PS/2 mouse problems

[luisr]

Hi there! I recently bought a new mouse to replace the trackball I have here which is failing ocassionally. The existing mouse is a serial and PS/2 mouse but I have always used it on the serial port.

The new mouse is PS/2 and USB. I asked in the store if I could just plug it in the serial port and he told me it would work. Well, it didn't. I then noticed that the motherboard of this custom built system has a PS/2 connector and I only needed the plug that goes in the case. So I got one of those and installed it. When I plugged the new mouse in there, Windows cannot find it. I also tried the old mouse and it doesn't work either in the PS/2 mouse port.

Then I tried both mice in a different computer and both worked properly when plugged to the PS/2 mouse port of that other computer, so I know the new mouse is working and the old one does work properly as a PS/2 mouse - which means it should work as well in my system in that port.

I have not found any settings in the BIOS other than a single "PS/2 mouse support" setting which I had never changed before and was enabled.

The problem seems to be in the hardware becase the new mouse is one of those nifty female mice that Microsoft sells. By female I mean it doesn't have any ball because it is optical. When I tried this mouse in the other computer there was a bright red light beneath it which does not come on in my computer.

HELP!!!!! Suggestions please.

A solution could be going the USB way but I would have to install the connector that goes in the case (you see, this case is really old) which I don't currently have and I have heard that you need at least Windows 98 to use USB.

This in turn brings another question. I have Windows 95B and the CD says "With USB support". This is a full version CD. The motherboard has USB support. When trying different things with this mouse problem I enabled something related to USB in the BIOS. Next time Windows started it asked for some sort of driver for the USB port. So, can I use or cannot use USB with Windows 95B?

I could upgrade my Windows (which I have not felt compelled to do so far) but I would also need a new hard drive and possibly more memory. So I could end up spending a couple hundred bucks just because I need to replace my mouse. I can and plan to upgrade anyway sometime in the future but I am not ready to do so at this time.


[Edited by luisr on 12-09-2000 at 02:59 PM]

[LawyerRon]

My son when thru the same thing with a new system he built. You need to get the PS2 cable adapter working on your mother board. Not all plugs are "pinned" the same way. If you still have your motherboard manual, look at the pin assignments on the board. Then, you have to match the pins in the plug up to that assignment. Go here for the pin assignment on the mouse plug:
http://www.qdi.nl/english/qna.htm

We had to take the pins out of the flat plastic plug and rearrange them. It works fine now. HTH>

[luisr]

That's my suspicion but the manual does not decribe the pinout of the connector. The jumper from the motherboard to the external port matches the illustration in the web site you suggested. Still have to find the correct order in the motherboard. I will hunt for the manufacturer's web site which must be listed somewhere in the manual.

[RJ]

Hello luisr,

you can use USB with Win95B. Of course, you need to install its drivers. Nothing will work without driver, and because you had USB disabled all the time, no driver was installed.
So install the driver and USB will work.

But the M$ optical mice (I have one, too) will work fine with the PS/2 adapter.
The red light is necessary. If you don't see it, it would mean that the mouse doesn't get power at all.
Are you sure you installed the PS/2 connection well ? I think something is wrong there. Please check the connection.
Be careful ! There exist two PS/2 plugs, one for keyboard and one for mice. You cannot exchange them, and if your mainboard has the two, and you connected your mouse with keyboard PS/2 then it won't work.
The PS/2-motherboard-plug has to have anywhere a little arrow or some indication for pin 1.
And the mainboard itself has to have such an indication, too. So connect the plug with the mainboard so that the two pin 1 indications are together.

But don't worry. You don't have to spend a couple hundred bucks just to get the new mouse working. We'll find a solution.

RJ

[Edited by RJ on 12-09-2000 at 05:13 PM]

[LawyerRon]

luisr,
I assume your flat connector is 5 pin. It should have one empty hole. Your mobo manual should at least identify Pin 1 on the mouse PS2 port on the mobo. Pin #1 is usually VCC I believe. Using VCC as Pin 1, refer to the link I posted and arrange the pins accordingly.

On my son's MSI mobo, the pin assignment is as follows:
Pin 1: VCC
Pin 2: not used
Pin 3: GND
Pin 4: CLK
Pin 5: DATA

If you can get the pin assignments from your mfg's site, you should be OK.

[luisr]

RJ,

What I have is the flat connector described by LawyerRon. It can only go one way. The keyboard connector is AT so there is no possible confusion here.

And yes, the fact that the light is not on in my system tells me that the mouse is not getting power.

One question, does the light in front comes from the LED underneath? If it doesn't, does it ever goes out after some period of inactivity?

---

It appears that the manufacturer no longer supports this particular motherboard because there is no information in their web site other than the very same manual I have. It is made by First International Computers (http://www.fica.com) model VT-502. I am providing this info in case someone does know the pin arrangement of this connector. I will go back to the motherboard tomorrow with a voltmeter to find out if the VCC and ground lines are located where they should be.

Thanks about the USB info. I had suspected this for quite some time but every other information I find elsewhere tells me I need Windows 98. Even then, I would still have to find out for sure the hard way, by actually trying it.

[Jenni]

I have never had anything USB work right under Win95, not even my mouse.
Are you plugging the mouse in with the computer shut down? And did you remove the serial mouse from the device manager?
You should be getting an error when you start that Windows didn't find a mouse if you removed all the rest of them and your PS2 isn't working right.

