EZ-Key EZ8000 and Windows Vista / 7: Free cheese can be found only in a mousetrap
I want to share with you, dear Habr readers, my recent experience in purchasing and installing a budget multifunctional keyboard from a well-known Taiwanese manufacturer under Windows 7.
In addition to a brief overview of the keyboard, the article contains a description of possible problems when working with Vista / 7 and their solutions, as well as a few general tips on buying and setting up a new hardware.
')
After 3.5 years of service, faithfully, my old “Genius” was finally sent to the closet with honors. In search of a replacement for it, I chose the EZ-Key EZ8000. Why on it?
First of all, because my view on the keyboard functions is somewhere in the “golden middle”. There are maniacs ready to lay out hundreds of cu for heaped cybords with launch buttons for all possible office and multimedia applications, shortcuts of popular sites and shortcuts for frequently used spells in WoW. There are minimalists for whom 104 keys - and none more. I, because of my working needs (work with office documents, programming and surfing the Web), only a basic set of add. functions in each of these areas. And secondly, the role is played by the price - none of the keyboards I purchased earlier cost more than 100 UAH (12-14 cu). And I did not intend to break the tradition.
Ez-Key EZ-8000 met all my requirements
But actually the hero of the occasion:
In addition to the silver-model I have chosen, the keyboard is also available in 3 color schemes - completely black and with a blue and red palm rest / left panel.
I placed the application for the purchase of the keyboard on the same day as I chose the keyboard on the website of the online store sokol.ua. It was on Thursday, and I expected that before the weekend the goods would be in my hands and in a quiet home environment, I would connect it and set it up.
But in the morning they called me and said that there was no keyboard (now), we’ll deliver it “on order” until Tuesday - we guarantee! Knowing, not by hearsay, that such promises could be stretched for a week, two, three, etc., I decided to first choose any analogue. As for evil, the company "in stock now" had only the simplest or most sophisticated models. I had to take a word and wait until Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, of course, I was already prepared for the fact that nothing would be delivered to me and begin to hang noodles on my ears that “tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow ...”. But! The guys from Falcon kept their word, for which they respect. Right from the morning (~ 9: 10 -9: 20) the manager called me back and said that the order was ready, today it will be delivered until the evening. “Till the evening,” by the very evening, too, was not delayed, and already at half past twelve the product was in my hands.
Since in my mind I was looking forward to connecting the keyboard on Saturday, and everything was delayed until Tuesday, my first desire was naturally, “at least with one eye” to look at it in action. The keyboard was equipped with a paired USB + PS / 2 output, so I without hesitation connected it via USB to a work computer. And there was a bummer - the keyboard is not something that did not work or was not recognized - Windows did not react at all to connecting a USB device! Okay - not scary, there is also a "spare" PS / 2. I connected through it - it seems like only additional functions have not worked at all, and the Num Lock is constantly on and does not turn off. Well, the first problem is clear: drivers are required. And Num Lock - well, you never know, maybe it doesn't work without a driver in this keyboard either - who knows how its Taiwanese “kulibins” were assembled?
The driver, of course, was in the configuration, on the disk. I was immediately embarrassed by the cheap autorun screensaver, written, apparently, by free Taiwanese students at VisualBasic. The disc was “one for all models” and I had to dig a little further, find the driver I needed (the inscriptions were large, as for evil, and microscopic in English). I installed the necessary driver, rebooted, I press "three buttons" in the window of the entrance to the domain - and I get a big deal with the poppy - the keyboard does not work at all. Well, I think it burned out. I connect the old one - it does not work either. A chill is already running down the back - how did the port burn out on the working machine? But the cost. On the advice of a colleague, booted from the Vista installation disk, rolled back to the last restore point. And he decided to move the experiments to the evening, at home, in a calm atmosphere and without loss of working time. Along the way, decided to break through the path of retreat.
I am writing in support of Falcon:
>> Good afternoon. Received today the order number xxxx / xxxx. The USB connector is broken in the keyboard, the Num Lock is constantly turned on and off, and the driver seriously damages Windows - after installing it, no keyboard works at all until you roll back. Can I return the goods?
