On 4 Feb 02, at 9:34, Michael Barnes wrote: > I've got some Compaq computers donated I am planning on using as > firewall/gateway boxes. One glitch I ran into is, the Compaq BIOS has no > setting to ignore the lack of a keyboard (that I can find anyhow). Most of > them are Compaq ProLinea 590s. I don't want to leave these sit with a > keyboard attached that could lead to problems. Does anyone know how to > build or procure a dummy plug I can insert to make the computer think there > is a keyboard attached?
There was an article about this very subject in the July 2001 Nuts & Volts magazine. The guy ended up building a keyless keyboard emulator, consisting of a small microcontroller chip, and about 5 discrete components. He used a PIC 16F84 and built it into a little perfboard gizmo. The Nuts and Volts website is at http://www.nutsvolts.com/toc_Pages/jul01toc.htm But they don't have a full copy of the article on the site, just a link to the code for the PIC. If you're up to doing a project like this, including burning the code into the PIC, I could send you more information on it. According to the article, it really is more than just a little dummy thing; it has to have at least some intelligence, since one of the things that occurs during the POST is a check, where the PC ROM is looking for particular responses from the keyboard. Hope this helps, Mike Jesch ======== An American Classic =========================== There's a good reason why Reader's Digest has long been one of America's favorite magazines. Find out why that's true by trying a risk-free subscription now! http://click.topica.com/caaacQ3bz8Rp2bAfyICf/TopOffers ================================================= -- Visit http://www.ShareTheNet.com for info about ShareTheNet Visit http://www.topica.com/lists/sharethenet for info about this list To Unsubscribe send email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bz8Rp2.bAfyIC Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
