Old trackball won't work on modern laptops

Joerg wrote in news:vTash.2588$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr11.news.prodigy.net:

get an adapter to fit the PS/2 mouse port,or one to convert to a USB port. I find that Best Buy(in theUS) has low prices on adapters.

snipped-for-privacy@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black) wrote in news:eorhcg$o6j$ snipped-for-privacy@theodyn.ncf.ca:

the last optical Logitech mouse I bought came with an adapter; USB to PS/2.

Did that on both machines. Neither found it.

If I just knew how, respectively where to get or find the needed driver.

Tried that on both machines. No trabajo :-(

Good idea. Although that usually only provide a virtual COM port and then it would still need a driver for the mouse.

Maybe the serial port is a fake ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

Spend the $49 already!

...Jim Thompson

it.

No :-)

It's done some serial com already.

No problem, but not tonight. Best Buy is an hour round trip. Per order from above that can only be done in combination with lunch at Black Angus :-)

They got Guinness on tap...

Windows does not detect a serial mouse to well if you already have one in the PS2 port. the simplest thing to do is to get a RS-232 9pin to PS2 serial port adapter.

Currently there is nothing in the PS2 port. But the laptops, of course, do have a touchpad.

You can fix that problem by adding \\NoSerialMice to the boot.ini. Search the MS knowledge base to make sure I am correct (it is something like that). You can also stop windows enumerating serial devices in the registry if you are real keen. TAke note though, it is different from XP and NT, so you have to check the MS knowledge base.

C*ck

You use Eagle and I know that Eagle has some reverse Polish notation about the way it forces you to lay out tracks so there is a good chance that the rest of it is c*ck as well so I 100% know that since all of Eagle is f****ng broken you only want to use your trackball because you have been forced to use Eagle because you bought it and have learned how to do it with your trackball and now there is no way you are going to admit to the fact it is c*ck.

DNA

Do you have "Fast User Switching" turned on?

MS Help mentions that Serial Devices can be used for people with handicaps and hooked up to Serial Ports but only with turning off that option in WindowsXP.

Search Help on "SerialKey device"

Robert

There you go, Joerg. Right under both our noses. Thanks, Robert! Stored away for later use.

...Jim Thompson

(These are probably way beneath you, but sometimes we overlook the simplest things.)

Have you checked the BIOS settings to be sure COM1: is enabled?

Is there any chance that you could need a 9-pin to 9-pin null modem?

I also vaguely recall from my old DOS days that there were at least 2 alternate pinouts for the 9-pin port. You should ask Logitech what pinout they used.

hope that helps

Joe

EAGLE works fine under Linux. And if all you want to do is draw schematics while on the road you can even temporarily use the free edition, and then do the layout on your paid-for Windows version.

robert

Full confession: I don't even know what that is.

Thanks, Robert, will try later today. First I have to repair our pool sweep. Again. Its freaking expensive hose became brittle (!) and broke.

You can use Eagle via keys, just like OrCad. But it's no fun that way for larger designs. And I don't do layouts, that's done by someone who is an expert in that field (which I am not).