Answer: yes, within 14 days, if it has a presentation
>> What do you think is the presentation type? I have a complete set - box, cellophane packaging, ties, driver disk
Answer: I can not give you this information. Call xxx xx xx for service.
In the service of course, I phoned not immediately - attempts from the 3rd or 4th. He informed them of the same problem, requested what the “presentation” was by their criteria.
Answer: the product must work, be without scratches and dirt in the same form in which it was delivered.
I: But it does not work.
Answer: In this case, we can not make a refund. In the event of a malfunction, we only carry out repairs.
Me: And if the problem is only in the driver? Only in the fact that it is not supported by Windows Vista / 7? Can I return the product if it does not satisfy my software?
Answer: Do you have a license OS?
I: at home - no ...
Answer: so what else do you want? There will always be problems with a non-leasing OS.
I: I also tested at work where I have a licensed Vista. The problem with the driver is not lost.
Answer: look for the manufacturer's website, get fresh drivers, try XP. If under XP it will work, then there is no problem and it cannot be repaired. But in this case, it is working and you can return it within 14 days, provided that it is in a presentation
That's all, the circle is closed. If the keyboard is really not working, you will have to wait for how long it will be repaired (the articles on ZPPs read here painted terrible terms in my imagination). If the problem is in the driver, then nobody cares, to put it mildly. If you do not find a fresh driver, then either use the keyboard as it is (without additional functions) or write the driver yourself. And then it dawned on me, and it’s not just that the keyboard with so many rich possibilities was at such a ridiculous price! Apparently, the sellers know about the problem with the driver, therefore the price was underestimated. Free cheese - only in a mousetrap.
But I did not download the rights and swear with the Falcon service, I decided to wait for the results of the keyboard research at home, and there I would act according to the circumstances.
When I got home, I started connecting the keyboard to my home computer. Pre-made a restore point, put the driver. Got the same symptoms. I made a rollback and began to google. I found the site of the manufacturer and on it the page of the product I purchased: www.ezkey.com.tw/product/product.php?i=97
Below there is such an inconspicuous link - Downloads, I press it and swear - the most recent version of the driver has been released already ... 2003/10/10 and is meant for Win 98, Win 2000, Win Xp, Win Me. There are no more recent versions of the driver! As the saying goes, take a rest, come on ...
On the other hand, there was still a link to the manual, I downloaded it and went deeper into reading. And over time, everything fell into place.
It turns out that in addition to the standard Num Lock, Scroll Lock and Caps Lock switches, this keyboard also has an additional Office Lock switch (at first, in the image on the button, I thought that this key should open the “Office” menu in MS Office 2007). When Office Lock is on, the F1-12 buttons become shortcuts to actions that are often used in office applications, and the Num Lock turns into the euro sign input button. And as you already guessed, this mode is on by default! Turning off Office Lock, I was able to turn off Num Lock.
With the USB connector everything turned out to be much easier. In addition to the color gamut, each model is available in variations with a specific set of connectors. I got the most ordinary PS / 2 keyboard. An additional USB connector is needed ... You guessed it correctly - yes, only to connect the USB connector on the keyboard itself! A kind of USB extension cable. Therefore, you need to connect the keyboard to two ports at once - both in USB and in PS / 2.
And the driver turned out to be the worst of everything ... Nowhere on the Net could I find more recent official versions. After two hours of googling, I miraculously stumbled upon the site of one remarkable person - Ruslan Shcherbatyuk. At one time he was faced with a similar problem. Remember my thesis that in this situation, either try to return the money or use the keyboard as it is or write the driver yourself? Ruslan did just that - sat down and wrote a driver. And then decided to share it with other suffering. On the astrumsoft.com/ez7000 page you can download the right “medicine”. Despite the fact that the Ruslan driver is designed for the 7000th model, most of the functions of the 8000th work quite well.
Episode 5. Product Overview.
According to the keyboard scheme given in the operation manual, the additional functionality is divided into 5 zones:
I will not describe in detail the zones and buttons in them - everything is already described in the diagram. I only remind you that when Office Lock is on, not only Num Lock turns into euro sign input, the F1-12 buttons change their naming, become shortcuts for Help, Create, Open, Save, Replace, Spell, Cancel, Repeat, Reply, Reply to all, forward, send .
