Keyboard + mouse compatibility

[brockenspectre]

A very basic couple of questions for y'all!

I have an old (>5yrs) HP PC which I am very fond of and which thus far has worked wonderfully. The keyboard, however, is beginning to look more than a little "lived in" .. and my question is... if I buy a new keyboard, will it work with Win98 and an old Pentium II computer or are the new keyboards designed solely for the faster 'puters now on the market?

I got a cheapie mouse the other day (Typhoon optical scrollmouse) and that is working fine but... could one also inadvertently buy an incompatible mouse?

Thanks :ok:

[Saab Dastard]

Brockenspectre,

As long as you buy a keyboard with the same interface as your existing one (almost certainly PS2), you shouldn't have any problems. A new keyboard might have some special keys (beyond the standard 105) that your PC BIOS might not be able to take advantage of - e.g. sleep, resume, power on/off.

"Windows" specific keys should be recognised by the O/S, or by installing drivers.

Don't buy a USB keyboard (unless of course you are certain that you have a USB port to plug it into!). You could, of course, buy a dual USB / PS2 keyboard - they usually ship with one fixed interface and a convertor for the other.

The same applies to the mouse. Windows 98 should support the features like scroll wheel, although you might have to install drivers for it (which should have come with the mouse, if required).

SD

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

brockenspectre,

It is hard to get a keyboard and mouse that will not work. If you have a PII system or above with USB Ports it is hard to go wrong.

I would suggest the Logitech Cordless MX Duo, it is one of the best cordless keyboard and mice combinations on the market. (The MX700 mouse included is really slick.) ;)

Take Care,

Richard

[Lost_luggage34]

I have just binned my Labtec cordless keyboard today.

Went totally dead for no apparent reason. Assumed it was the batteries but no.

Still it was out of warranty and has had a good 4 year life.

Now the proud owner of a Labtec cordeless with optical mouse - nice feel to both of them and very good value.

I'd be cautious of the USB route if you are running Win98. Seem to recall USB support didn't get added until Win98SE.

Stick with PS2 connections and all will be fine.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Lost_luggage34,

USB Support was added with Win98. Win95 and WinNT did not support it.

Take Care,

Richard

[Lost_luggage34]

Thanks for the correction Richard.

Must have had my NT head on !

[spekesoftly]

Thought I read somewhere that even Win95 (later versions) supported some basic USB functionality?