Keyboardcablescanbereplaced.Atthekeyboardend,itisattachedtoafour-wireflat
connector that is used to connect the cable to the keyboard. If a cable is pinched or broken,
it can cause intermittent errors. It may be easier to simply replace the keyboard com-
pletely. However, if you have keyboards from which you can get a good cable, it is a simple
operation to replace the cable.Keyboard Connectors
Keyboards attach to a PC through one of four connector types: 5-pin DIN connector This connector, often called the AT style connector, has
been in use since the very first PCs. DIN (Deutsche Industrie Norm) is a German
standards organization that developed the round connector style used on this
and the 6-pin version of this connector. Only four of the five pins are used; they
carry the clocking (pin 1) and data (pin 2) and provide a ground (pin 4) and +5V
of power (pin 5).
6-pin mini-DIN (PS/2) connector This is a smaller DIN connector that uses
four of the six pins to connect the data signal (pin 1), ground (pin 3), +5V of
power (pin 4), and a clocking signal (pin 5). This connector, which is now the de
facto standard for all cabled keyboards, was first introduced on the IBM PS/2,
which is why it is commonly referred to as the PS/2 connector. Figure 18-17
shows a PS/2 connector.
USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector Many keyboards (and mice) are now
available with a USB connector. This type of connector is especially useful
when your notebook computer has only one PS/2 port and you wish to connect
both a keyboard and mouse to it. Figure 18-18 shows a USB connector.
IrDA (infrared) connector Several keyboard styles are available with an
infrared (wireless) interface. Several models of full-sized and even multimedia
keyboards are available for use with either desktop or notebook PCs that
support the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) standard interface.Chapter 18: Keyboards, Mice, and Pointing Devices^463
Figure 18-17. A 6-pin mini-DIN (PS/2) connector is standard on most PC keyboards