From the additional functionality, I immediately got used to the buttons for quickly switching between windows and quickly closing the window. “My computer” and “Calculator” are also convenient, but they should be placed next to them, and not the devil-knows-where on the other end of the keyboard. “Cut-copy-paste” is also very convenient, although I have not yet retrained myself to always use them - I often press the old proven Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V. The ratio to the wheel is twofold - yes, it is convenient, but not much more convenient than the mouse wheel - I expected that because of its large size it will scroll more efficiently and it will have to be scrolled at a much lower speed. The bold minus of the keyboard is the alternative (vertical) layout of the Ins-Home-End-Del-PgUp-PgDn keys, which we had to get used to for a very long time.
In general, the impression of a product is dual. Certain moments of use are definitely convenient. But at the same time there are a number of serious logical errors in the layout and compatibility problems of the official driver with modern operating systems. Of course, at its price the product is very, very good. But if I had more free time to go to the Falcon service and possible difficulties, I would still think about returning the goods.
The story of the acquisition of the keyboard brought the following conclusions to my life experience:
PS I wrote a letter to the EZ-Key support, asked when there would be drivers for 7. I have been waiting for an answer for a month and a half already.
In addition to a brief overview of the keyboard, the article contains a description of possible problems when working with Vista / 7 and their solutions, as well as a few general tips on buying and setting up a new hardware.
Prologue
')
After 3.5 years of service, faithfully, my old “Genius” was finally sent to the closet with honors. In search of a replacement for it, I chose the EZ-Key EZ8000. Why on it?
First of all, because my view on the keyboard functions is somewhere in the “golden middle”. There are maniacs ready to lay out hundreds of cu for heaped cybords with launch buttons for all possible office and multimedia applications, shortcuts of popular sites and shortcuts for frequently used spells in WoW. There are minimalists for whom 104 keys - and none more. I, because of my working needs (work with office documents, programming and surfing the Web), only a basic set of add. functions in each of these areas. And secondly, the role is played by the price - none of the keyboards I purchased earlier cost more than 100 UAH (12-14 cu). And I did not intend to break the tradition.
Episode 1. A quick look
Ez-Key EZ-8000 met all my requirements
- Typically, keyboards of this price category are either only multimedia, or only "office" or Internet-oriented. EZ-8000 has three extensions
- it contains the minimum I need for office files (launch Word / Excel, copy / paste buttons from the buffer, text scroll)
- it contains the minimum I need Internet f-th (launching the browser, back and forth)
- it also contains multimedia f-ii
- it has a USB output. Even despite the fact that only one output (not a hub) is also very good, because lean to the case or dig blindly with a flash drive in its back panel rather fed up
But actually the hero of the occasion:
In addition to the silver-model I have chosen, the keyboard is also available in 3 color schemes - completely black and with a blue and red palm rest / left panel.
Episode 2. Waiter, accept the order!
I placed the application for the purchase of the keyboard on the same day as I chose the keyboard on the website of the online store sokol.ua. It was on Thursday, and I expected that before the weekend the goods would be in my hands and in a quiet home environment, I would connect it and set it up.
But in the morning they called me and said that there was no keyboard (now), we’ll deliver it “on order” until Tuesday - we guarantee! Knowing, not by hearsay, that such promises could be stretched for a week, two, three, etc., I decided to first choose any analogue. As for evil, the company "in stock now" had only the simplest or most sophisticated models. I had to take a word and wait until Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, of course, I was already prepared for the fact that nothing would be delivered to me and begin to hang noodles on my ears that “tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow ...”. But! The guys from Falcon kept their word, for which they respect. Right from the morning (~ 9: 10 -9: 20) the manager called me back and said that the order was ready, today it will be delivered until the evening. “Till the evening,” by the very evening, too, was not delayed, and already at half past twelve the product was in my hands.
Episode 3. I was "thrown"?
