Dell using PS\2 for access??
I purchased a "state of the art" [ joke] Dell dimension 8100 P4 with ME. When I booted it up, it seemed to take a rediculous amount of time to boot up (3 min). After several frustrating attempts to get answers from Dell, I found the solution elsewhere online (Computer.net), and the problem was installing (or searching) for PS\2 mouse. Disabling in Sys Props\Devices\Mouse, took care of the problem and bootup was 55 secs. Recently I upgraded the BIOS to the latest version, and to my surprise, again it was taking 3 min to boot. I could not believe that they would leave such an annoying and obvious deterrent to future Dell purchases. Anyway, I went to Sys Props\Devices\Mouse , and not only was PS\2 device not enabled, but now there was no device at all. Again, questions to Dell were met with indifference and an attitude which leeads one to believe they have no clue as to what I am talking about. FACT 1: Dell was certainly aware the PS\2 was a definite problem with the original BIOS setup. FACT 2: In re-writing the BIOS they intentionally re-introduced the problem, and this time attempted to make it impossible for their customers to easily remedy the problem, because they intentionally wrote the BIOS so that there would be no device to disable. FACT 3: In order to remedy the problem, one must first edit the MOUSE.INF file, removing all PS\2 lines of code, then edit the registry. Otherwise, the INF file will simply replace the registry keys. Question: Is it possible to use the PS\2 to access the computer? Is it possible to emulate a PS\2 connection or address it remotely over the internet?
I cannot believe that any mfg would install something like this, that leaves their equipment operating sub-standard to competitor's, unless they were doing something underhanded. Just the fact that they attempted to mask the PS\2 function and made it impossible to simply disable it, seems obviously covert.