Fixing mouse on pr5 motherboard

[julieA]

In the continuing saga of "Fixing Holly's Mouse", I have discovered that the motherboard is a PR5. It had a ps/2 mouse but it was attached to a serial port when I got it with an adapter. There is a connection on the motherboard that says ps/2 mouse. It looks like this- :..: as two of the metal pins are not there. I don't know if this is on purpose or not. It also has a USB connection on the motherboard which looks like this :::::::. That is 15 pins with a space at one end. The 2 connectors that say COM1 and COM2 have nothing attached. The mouse that previously worked was attached to a serial port with an adapter and I don't know whether it was attached to the ps/2 or the com port. Does anyone have any idea how I could get a mouse attached and working? I can only assume the serial port I took off was not working as the mouse itself worked on a different computer- all three of the new mouses I purchased worked elsewhere. I considered buying a card that would add a usb port and a usb mouse or trackball from tigerdirect but didn't know if it would work with this motherboard and I need it to cost less than buying a new motherboard. It may be time to pitch this one and buy another kit. We only use our computers for internet interaction and school work so I'm not looking for lightning speed or ocean size hard drives. I'm trying to get the second pc running for the children as cheaply as possible. Does anyone have an idea of what it may take to get that mouse to work?
sincerely,
julieA

[Arthur]

Here are some images of the different ports in existence.
USB: http://www.technick.net/images/connectors/conn_usb_a.gif http://www.technick.net/images/connectors/conn_usb_b.gif The first is plugged into the computer, the second in the periheral.
Serial (COM): http://www.technick.net/images/connectors/conn_dsub9m.gif http://www.technick.net/images/connectors/conn_dsub25m.gif You probably only have the small version?
PS/2: http://www.technick.net/images/connectors/conn_minidin6f.gif Pin 2 & 6 aren't connected.

Some mouses (mice?) have an adapter and work on both PS/2 and COM ports. This adapter however doesn't work on a PS/2-only mouse. The PS/2 connectors are often colored green.

You have three mice you say. Are they all PS/2 models? And all of these work on other computers?

PR5 is a bit too general, can you find a manufacturer, e.g. ASUS, Abit, VIA, Chaintech, Intel, MSI, Tyan?

Arthur

[julieA]

The motherboard is an Abit pr5 with an Intel Triton VX chipset. After some difficulty, I located and downloaded the manual in pdf but it doesn't help me much. I have 3 ps/2 mice which were connected with an adapter. The :..: description is the connector actually on the motherboard. The mouse was attached to the serial port on the case. The serial port was attached to the motherboard with a small data cable, I believe to a COM port. In examining the mo/bo I noticed it had a label on it that said ps/2 mouse but I can't find anywhere to get a ps/2 cable and port to connect to the motherboard and since there are 2 spaces on the ps/2 connector that don't have pins, I wondered if the reason the mouse was attached to a serial port was that this ps/2 connection was broken somehow and they had replaced it with a serial mouse.

[Arthur]

So, there's no PS/2 connector on the back of the computer, but there is a connector on the motherboard. The PS/2 to serial port adapter doesn't work with those three mice.
Then what you need is this;
http://www.cablesnmor.com/images/ps2-ports.jpg
I found this one at Cables N Mor (http://www.cablesnmor.com), where you can order one for $6. I'm sure you can find other computer supply vendors that sell them, I just searched for "PS2 connector" on Google.

Be careful; there are a couple of different models, but from your description, you probably need the 4x2 connector (where two pins aren't connected, which is correct).

HTH,
Arthur

[julieA]

That's exactly what I need but I didn't know how to describe it or what to call it. THANKS!!