Since in my mind I was looking forward to connecting the keyboard on Saturday, and everything was delayed until Tuesday, my first desire was naturally, “at least with one eye” to look at it in action. The keyboard was equipped with a paired USB + PS / 2 output, so I without hesitation connected it via USB to a work computer. And there was a bummer - the keyboard is not something that did not work or was not recognized - Windows did not react at all to connecting a USB device! Okay - not scary, there is also a "spare" PS / 2. I connected through it - it seems like only additional functions have not worked at all, and the Num Lock is constantly on and does not turn off. Well, the first problem is clear: drivers are required. And Num Lock - well, you never know, maybe it doesn't work without a driver in this keyboard either - who knows how its Taiwanese “kulibins” were assembled?
The driver, of course, was in the configuration, on the disk. I was immediately embarrassed by the cheap autorun screensaver, written, apparently, by free Taiwanese students at VisualBasic. The disc was “one for all models” and I had to dig a little further, find the driver I needed (the inscriptions were large, as for evil, and microscopic in English). I installed the necessary driver, rebooted, I press "three buttons" in the window of the entrance to the domain - and I get a big deal with the poppy - the keyboard does not work at all. Well, I think it burned out. I connect the old one - it does not work either. A chill is already running down the back - how did the port burn out on the working machine? But the cost. On the advice of a colleague, booted from the Vista installation disk, rolled back to the last restore point. And he decided to move the experiments to the evening, at home, in a calm atmosphere and without loss of working time. Along the way, decided to break through the path of retreat.
I am writing in support of Falcon:
>> Good afternoon. Received today the order number xxxx / xxxx. The USB connector is broken in the keyboard, the Num Lock is constantly turned on and off, and the driver seriously damages Windows - after installing it, no keyboard works at all until you roll back. Can I return the goods?
Answer: yes, within 14 days, if it has a presentation
>> What do you think is the presentation type? I have a complete set - box, cellophane packaging, ties, driver disk
Answer: I can not give you this information. Call xxx xx xx for service.
In the service of course, I phoned not immediately - attempts from the 3rd or 4th. He informed them of the same problem, requested what the “presentation” was by their criteria.
Answer: the product must work, be without scratches and dirt in the same form in which it was delivered.
I: But it does not work.
Answer: In this case, we can not make a refund. In the event of a malfunction, we only carry out repairs.
Me: And if the problem is only in the driver? Only in the fact that it is not supported by Windows Vista / 7? Can I return the product if it does not satisfy my software?
Answer: Do you have a license OS?
I: at home - no ...
Answer: so what else do you want? There will always be problems with a non-leasing OS.
I: I also tested at work where I have a licensed Vista. The problem with the driver is not lost.
Answer: look for the manufacturer's website, get fresh drivers, try XP. If under XP it will work, then there is no problem and it cannot be repaired. But in this case, it is working and you can return it within 14 days, provided that it is in a presentation
That's all, the circle is closed. If the keyboard is really not working, you will have to wait for how long it will be repaired (the articles on ZPPs read here painted terrible terms in my imagination). If the problem is in the driver, then nobody cares, to put it mildly. If you do not find a fresh driver, then either use the keyboard as it is (without additional functions) or write the driver yourself. And then it dawned on me, and it’s not just that the keyboard with so many rich possibilities was at such a ridiculous price! Apparently, the sellers know about the problem with the driver, therefore the price was underestimated. Free cheese - only in a mousetrap.
But I did not download the rights and swear with the Falcon service, I decided to wait for the results of the keyboard research at home, and there I would act according to the circumstances.
Episode 4. New Hope
When I got home, I started connecting the keyboard to my home computer. Pre-made a restore point, put the driver. Got the same symptoms. I made a rollback and began to google. I found the site of the manufacturer and on it the page of the product I purchased: www.ezkey.com.tw/product/product.php?i=97
Below there is such an inconspicuous link - Downloads, I press it and swear - the most recent version of the driver has been released already ... 2003/10/10 and is meant for Win 98, Win 2000, Win Xp, Win Me. There are no more recent versions of the driver! As the saying goes, take a rest, come on ...
