PS2 Keyboard

My friend just bought a fresh new intel mac mini, and he's been having some problem with his wireless microsoft keyboard/mouse problem. The two peripherals use the same wireless transmitter, which is PS2 and hooked up to usb through a computer.

Sometimes the keyboard will stop working altogether, but a restart of the computer fixes that. The mouse also randomly "right clicks" even when nothing is being pressed.

Is this a faulty keyboard, or does OS X just not have support for PS2 keyboards? Does he have to buy a new usb keyboard, or is there an easier fix. Btw, it is one of the microsoft ergonomic keyboards, and the mouse has many extra function buttons.

How does he use a PS2 keyboard and mouse on a Mac? I think I'm missing something...

It may not be that it is a PS2 keyboard at all - it may be that is a USB keyboard. I have a Logitech USB keyboard and mouse set that was designed expressly for Mac. Like yours, it interfaces wirelessly through a single transmitter/receiver. Now and then, mostly after a restart, the Mac simply fails to respond to them. A GUI without a mouse is tough thing indeed!

Here is my solution: unplug the USB plug, wait about 10s, and then plug it back in. This seems to make the Mac "see" the keyboard and mouse again and all is well until the next incident - happens about once every two or three restarts. Since I rarely restart my Mac, this can be a long time in between.

Try that. Try unplugging, waiting and replugging. Hopefully this works around the problem for you. I love my Logitech keyboard/mouse so much that I am willing to put up with the occasional inconvenience.

Jeff, he is likely using one of the magic little PS2->USB adaptors. Handy things those, and supplied with most late model PS2 keyboard and mice.