PS/2 Ports on a PowerMac?

i had one of those PS/2 to USB adaptors they say they not Mac compatible but they are so im assuming Generic Drivers in Mac OS X would allow a PS/2 PCI card to work do PowerMac logic boards have any USB 2.0 Headers on them?
 
LeoTheLion89 said:
if a PCI PS/2 Card is installed into a PowerMac will a PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse Work on the Mac OS?
Click to expand...
Let me put this into a context. On Macs, USB replaced the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) and DIN-8 RS-232 serial ports beginning with the introduction of the original iMac in 1998. On the Wintel side, USB was intended to replace PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports, DB-9 RS-232 serial ports, and parallel printer ports beginning in the 1996 time frame. For the better part of the decade that followed, most Wintel PCs shipped with USB and legacy ports.

Except for a limited number of very obscure cases, there was never a market for additional PS/2 ports on Wintel PCs. There was never a market for PS/2 ports on the Mac either before or after the USB transition. [Mac clones used PS/2 ports.] There are no PS/2 cards for the Mac and never have been.

It might be helpful if you would explain why you "need" PS/2 ports.
 
well i can install PS/2 ktexts to enable the use but i need a PS/2 Card because i have no USB keyboards and the PowerMac G4 will not come with a keyboard or mouse and its pointless to invest in a USB keyboard when i have over a dozen keyboards now
 
reading up all PS/2 PCI cards use PS/2 Emulation via USB so in aspect it being a USB card the PS/2 Ports should work just fine on Mac OS using native USB Drivers
 
I though of a Question: Would a PS/2 keyboard support the various keyboard boot commands, that might be needed before PS/2 drivers would load?
 
well all PS/2 to PCI card Emulate PS/2 Through USB so if a Mac allows boot commands thru a PCI USB Card than it should with a PCI PS/2 Card as well
 
Well if Mac OS supports Boot commands through a USB PCI Card than it will with a PS/2 PCI card because a PS/2 Card emulates the PS/2 Ports through USB
 
well all PCI PS/2 cards Emulate PS/2 thru USB so if a Mac can use boot commands through a PCI USB Card than it should be able to do that with a PS/2 Card as well
 
LeoTheLion89 said:
well i can install PS/2 ktexts to enable the use but i need a PS/2 Card because i have no USB keyboards and the PowerMac G4 will not come with a keyboard or mouse and its pointless to invest in a USB keyboard when i have over a dozen keyboards now
Click to expand...
You are trying to run all around Job's barn to no good end. You may not have a USB keyboard, but you can buy one at your nearest Walmart, Office Depot, Radio Shack, or any number of other stores that sell technology. If you can't afford one, then you may have a friend who will give you one. I can guarantee that a USB keyboard will be less expensive and less time-consuming than locating a non-existent PS/2 card and developing the kexts to make it work on your Power Mac G4. The same goes for a USB mouse.
 
read MY post above

Even if your own solution has the PS/2 device communicating through USB, you're still subject to the main limitation of PS/2 - you can't expect hot connect, or hot swap to work on a PS/2 device, where a USB device does that easily. USB drivers with a PS/2 device would be nothing more than a kludge, likely not too stable...
 
all im asking is if putting in a PS/2 PCI Card would work does PowerMac G4s support boot commands through USB Cards? such as the Apple C to boot from CD? also using a Windows keyboard on a Mac what key is the same as the Eject key? i think it is F12? i do have the original keyboard from my iMac G3 if i hook that up can i turn on the system by pressing the Power Button on the iMac Keyboard?
 
Yes, the alternate key for CD eject is f12 (but not alway, you would have to just try it)

The power button on an older Apple keyboard is generally not supported now.
The old iMac (with a CD tray, not the newer iMac G3 with slot CD drive) would support that keyboard power button. Probably not on any G4 Mac that I can think of.
But, on the G4, the power button is right in front on the tower.
 
Yes, that's correct. Macs moved away from that keyboard power button during the time that G3s were sold. Later G3s moved to the New World ROMs, and I think that's about the time that bus switch was also dropped.
The only way to power up the eMac is the power button on the side.
I seldom shut my eMac off, maybe twice a year. Usually it's asleep, so a key press wakes it up. That's pretty close to the convenience of the keyboard power button, eh?
 
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