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Chapter 3: Installation
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4.3.6 Reset
This command, along with the commands described in the next two sections, can
come in handy when certain problems arise. It will reboot your keyboard and
mouse without your having to power down the station or the system, and will also
re-enable PS/2 mouse communication if the selected CPU has previously disabled
it. (With current PCs and operating systems, this command shouldn’t be necessary,
but older CPUs running DOS or Windows might need it from time to time.) Issue
this command if (a) your keyboard gets stuck or begins behaving oddly, (b) you
need to send mouse data to the CPU, but it hasn’t enabled the mouse (this can
happen if you boot up the CPU while the ServSwitch is off or disconnected), or
(c) while using a PS/2 type mouse, you unplug it, plug it back in, then have
problems. To issue the Reset command, press and release the left [Ctrl] key, then
type [R].
4.3.7 Send null byte (PS/2 type mice only)
PS/2 type mice send control data to CPUs in three-byte increments. Sometimes,
because of electronic transients, unusual power-up effects, or plugging and
unplugging of cables from live equipment, the currently selected CPU in a
ServSwitch system can lose one or two bytes of this control information and get
“out of sync” with the shared mouse. In this situation, the mouse might seem to
refuse to move the pointer or cursor, open windows for no reason, or exhibit other
strange behavior. To get the CPU back in sync, send this command to tell the
ServSwitch to send a “null byte” to the CPU’s PS/2 mouse port (this has no other
effect than getting the CPU “caught up”). To issue the Send Null Byte command,
press and release the left Control key, then type [N].
If the mouse still isn’t right after you issue this command, the CPU must have
been two bytes out of sync. Issuing the command again should do the trick.
The CPU will be thrown out of sync if it uses a PS/2 mouse and it’s in sync when
you issue this command. Issue this command two more times to get it back in sync
again. This command has no effect on serial mice, or on CPUs that are not
attached to your ServSwitch system through a PS/2 mouse port.
If you have version 9.01 or higher of the Microsoft mouse driver, the CPU should
never get out of sync. Contact Microsoft if you would like to upgrade your
Microsoft mouse driver.