Costar/InfoTrac CSK-2101 receives power, however no keys will register.

[armani]

It's a beautiful looking keyboard for sure, probably the best looking one in my collection. that and the white alps are pretty much the reason why I bought it lol, I ended up buying it marked as untested

I am attempting to use this keyboard on my Windows 10 laptop and my Windows 10 gaming desktop. I have a (working) AT -> PS/2 converter, along with a working PS/2 -> USB converter. The gaming desktop has a PS/2 port on the back (which works) that I use for some of my older keyboards. I first tested it directly only with the AT -> PS/2 converter, with the PS/2 port being plugged in my desktop, as the PS/2 -> USB converter can be finnicky sometimes. There is a "Power" light on the keyboard that shows that it is receiving power, however not a single keypress will register. Tried it with the PS/2 -> USB converter next on both my desktop and my laptop, both had the same result --- the "Power" light lights up, however, not a single keypress will register.

There is a switch on the back of the keyboard for AT and XT modes, I have tried both and neither will work.

I have also heard that even with a working converter that it's not 100% bulletproof to work with all AT keyboards, and that some AT keyboards simply won't work in newer operating systems. Could that be the case here?

Haven't had the time to take it apart yet, but I did take off a couple of switches and it's pretty clean on the inside

[Tactile]

Leave the switch on AT mode

If this is one of those motherboards with only one PS/2 port which supposedly works for either mouse or keyboard, I'm not sure I'd have much faith in it. I'd have more confidence in a good PS/2 to USB converter, ideally a Soarer's Converter.

Anyway, once you convert to USB, HID listen might give some useful clues.

[armani]

Leave the switch on AT mode

If this is one of those motherboards with only one PS/2 port which supposedly works for either mouse or keyboard, I'm not sure I'd have much faith in it. I'd have more confidence in a good PS/2 to USB converter, ideally a Soarer's Converter.

Anyway, once you convert to USB, HID listen might give some useful clues.

I am unfamiliar with this program, but when I downloaded it and installed it, it kept saying "waiting for device," with no other prompts, are there other steps I need to take? This is what I am currently working with:



I also opened up the keyboard and took pics of the main board, everything looks to be in good shape but I'm not 100% sure

[Tactile]

To make sure we're doing it right, HID listen should be up & "Waiting..." before you plug in the keyboard/USB converter

Frankly, if this was my keyboard, I'd buy & try a couple more PS/2 to USB converters. There are old PS/2 keyboards and there are older PS/2 keyboards. The older ones, like yours, don't always work with just any converter.

Anyway, that's where I think the problem lies. If it was mine I'd be willing to buy a couple of converters to try to get this old beauty running.

[armani]

To make sure we're doing it right, HID listen should be up & "Waiting..." before you plug in the keyboard/USB converter

Frankly, if this was my keyboard, I'd buy & try a couple more PS/2 to USB converters. There are old PS/2 keyboards and there are older PS/2 keyboards. The older ones, like yours, don't always work with just any converter.

Anyway, that's where I think the problem lies. If it was mine I'd be willing to buy a couple of converters to try to get this old beauty running.

I was doing some research on this topic and I think you're correct, I'm about 95% sure that my current PS/2 -> USB adapter is a passive one, I believe it was the cheapest one I could find off eBay lol, it was this specific listing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/383078542924?hash=item593142ae4c:g:p10AAOSwPV1fMxhQ&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4JfgA%2BTErim9ax2qvkb6n%2FjWIi7BFd1rS%2Bmg0Dk4Qz9xhOE3HhzytA7UomoCyOony4sztZvA9jgceGxFlIvQwZHbUkUg8Goqy1uyP8Vq3Cs%2BntV7g8Hsm5kXU9xlWZbE8Sa3R8jSaxgiiI31Nbkl2IWmfVsOx0OwPhXCxWktQXv3N5Jq5knJd6LjuE82Q6jVdrk0LUgzLYtanuR2GFzce0j3G3M%2FkAfGpe835XWXuXa6LJhBZpeUzIFsMugVJ4bKDhYE0DvNYcXeTaFuwZDXyjEyjs9wz81Qx8Mm1nHZ2x1g%7Ctkp%3ABFBMiLiq6slh

I heard something about PS/2 -> USB converters called "Blue Cubes" being bulletproof with ancient keyboards such as Model Ms, however it seems they no longer make them and I can't find any available for purchase. something called a "Cypress" chip helps them achieve that functionality. It does seem Soarer's converters can do the job but they are on the pricier side, and I don't really need anything too fancy anyways like remapping

Edit: managed to find a "Belkin F5U119-E" which apparently has a similar Cypress chip to the Blue Cubes, ordered one online and will see what happens when it arrives

[Tactile]

If you'll trust me you can PM me your address & I'll send you a blue cube at no charge. If you don't want to give out your address, no problem.

[armani]

If you'll trust me you can PM me your address & I'll send you a blue cube at no charge. If you don't want to give out your address, no problem.

Oh wow, that's incredibly generous of you! I can send you my address, and I can also pay for shipping if you'd like

[Tactile]

Your blue cube is on the way. Hope it works for you.

[armani]

Your blue cube is on the way. Hope it works for you.

You're an absolute legend, got the blue cube today and it worked like a charm! I can't express my gratitude enough!



I have a couple old keyboards that I bought a couple years ago that had problems while I was using the cheap PS/2 converter I had, that I will try with the blue cube, most notably a CVT Avant Prime that I got for really cheap that I have been wanting to use for a long time, I will test that one out too once I find where I put it and I will see if it works with it too! I think I might make a video on this topic due to it being so sparsely covered...

[Tactile]

That's great! I'm very pleased you got your keyboard working.