"zekeman" <zeke***@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2FD9F256-85F5-4340-B2AF-07B92FAB10BC@microsoft.com...
> Can Windows 2000 (or XP; I may upgrade) run 2 mice and/or keyboards
> simultaneously? My monitor is now my large-screen HDTV, and I can see it
> while sitting outside on my patio as well as inside (of course). Want the
> ability to at least mouse, if not keyboard, from out there with units I
> keep
> out there for that purpose, and not have to carry out my interior units
> every
> time I want to use them and then carry them back in afterward.
>
> I'm asking because the Control Panel seems designed to handle only one
> each.
> I imagine it's all in the drivers, though: can the OS handle two loaded
> mouse
> and keyboard drivers without getting deep under the Registry hood? I know
> it
> can simultaneously easily run a mouse-emulating remote control such as
> supplied with ATI All-In-Wonder vidcards at the same time as a
> full-fledged
> mouse, but that's an unacceptable downgrade in utility.
>
> If so, any particular limitations such as the two mice and/or keyboards
> needing to be the same make and model, or a conversely a different one?
> Any
> particular limitations on wireless units (IR or RF)? Or one hard-wired
> into
> the PS/2 port and one USB-wireless? Is there special software
> written/needed
> to handle this?
>
> Thanks much for any tips.

> The computer box sits below the monitor. Yes, 'units' referred to the extra
> mouse and keyboard. Currently a wireless USB mouse and a PS/2 keyboard on a
> simple 25-ft $10 extension cable are connected to the computer, which I
> operate quite successfully from across the room. (It's quite liberating not
> to be chained 2 feet in front of a monitor btw.)
>
> I want to add a 2nd keyboard and 2nd mouse to the computer. Certainly
> wireless is an option I'm looking at, which is why IR and RF wireless were
> mentioned specifically in the OP. And precisely why I can't "just run some
> tests and find out": I don't have spare mice and keyboards laying around, and
> am not inclined to buy some expensive wireless keyboard and mouse only to
> find W2K can't run two of each simultaneously. Which is why I'm asking the
> original question.
>
> If it can run two mice, how to control the 2nd mouse's
> snap-to-default-button, scroll-rate, and double-click-rate settings, when
> Control Panel-Mouse appears to recognize only one mouse? Is adjusting those
> options on the 2nd mouse simply not possible if they're not identical models
> of mice? If they are identical mice, will the same Control Panel-Mouse
> settings affect each, or only one?
>
> Likewise, can W2K recognize only one model-specific keyboard driver at a
> time? i.e., if a specific keyboard uses a special driver to provide function
> to its extra programmable buttons, is W2K limited to having only one of these
> loaded at a time?

> Thanks. The KVM splitter looks to be a bit of overkill considering cost and
> size of external attachment, given that I don't need a duo video-monitor
> capability. It does approach the functionality I'm looking for though. The
> PS/2 splitters are basically Y-jacks, is that true?
>
> The question is not on the physical connections but on the number of mouse
> and keyboard drivers Windows 2000 operating system can handle simultaneously.
> Inferrring from the restrictions I'm reading in the KVM splitter manuals
> regarding the boot process, driver-loading, and 'hot-plugging' in a
> different-functionality mouse or ball device, it seems WIndows handles only
> one mouse and keyboard driver at a time.
>
> Does anyone know a solution to set it to load two such drivers
> simultaneously so that the model-specific settings such as 3-5th mouse
> buttons and keyboard programmable buttons are menu-settable on each? If not,
> it looks like the best solution is try for identical mice and identical
> keyboards, and hope for the best.