LocalTalk PC Card: Keyboard Problem in PS/2



While attached to the AppleTalk network, the cursor arrows, instead of moving
the cursor, displays the corresponding numeric keypad number (8, 4, 6, or 2).
This is intermittent. That is, when they hold down the right arrow key, the
cursor moves along the screen and then, suddenly, a "6" appears. Also, some
typed characters appear in caps, as if the Shift key was pressed.

Yet, when the LocalTalk PC Card is removed, WordPerfect works fine.

Setup: PS/2 30, running InBox 2.2 and AppleShare 2.0., with a LocalTalk PC Card
in it running WordPerfect 4.2 (non-network version).


Although the Token Ring card is currently not connected, having it in the
machine can cause hardware conflicts between it and the LocalTalk PC Card.
Check to make sure that the two cards are not using the same IRQ (interrupt)
line. Also make sure that the two cards are not using the same DMA channel. A
quick way to check if the two cards are in conflict is to remove the Token Ring
card. Does the problem goes away?

Another possibility is that the LocalTalk PC Card has gone bad. If you have
access to another LocalTalk PC Card, try that card to see if you get the same
results.

While you are checking for DMA and IRQ conflicts between the two network cards,
also should check the rest of the hardware in the machine for the possibility
of such conflicts. For instance, multiple serial ports could cause conflicts
with the IRQ line, which is the default on the LocalTalk PC Card.


Published Date: Feb 18, 2012