Ports & Connectors (continued...)

DIN Connector
The DIN connector is a small round connector, usually with a keyed slot for proper orientation. Again, it's designated as DIN-x, with 'x' representing the number of holes or pins on the connector. It comes in a couple of different sizes and it's been used on computers about as long as the DB connector has. It's a fairly popular connector because of its small size and solid connection.

The most common DIN connector would have to be the DIN-5 keyboard connector. Its the largest of the DIN connectors that you're going to find on your computer and its been around for a long time. If you own a newer computer, then the DIN-5 has probably been replaced with a DIN-6 (mini-DIN or PS/2) connector.

The PS/2, or DIN-6 connector, was mainly used by Macintosh computers for the longest time (Macintosh also used a DIN-8 connector for their printer). You may hear them referred to as a mini DIN-6 connector. They're smaller and more compact than the typical DIN-5 connector and have become the standard for both the keyboard and the mouse on newer PCs. If this is the case on your computer, then the two DIN-6 female ports on the back of your computer are going to look an awful lot alike, and you need to distinguish between the mouse port and the keyboard port before hooking them up. They may be color coded or they may have a little icon beside them representing their use. Whatever the case, you're not going to do any harm if you accidentally get these two devices switched. Your mouse won't work, or you'll get a keyboard error at boot up. Your first course of action for troubleshooting this type of problem should be to check the connection anyway.

Another port you could find on the back of an older computer is the DIN-9. It would be another mini DIN port with 9 sockets. A bus mouse or a hand-held scanner may use this type of port, but it's unlikely that you're going to find one on a newer computer.

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