Hi I'm new on GentooX and I'm French (sorry for mistakes or poor english ^^)
I've just one question about the compatibility of keyboards: Can all keyboards work on Gentoox (with the adapter)? And if all can't, is there a special model who works on it?
BigBowser
What keyboard??
Alors, je vais essayser de te repondre en francais pour que tu peux mieux comprendre.
Normalement, tu peux utiliser tous les keyboard USB avec le XBOX et linux.
Or utilise-tu un adaptuer pour PS2 -> XBOX? Mais il aussi pourrait fonctionner avec tous les brands.
excuse moi, pour mon mauviase francais, j'suis Allemand
regards
*cc*
Normalement, tu peux utiliser tous les keyboard USB avec le XBOX et linux.
Or utilise-tu un adaptuer pour PS2 -> XBOX? Mais il aussi pourrait fonctionner avec tous les brands.
excuse moi, pour mon mauviase francais, j'suis Allemand
regards
*cc*
There are actually many methods for this. Here is a quick summary of what I considered and tried.
You can buy a USB to Xbox adapter from eBay or http://www.lik-sang.com or similar. For other methods, http://www.xbox-scene.com has several articles on cheaply adding USB ports to the xbox and how to modify xbox cables to put USB ports on them. PS/2 to USB adapters can be a little hard to find - look in good electronic stores for serious hobbyists or online. The method used for adding USB ports can also be used to add PS/2 ports if you know enough electronics to map the pins.
Originally I wanted to get a keyboard up immediately after I installed Gentoox but it was 10pm and no stores were open, so I got the pinouts for the various connectors and modified an old IBM AT keyboard to connect straight to the xbox. This didn't work - I later found out that the older keyboards aren't "ps/2 compliant", particularly the IBM variants. If you use a newer keyboard, you can just join the wires from the PS/2 keyboard directly to an xbox cable (such as one from an extension cable).
In the end I went for the most expensive but easiest and neatest way - a new USB keyboard, mouse, and USB hub. I then modified the USB hub to use an xbox cable for attachment. The big advantage to this is that I can now have 4 USB devices plugged in but only use 1 xbox port. It also means that the xbox now has dedicated peripherals so I don't have to keep swapping with one of my other computers.
A more difficult but neater method is by modifying the joypad. The xbox joypad has a built in 3 port USB hub, one taken up by the joypad and 2 taken up by the memory card slots. It is relatively easy to add 2 USB (or even PS/2) ports by soldering a port to each of the memory card connectors and mounting the ports on the joypad (usually in the memory card slots). You can then plug a USB keyboard and mouse (or with a PS/2 adapter) into the joypad. Just about the only thing a J-type controller is good for!
This is very neat, I have a spare J-type controller that I hardly ever use that might get this treatment one day. If you have an S-type you can add a single USB port and attach a USB hub. If I remember correctly, you can chain up to 5 hubs, check http://www.usb.org if you want to make sure.
You can buy a USB to Xbox adapter from eBay or http://www.lik-sang.com or similar. For other methods, http://www.xbox-scene.com has several articles on cheaply adding USB ports to the xbox and how to modify xbox cables to put USB ports on them. PS/2 to USB adapters can be a little hard to find - look in good electronic stores for serious hobbyists or online. The method used for adding USB ports can also be used to add PS/2 ports if you know enough electronics to map the pins.
Originally I wanted to get a keyboard up immediately after I installed Gentoox but it was 10pm and no stores were open, so I got the pinouts for the various connectors and modified an old IBM AT keyboard to connect straight to the xbox. This didn't work - I later found out that the older keyboards aren't "ps/2 compliant", particularly the IBM variants. If you use a newer keyboard, you can just join the wires from the PS/2 keyboard directly to an xbox cable (such as one from an extension cable).
In the end I went for the most expensive but easiest and neatest way - a new USB keyboard, mouse, and USB hub. I then modified the USB hub to use an xbox cable for attachment. The big advantage to this is that I can now have 4 USB devices plugged in but only use 1 xbox port. It also means that the xbox now has dedicated peripherals so I don't have to keep swapping with one of my other computers.
A more difficult but neater method is by modifying the joypad. The xbox joypad has a built in 3 port USB hub, one taken up by the joypad and 2 taken up by the memory card slots. It is relatively easy to add 2 USB (or even PS/2) ports by soldering a port to each of the memory card connectors and mounting the ports on the joypad (usually in the memory card slots). You can then plug a USB keyboard and mouse (or with a PS/2 adapter) into the joypad. Just about the only thing a J-type controller is good for!
This is very neat, I have a spare J-type controller that I hardly ever use that might get this treatment one day. If you have an S-type you can add a single USB port and attach a USB hub. If I remember correctly, you can chain up to 5 hubs, check http://www.usb.org if you want to make sure.