Keyboard problems!

Once Me got my USB A to Mini-AB cable done, my next task was to get a minimal set of peripherals working with the Angstrom demo distribution.

So, this is what my setup looked like.

USB-A to mini-AB connected to a female-USB to female-USB adapter, which was connected to a self powered USB 2.0 hub. Connected to the hub were a USB to ethernet adapter and a USB to PS2 adapter, to which a PS2 keyboard and mouse were connected.

When angstrom booted in, Me couldn't log in - neither the keyboard and mouse were working. Had to go about the elimination way to figure out what was happening.

When Me had only a USB mouse connected to the hub, Angstrom booted with mouse enabled and Me could log in. Connected the USB to ethernet adapter and was glad to see the ethernet work too.

However, the moment Me connected the USB to PS2 adapter, the USB to ethernet was disabled, and neither did the mouse work. Noticed a bunch of statements on the serial port - which indicated that the corresponding USB ports were disabled.

Looks like the USB to PS2 adapter is the culprit. Can't exactly figure out what was happening, but Me thinks its drawing too much power off the hub due to which the hub was disabling the other ports. Or its probably that the hub itself was faulty. What perplexes me is that the USB to PS2 adapter to keyboard-and-mouse works fine on my Windows laptop without these problems.

Can't quite explain or pin down the problem to a particular component. However, the next immediate steps would be to:

1. Check if a USB keyboard works fine along with the mouse and USB to Ethernet connected to the hub.
2. If that doesn't work, then check with a different USB hub.

 

-Me.