB (rather than use PS/2 converter) and plugged in MS USB keyboard into USB.
openSUSE GNU/Linux 64-bit : Just worked, it detected everything and worked fine.
Vista 5600 RC1 64-bit : Just worked, it detected everything and worked fine.
XP SP2 32-bit: nothing worked.
Neither mouse nor keyboard worked. I had to reboot again, plug back in the original keyboard & mouse and login. Installed the drivers/software from the supplied CD.
Switch off, change to new keyboard & USB mouse, booted, and still no joy.
Put everything back, rebooted, all working. So rebooted with original PS/2 keyboard and placed mouse in USB. Rebooted. Mouse not working but keyboard ok, so I logged in via keyboard. Then after a few mins, XP says new USB mouse found and it starts working.
Switch off, change to new keyboard & USB mouse, booted, and still no keyboard.
Switched back to old keyboard, kept USB mouse. Logged in, and decided to try plugging in the new USB keyboard whilst using the PS/2 keyboard.
XP then recognized the new keyboard, so I rebooted with just the new keyboard and usb mouse and all was okay !!
It seems the hardware detection in 64-bit Linux and 64-bit Vista is smoother than under 32-bit XP :-)
