Do PS2 Keyboards work on Windows 10

Question

I was just told that PS2 Keyboards aren't compatible with windows 10.

Is this true. I was under the impression that they should work fine?

Answer 1

According to Microsoft, Windows 10 does still accept PS/2 inputs. However there might be issues with drivers, this forum discussion explains the process for troubleshooting it.

Below is a direct quote from the Microsoft engineer in that thread detailing the various troubleshooting methods:

Method 1.

Plug the device and run the hardware troubleshooter. Once this is done, restart the computer and check the status.

Follow these steps:

• Press the ‘Windows + W’ key on the keyboard.
• Type troubleshooting in the search box and then press enter.
• Click hardware and sound and run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter.
• Follow the On screen instructions. Once this is done, restart the computer and check the status.

Method 2.

You may update the PS2 mouse driver from Device Manager manually and check if this helps.

1. Press (Windows key + X) and click on “Device Manager”.

2. Expand “Mouse” or “Mice and other pointing devices”.

3. Right click on the driver and select “Update Driver Software”. Once this is done, restart the computer and check if the issue persists.

Further, you may also look for optional updates in Windows Updates to see if there are any additional updates related to this device and install them as required.

Method 3.

If the driver update does not help then I would suggest you to completely uninstall the USB driver and reinstall it to check if this helps.

Follow these steps.

• Press “Windows key + X” and click on “Device Manager”.

• In the list of devices, you should see the “Mouse” or “Mice and other pointing devices”.

• Right click on the device driver and then select "Uninstall".

• In the uninstall dialog, make sure you select the option to delete the driver package from the system. This causes the driver package installed earlier to be deleted.

• In the Action menu of Device manager, select “Scan for Hardware changes” option. This will force the computer to recognize any hardware changes. Once the driver is installed, close all windows and restart the computer.

I don't have a PS/2 keyboard to test these for you.

Answer 2

If it doesn't work with a simple plug and play, do this:

1. Open Regedit.
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services > i8042prt
3. Set the default value for "Start" to 1.
4. Restart your machine.

Answer 3

Adding to Guest's answer:

In the Registry Editor, under Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt, the Start key should be changed from 3 to 1.

More detail about what the settings mean (from http://sourcedaddy.com/windows-7/values-for-the-start-registry-entry.html):

Value	Start Type	Description
0	Boot	Specifies a driver that is loaded (but not started) by the boot loader. If no errors occur, the driver is started during kernel initialization prior to any non-boot drivers being loaded.
1	System	Specifies a driver that loads and starts during kernel initialization after drivers with a Start value of 0 have been started.
2	Auto Load	Specifies a driver or service that is initialized at system startup by Session Manager (Smss.exe) or the Services Controller (Services.exe).
3	Load on Demand	Specifies a driver or service that the Service Control Manager (SCM) will start only on demand. These drivers have to be started manually by calling a Win32 SCM application programming interface (API), such as the Services snap-in.
4	Disable	Specifies a disabled (not started) driver or service.
5	Delayed Start	Specifies that less-critical services will start shortly after startup to allow the operating system to be responsive to the user sooner. This start type was first introduced in Windows Vista.

I had a PS/2 touchpad that was unresponsive in Windows 10. After changing this key to 1 and rebooting, the touchpad now works.