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CHAPTER 7: Operation
three times in order to get a PC with a 4-byte mouse back on track. Note that,
unless your mouse driver is an auto-correcting type, sending this command while
the mouse is in sync will throw it out of sync.
If the PS/2 mouse frequently gets out of sync in your system, and you are
running Windows 95/98/2000, Windows Me®, Windows NT®, or Windows XP®, we
recommend that you install the latest Microsoft mouse driver on your PC, or even
the Microsoft IntelliMouse driver on your PC, regardless of whether you are
actually using an IntelliMouse or not. The Micro Extender will translate the mouse
signals for this driver, and the driver will auto-correct the synching problem if you
let go of the mouse for a second or two.
7.3.3 T
HE
I
NACTIVITY
T
IMEOUT
(ACU3009A D
UAL
-A
CCESS
S
YSTEMS
O
NLY
)
Because two user stations (one local, one remote) can be attached for the same
CPU, Dual-Access Micro Extender systems have “shared access” features, including
Private Mode (see Section 7.3.4) and an “inactivity timeout.” While the inactivity
timeout isn’t controlled by a keyboard command per se, it responds to general
keyboard activity.
The two stations attached to the Micro Extender normally contend for access.
When there has been no keyboard or mouse activity on one station for two
seconds, the Extender will switch to the first station from which it detects keyboard
keypress or mouse movement.
This “inactivity timeout” prevents a user at the other station from interrupting
work in progress at the active station. Because this timeout is in effect, when the
Extender system boots up, the Extender gives control (and its total attention) to
the local station for at least the first two seconds; this means that the remote
monitor might be blank, and the remote keyboard and mouse inactive, for that
long.
Here’s how it works: A user station is activated by pressing a key on its keyboard
or by moving the mouse. This first keypress, or the first packet of mouse data, is
absorbed by the Extender and is not passed on to the PC. The Extender “latches
onto” this user station; users at the other station can see what’s happening on their
monitor, but can’t control the PC with their keyboard or mouse while the active
station is in use. Once the active station’s keyboard and mouse are idle for more
than two seconds, the Extender “lets go” of that station, and will switch to
whichever station it next detects keyboard input from.