Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: We Make DIY Upgrading Easy! Maximize your Apple MacBook / MacBook Pro. Up to 8.0GB Memory, up to 1.0TB HD & More. Easy Guide + Free, Detailed Installation Videos. Click here

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac Daniel's Advice

Using One Keyboard, Mouse, and Monitor with Your USB Mac and PS/2 Windows PC

Dan Knight - 2005.03.30

Yesterday I posted How About a KVM Switch for USB Macs and PS/2 Windows PCs?, bemoaning my inability to find a low-cost keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) switch that would work with both a USB Mac and a PC that required PS/2 input.

Thanks to several readers, I am able to report that such items do exist, and they're not terribly expensive. On top of that, I have a couple of even less costly options some readers have suggested.

The iView KVM

There seems to be precisely one solution to this problem, the 2 Port iView Mini KVM Switch with PS/2, USB, audio, and integrated cables, which appears to only be available from Triangle Cables. It's not exactly what I was looking for, but it's good enough.

The iView Mini KVM has VGA, audio, PS/2 keyboard, and PS/2 mouse plugs on one side; VGA, audio, and USB on the other; and VGA, audio, PS/2 keyboard, and PS/2 mouse inputs in the middle (the switch). That means you can't use a USB mouse and keyboard without USB-to-PS/2 adapters.

iView Mini KVMI don't think that's going to be a problem for the bulk of the target audience, which already has a computer with PS/2 ports and therefore must have a PS/2 mouse and keyboard. This should work like a charm with my Logitech wireless mouse/keyboard combo, since it supports PS/2 as well as USB.

Thanks to Dan Harmon of Chicago for passing along information on this device, which he uses. It sells for US$59.

The Petite CS-521 KVM

Petits CS-521Another solution is the Petite CS-521, which supports PS2 keyboard and mouse input switched between one PS/2 machine and one USB computer. The biggest drawback with this one is that it claims to have 4" cables, but maybe that's a typo for a 4' cable.

The Petite CS-521 KVM is available from ATEN for US$49.95. Thanks to Timothy Gogh for bringing this to my attention.

Other Options

More expensive than either of these, Eric suggests the Belkin OmniView™ SOHO Series KVM Switch with Audio, PS/2, USB, and VGA. The lowest price I've seen on this KVM is US$80.

Several readers suggest using a PS/2 KVM with a 2-female-PS/2-to-one-USB adapter. H Wayne Anderson reports picking up a GE adapter at Big Lots for $4. This may be the most economical solution. It's definitely the one I'll be pursuing first.

Gary Shelton notes that it should be possible to change the BIOS in my Dell: "In your Dell's BIOS, there should be a setting that will allow the computer to boot without a PS/2 keyboard and mouse attached. It's location is dependent upon the age of the machine and the manufacturer of the BIOS, but on most older machines it's an option on the first screen, listed under something such as 'Halt on Error' - there should be a setting there to tell the computer to ignore keyboard errors, which will allow the computer to boot without a keyboard. I discovered this many years ago when using PCs with UNIXy operating systems like FreeBSD, where I could reasonably expect the computer to run 'headless'."

I tried it, found the keyboard error reporting setting on the second setup page (hold F2 at startup), and told it not to report errors. Then I plugged the wireless base into the USB port, rebooted, and the Dell did boot into Windows. And then Windows complained that there was no PS/2 mouse....

Thanks to everyone who wrote. It's nice to have this kind of support - and to discover that something I couldn't find does exist. LEM

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

Links for the Day

  • Mac of the Day: 15" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based MacBook launched at 1.83-2.0 GHz, had several teething problems.
  • Group of the Day: System 6 is the email list for those who choose System 6.
  • November 22 in LEM history: 99: Gradebooks - 00: Leveraging Apple design - Quadra 630 to Power Mac 5200 - 02: Laptop or desktop? - 04: SuperDuper: Quick, easy, efficient backup - Cross-platform programming for the rest of us - 05: Mac video surveillance on the cheap - Which OS is best for my vintage Mac? - No 'best browser' for the Mac - Sorry state of browsers for classic Macs - 06: Core 2 means cooler running 'Books - 2.0 GHz G4 upgrade
  • Support Low End Mac

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

  • Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
  • Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
  • Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
  • Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
  • Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
  • Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
  • Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
  • Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
  • Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
  • More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.