deskthority

Hello,
I'm using a compaq mx11800 as my main keyboard, it types nicely and it has a nice size for my desk. but I've run into some weird behavior when I tried to play some games with it.

for example I press w to move forward, then, a, to strafe left , then release a, but then while keeping w pressed, w releases after about 2 seconds, and I have to actually release and repress it to move again. I've tried it with other keys, and the keyboard has similar behavior.

every key which is pressed, but gets another key pressed while being pressed, releases 2 seconds after the second key gets depressed.
I can 'trick' the keyboard into keeping w pressed, by pressing other keys at least every 2 seconds while pressing w. but if I don't w will just release. This is the only keyboard that does this on my system.

I've looked over the web and on the forums and haven't found any reference to this problem. So I'm hoping someone here has had a similar problem and knows why this happens.
I'm using a ps/2 to usb adapter. because I have a notebook, I'm thinking about replacing the adapter. But maybe someone has a better suggestion.

Sounds like a rollover issue paired with some weird functionality of the PS/2 to USB adapter to prevent that. Try changing the adapter to e.g. a "Blue cube" or plug it directly into a PS/2 port.

thanks for the reply, unfortunately using PS/2 is not an option for me.
I was not aware of the 'blue box' type converters, I'm currenly using this, http://www.logilink.org/showproduct/AU0 ... anguage=en,
the block in the middle leads me to think there is some active processing going on. but who knows:)
any tips where to find these blue cubes, if I google I find this,
http://www.amazon.com/Ziotek-PS2-Keyboa ... B000BSJFJS
but i cant find anything similar locally:
http://www.beslist.nl/products/r/PS%2F2 ... =price_min

I will first try to test the keyboard on a pc with ps/2 connectors to see if it's not the keyboard itself.
thanx for the help.

Would you like to go into System (or Device Manager or whatever it is called) and tell us how the adapter identifies itself? It should name itself after the adapter chip's manufacturer - where the same chip could be found in several manufacturers' adapters. That way, maybe we could find out if your adapter uses a chip with a known issue or if it is one that should have worked.

BTW. You can also go and use the key viewer here to see what happens, so you won't have to start a game to test the keyboard.
I did, with my MX-11800, and I found that it didn't have very good rollover for the WASD cluster. It was OK if you pressed two keys on different rows but combinations such as AS, SD or WQ and WE did not work.

You can buy it on Ebay: http://www.ebay.nl/itm/331423468768
The seller ships worldwide, I've ordered mine from him and shipping was reasonably fast.
It's a classic and known to work with almost every PS/2 keyboard.
But first try to test the keyboard on a native PS/2 port, although I experienced the PS/2 port on some modern motherboards to cause problems. Mine for example doesn't deliver enough power to run my Model F AT, but that's an extremely power consuming keyboard, unlike your Compaq.

I have an adapter similar to the one you linked in the OP and have some small problems with it, but the blue cube has never failed me.

thanks for the help.

in device manager it is listed as, a generic HID Keyboard Device, I can't find any reference to chipsets, and it uses microsoft supplied drivers. details below.

and don't worry, I used http://www.passmark.com/products/keytest.htm to test after I noticed the problem;)
I don't think it's a rollover problem, because that would just mean the last key pressed would not register, right?

I did some further testing, and the problem is more complex than I described before,
if I press and hold A+W+E+R in that order, if i release just the R, 2 seconds later all the other keys release too, but if I release the E, the other keys will just keep pressed.
So, only when the last key that is pressed is also first released, somehow 2 seconds later my pc, the adapter or the keyboard decides to send a key-release event of all the keys on the keyboard. but if it's any other key than the last key pressed everything works fine :S
I'm thinking it's not a software issue because even if the last key pressed is not registered because of rollover,
eg. pressing A+W+S in that order, the S does not register because of rollover, but if I release the S first, the A and W still release 2 seconds later, while my keyboard is still typing W's.

I've checked if it might be a powersaving problem, by disabling all the 'computer can turn device off to save power', marks on my usb devices. that didn't help.

Thanks for the ebay link, the British shop saves some shipping. I'll order it if the keyboard passes my tests with just PS/2:)

here the device details if it's any use:
Device HID\VID_0E8F&PID_0020&MI_00\7&7e2d6bb&0&0000 was started.
Driver Name: keyboard.inf
Class Guid: {4D36E96B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Service: kbdhid