I have an old Biostar MB, and the pin connection on it is as follows: 1. MS_DATA
2. NC
3. GROUND
4. VCC
5. MS_CLK

[LawyerRon]

luisr,
Be persistent. You sould be able to get that PS2 mouse cable to work on your motherboard. You just need to figure out the pin assignments. Also, make sure the PS2 capability is enabled in the bios.

[luisr]

Jenni,

Yes, I am connecting the mouse with the computer turned off.

I do get the error message telling me that a mouse could not be found and that a serial mouse can be attached safely but to turn off the system to attach a PS/2 mouse.

I am pretty sure it is a hardware problem because, as I stated in a prior message, the new mouse is a MS optical mouse which has a light underneath that never turns on. In the other computer I tested it the light came up when the computer was turned on.

----

LawyerRon,

I confirmed that the VCC and ground lines are where they should be IF the diagram in the site you mentioned previously is showing the PS/2 plug when looking at the mouse plug and not the socket on the PC. Just in case I reversed these two wires with no results. I also reversed the other two wires with no results either.

[LawyerRon]

Luis,
Yes, the site I posted shows the plug on the mouse, ie, the plug with the little pins in it. Of course, all you need to do is match those up to the pin assignment on the motherboard.

[Jenni]

In my previous post, the pin layout I gave was for the five pins on the MB itself, not on the mouse port. Granted, yours may be different. It isn't hard to get the pins out of the connector to rearrange them. Just push the little silver tabs on the back in with something (a needle works well) and slide them out. Also, there should be a little triangle for pin 1 on the back. (Just make sure you write down the way it was originally, in case you need to put it back that way!)
I just had one of those flashes of brilliance --take the mouse apart and see how the pins are arranged where the plug connects to the board. Since it is a MS mouse, it should have a plug, rather than the wires being soldered to the board (even if the are soldered, the should be labeled somehow). Then you should be able to match that up with your MB, assuming that Pin 2 uses no connection. Of course, I've never disassembled on of those optical mice, so do so at your own risk!

[RJ]

Well, I opened my IntelliMouse with IntelliEye and the pins have the following color:

Beginning with Pin 1:
red, white, green, black, thick black wire.

I don't know the meanings of the colors, but maybe it can help you.

RJ

[Jenni]

I found your answer on FIC's Taiwanese site.

Q: How to install a PS/2 mouse on an FIC Socket 7 motherboard?

A: Enable PS/2 in Advanced Setup (AMI BIOS).
There is a label on the board which points to pin number one when connecting the PS/2 mouse adapter on the board. The Pin number two is not connected because the female connector (on PS/2 Mouse adapter) doesn't have wire on number two slot. The PS/2 mouse port is a 5 pins pin header which is located beside keyboard socket.

PIN#1-Mouse Data
PIN#2-N.C. (Not Connected)
PIN#3-Ground
PIN#4-Vcc
PIN#5-Mouse Clock
PIN#6-N.C. (Not Connected)

You can use a PS/2 mouse only if your system has a 5 pin Pin Header next to the key board connector. It is not recommended to use a mouse cable other than that included with the FIC Mainboard package.
The PS/2 mouse adapter part-number is 22-10208-01. To acquire it, contact nearest FIC Branch.

Also, it does match the way my Biostar board is set up, as in my previous post.

Also, if need be, my dad has a FIC PT-2007 board, and I can have him open it up and see what color goes where.


[Edited by Jenni on 12-10-2000 at 03:11 PM]

[luisr]

WOW!!! Jenni, that did it! I can't thank you enough for helping me solve this problem. As LawyerRon said, we would find a solution.

Now my new mouse is happily shining on my desktop.

I wrote down the pinout in the manual just in case. And also went to the Taiwanese site and found the pinout for the USB connector in the motherboard because I am sure that standard conectors around will also be different.

Thanks a lot once again.

[LawyerRon]

Good work luisr and Jenni. There are very few electronics problems the members on this board cannot solve.

Case in point: TV MAN told me exactly what IC to resolder on my 27" TV and saved me about $300 as I was ready to buy a new one.

[RJ]

You see, luisr, you didn't end up spending a couple of hundred bucks only to get your mouse working , as you were afraid of that in your first post.

RJ

[Jenni]

Glad to help. It's amazing to me where some of these sites hide valuable information! And that they don't include stuff like that in the MB manual to begin with. It could be worse though. I ordered a PS2 connector for my MB based on the MB manual, which shows the location if the header pins, and the pin layout. The place I ordered it from didn't have one in stock, so they were gonna order one for me. Before they did though, I did a little more looking around, and the MB already has a PS2 port on it, it's just that this case is so old it was buried behind a bunch of metal! So, this MB has header pins for a PS2 mouse, and a PS2 port already onboard! I have no idea what would happen if you tried to use both of them. Anyway, I ended up cutting a hole in the case and using the onboard port, which works just fine.

[luisr]

That's why I came here for help. I have noticed in the past that people are very knowledgeable (sp?) on the subject and willing to help. And most importantly, quick responses. I was messing with this for some three days before coming here with no luck. It took about one day at most to solve the problem with no extra expense.

Thanks again.