Q59006: How to Distinguish Between a Standard and Enhanced Keyboard

Article: Q59006
Product(s): See article
Version(s): 4.00 4.00b 4.50
Operating System(s): MS-DOS
Keyword(s): ENDUSER | B_BasicCom | mspl13_basic
Last Modified: 26-FEB-1990

The following code example demonstrates calling interrupts to
determine whether an enhanced or standard keyboard is connected to
your machine. This example applies to Microsoft QuickBASIC Versions
4.00, 4.00b, and 4.50, to Microsoft BASIC Compiler Versions 6.00 and
6.00b, and to Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System (PDS)
Version 7.00 under MS-DOS. (The information about the interrupt 16
Hex, with Functions 2 and 12 Hex, also applies to any language that
can call BIOS interrupts.)

The information for the interrupts was taken from Pages 581-586 of the
book "Advanced MS-DOS Programming, Second Edition," by Ray Duncan,
(Microsoft Press, 1988). This information can also be found on Pages
105-112 of the "Programmer's Quick Reference Series: IBM ROM BIOS," by
Ray Duncan (Microsoft Press, 1988).

The information about the address for the PEEK statement was taken
from Pages 137 and 138 of the book "The New Peter Norton Programmer's
Guide to the IBM PC and PS/2," by Peter Norton and Richard Wilton,
(Microsoft Press, 1988).

To compile and link the program in QuickBASIC 4.50, do the following:

   BC Keytest.bas ;
   LINK Keytest,,,BRUN45.LIB+QB.LIB ;

Code Example
------------

REM $INCLUDE: 'qb.bi'   ' Change to qbx.bi for BASIC PDS Version 7.00
DIM inregs AS regtype, outregs AS regtype
CLS
inregs.ax = &H1200
CALL interrupt(&H16, inregs, outregs)
key2% = outregs.ax
DEF SEG = &H40
test% = PEEK(&H17)
DEF SEG
LOCATE 13, 23
IF key2% <> test% THEN PRINT "You have a Standard Keyboard"
IF key2% = test% THEN PRINT "You have an Enhanced Keyboard"
LOCATE 25, 20
PRINT "Hit a key to end test"
SLEEP
CLS
END

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