These ports are round and consist of 6 pins.

This connection key in was first introduced in 1987 with the IBM Personal System/2 series of personal computers.

The standard has beencompletelyreplaced by the much faster, and more flexible,USB standardin consumer machines.

Monoprice PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse to USB Converter Adapter

Monoprice / Amazon

PS/2 was officially declared alegacy portin the year 2000, paving the way for USB’s complete takeover.

Is There Any Use for PS/2 Anymore?

For the most part, no, PS/2 really is gone.

There aren’t piles of PS/2 devices sitting around with nowhere to go.

Computers and theirperipheralsmigrated to USB at roughly the same time.

This sort of setup is common indata centers, albeit older ones.

However, PS/2 might be preferred in some situations where security is critically important.

Another use for PS/2 is ifentering the BIOS setup utilityproves difficult with a USB gear.

PS/2 might also be used if there’s a limited number of USB ports.

Although, this is precisely whyUSB hubsare a thing.

Do PS/2 to USB Converters Work?

PS/2-to-USB converters provide a way to connect older PS/2-based devices to a computer that only supports USB.

Just plug a converter in between the keyboard/mouse and the USB port.

Unfortunately, these converter cables are notoriously buggy and often only support certain types of PS/2 keyboards and mice.

No doubt a highly rated converter will do the job.

What Do You Do When a PS/2 Keyboard or Mouse Locks Up?

Typically, this happens when the mouse or keyboard comes loose just enough to lose connection with your box.

Unfortunately, just pushing the port into the receptacle again isn’t enough.

your setup must be restarted once a firm connection is reestablished.

Add this to the long list of reasons why USB is an improvement on PS/2.