You’ve probably faced problems when shifting your comp or getting a new peripheral as to which cable goes where and what the empty ports might be for. If you look closer you’ll realise that it’s not as complicated as it seems. The back panel has been built in such a way that each port/ socket is built to accommodate only one connection/ wire … the one that it’s meant to!

A piece of advice: Remember do not force any connectors into any of the given ports.They are designed to only go in one way. And if they do not fit easily, you are surely putting the wrong connector in the given slot or vice versa.

So what goes where?

The PS/2 ports for keyboard and mouse

If you look towards the top of the back panel, there are normally two PS/2 ports—one for the keyboard and one for the mouse. The two ports are colour coded, so you cannot mistake one for the other (blue for keyboard and green for the mouse). As a rule of thumb, the PS/2 keyboard port is the lower port while the PS/2 mouse port is above it. 

Attaching the non-PS/2 Keyboard

If you don’t have a PS/2 mouse or keyboard, you won’t have any problem recognising the non-PS/2 port for the keyboard. The keyboard fits in properly into the round port provided for it. This port is located near the top of the back panel right below the power connector.

Attaching the mouse

The non-PS/2 mouse fits into what is known as the COM port. You can recognize the COM port by the fact that it has pins in it, so your mouse fits into it properly. You will normally have a 9-pin COM port and a 25-pin COM port. The mouse fits into the 9-pin port. Normally, the port will have an indicator, which will tell you which side to keep up when putting in the mouse cable. In case it doesn’t have an indicator, just check the port so that the five pins above and four pins below (or vice versa) .Match the holes in the mouse and attach the mouse accordingly.  

Attaching the modem

The other COM port with the 25 pins is usually for an external modem. You attach the modem in a similar manner as you would the mouse. You just have to ensure that the 16 pins above and 9 pins below (or vice versa) match the holes in the modem.