Let's say that you've just bought yourself a new computer, plus a couple of peripherals on the side, and you're down to carrying out the wiring process required in order to get the computer started. However, when you get to the part where you have to connect your mouse and keyboard, you either realize that: a) the mouse and keyboard both use USB interfaces, and your computer doesn't have any more free USB ports; or b) the mouse and keyboard (or either of the two) feature PS/2 interfaces, and the computer doesn't come equipped with such ports (albeit that's very unlikely, at least in the case of desktop computers, that is).

What is there to do in such a situation? After all, going back to the computer store and purchasing another keyboard and mouse combo is not a very good idea, since they're not exactly cheap.

Well, since this kind of situation used to be quite often encountered a while back, when the numbers of PS/2 and USB peripherals released on the market were pretty much equal (as opposite to nowadays, when most such input devices are USB-only), a fairly large number of companies (starting with none other than Microsoft) have begun releasing specialized adapters for “transforming” a USB interface into a PS2 and vice versa.

So, practically, what you need to do is get yourself one of these adapters (many manufacturers provide them right in the peripherals' sales packages) and then proceed to making the right connection. However, since we've mentioned two different cases above, we'll do the same as follows.

So, if you want to connect a USB peripheral to a PS/2 port, you'll have to get yourself a USB-to-PS/2 converter, hook up the peripherals' connectors in their respective positions and then insert the adapter in a computer's PS/2 port.


On the other hand, if you want to connect a PS/2 peripheral by using a USB port (for example, for connecting a PS/2 mouse to a notebook), you'll have to get yourself a PS/2 to USB adapter. This family of adapters is encountered a bit less frequently on the market, but they're not impossible to get a hold of, by any means. While the reasons why you find yourself in need of using an adapter may vary, it's always useful to have such tiny devices around the house, since, after all, an adapter is way less expensive than a new keyboard and mouse, for example.