PS/2 CueCat and Windows 7

I've been using a CueCat with PS/2 connector that I originally purchased from Radio Shack years ago. I had a Windows XP computer, and it worked just fine with that--plugged it in and hey presto.

Now I've just moved up to a new desktop running Windows 7. The keyboard for this new computer uses a USB connector, but the CPU unit still has PS/2 jacks for keyboard and mouse. I plugged the CueCat into the PS/2 jack, and the red nose lights up, but nothing else happens when I try scanning something.

Is there a conflict between the keyboard USB connection and the PS/2 connection? Do I need a driver for Windows 7, and if so, where do I find it?

Additional information:

The CueCat has not been "declawed" or "neutered". I only use it for LT's "Add books" function, which works (worked) fine under Windows XP with the unmodified PS/2 CueCat.

I have a standard US-format keyboard, but that isn't the problem since there is no input at all from the Cat.

I have tried it with NumLock both on and off, and with CapsLock both on and off. In all cases, the result (or rather, the lack of it) is the same: nichts, nada, null output when I try a scan into Notepad.

I see from comments in this CueCat group that the CueCat normally goes to "sleep" after about 60 seconds, indicated by blinking at lower intensity. My CueCat has never done that--its red light is always solid and bright. This doesn't seem to affect its scanning function, though, as it worked fine like that with my previous Windows XP system.

I don't want to spend a lot of time, effort, or money on trying to find a fix for this. Since a USB CueCat only costs $20 or so from LT, at some point it makes more sense to just buy a new USB one from LT. But I thought I'd try first asking around for a free or very low-cost (say, $5 or less) fix for a PS/2 Cat under Windows 7.

As I understand it (from reading around on the Internet when I got a PS/2 Cat), the PS/2s are a lot more touchy (even under XP) than the USB ones. Mine never worked. And a standard PS/2 to USB adapter (that costs about $5) doesn't work, you need a higher-level one that does a more thorough translation and costs $25-35. It's been a while since I did my research, so I can't come up with any sources off-hand, though.

So yeah, I'd go USB if I were you.

Thanks, jjmcgaffey, for your response.

After I posted my original messages, I continued to poke around here in the CueCat group and eventually found a message that suggests (without being definitive about it) that PS/2 and USB keyboards can't be simultaneously supported under Windows XP, and perhaps under other versions of Windows as well. The USB one apparently always shuts out or suppresses the PS/2 keyboard.

I presume something like this is happening with my system: the CueCat uses the PS/2 keyboard jack, and the computer came with a USB keyboard. The fact that I'm running Windows 7 probably has nothing to do with it; it's apparently a hardware conflict problem.

Since a high-level translating PS/2-to-USB adapter costs more than a new USB CueCat, in goes my order to LT for a USB CueCat.

That, then, may be why my PS/2 CueCat never worked. I missed that message - thanks!

I am so glad that someone else had this problem. I have an old PS2 CC that I never used, and recently I have been trying to get it to work with my W7, but to no avail. My keyboard is a USB Zboard, so that is probably where the issue lies. Looks like time to give in and order a USB one.