On the other hand, there was still a link to the manual, I downloaded it and went deeper into reading. And over time, everything fell into place.
It turns out that in addition to the standard Num Lock, Scroll Lock and Caps Lock switches, this keyboard also has an additional Office Lock switch (at first, in the image on the button, I thought that this key should open the “Office” menu in MS Office 2007). When Office Lock is on, the F1-12 buttons become shortcuts to actions that are often used in office applications, and the Num Lock turns into the euro sign input button. And as you already guessed, this mode is on by default! Turning off Office Lock, I was able to turn off Num Lock.
With the USB connector everything turned out to be much easier. In addition to the color gamut, each model is available in variations with a specific set of connectors. I got the most ordinary PS / 2 keyboard. An additional USB connector is needed ... You guessed it correctly - yes, only to connect the USB connector on the keyboard itself! A kind of USB extension cable. Therefore, you need to connect the keyboard to two ports at once - both in USB and in PS / 2.
And the driver turned out to be the worst of everything ... Nowhere on the Net could I find more recent official versions. After two hours of googling, I miraculously stumbled upon the site of one remarkable person - Ruslan Shcherbatyuk. At one time he was faced with a similar problem. Remember my thesis that in this situation, either try to return the money or use the keyboard as it is or write the driver yourself? Ruslan did just that - sat down and wrote a driver. And then decided to share it with other suffering. On the astrumsoft.com/ez7000 page you can download the right “medicine”. Despite the fact that the Ruslan driver is designed for the 7000th model, most of the functions of the 8000th work quite well.
Episode 5. Product Overview.
According to the keyboard scheme given in the operation manual, the additional functionality is divided into 5 zones:
I will not describe in detail the zones and buttons in them - everything is already described in the diagram. I only remind you that when Office Lock is on, not only Num Lock turns into euro sign input, the F1-12 buttons change their naming, become shortcuts for Help, Create, Open, Save, Replace, Spell, Cancel, Repeat, Reply, Reply to all, forward, send .
From the additional functionality, I immediately got used to the buttons for quickly switching between windows and quickly closing the window. “My computer” and “Calculator” are also convenient, but they should be placed next to them, and not the devil-knows-where on the other end of the keyboard. “Cut-copy-paste” is also very convenient, although I have not yet retrained myself to always use them - I often press the old proven Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V. The ratio to the wheel is twofold - yes, it is convenient, but not much more convenient than the mouse wheel - I expected that because of its large size it will scroll more efficiently and it will have to be scrolled at a much lower speed. The bold minus of the keyboard is the alternative (vertical) layout of the Ins-Home-End-Del-PgUp-PgDn keys, which we had to get used to for a very long time.
In general, the impression of a product is dual. Certain moments of use are definitely convenient. But at the same time there are a number of serious logical errors in the layout and compatibility problems of the official driver with modern operating systems. Of course, at its price the product is very, very good. But if I had more free time to go to the Falcon service and possible difficulties, I would still think about returning the goods.
findings
The story of the acquisition of the keyboard brought the following conclusions to my life experience:
- free cheese is only in a mousetrap. If you see a product with rich functionality at a ridiculously low price - think about the reasons for the markdown. Maybe he is defective, or it is a buggy noname or zakos under the brand, or he has compatibility problems, or the seller has “thrown” at all.
- Before buying hardware, go through the forum, find out about its real (in practice, and not written in the description / manual) compatibility with the OS under which you plan to use it.
- Also, before buying, be sure to check all the money-back conditions and warranty obligations so that you can back up.
- never test iron at work. Work is needed to work. Well, in the event of a breakdown of office equipment, your bosses will not stroke your heads (think what would happen if I had to reinstall Windows at work?)
- If you have any problems, you should not freak out, call support and immediately swear. It is necessary to postpone the check for a while and check it in a more relaxed atmosphere.
- Even if you are a super cool "hardware worker" with a wealth of experience in building PCs, read the instructions carefully. It can be written a lot of interesting things. Including about the various "features" that you just need to know, but not that they seem to be "bugs"
- Google is your friend, feel free to contact him for help.
- Try searching for unofficial drivers or drivers for similar models, if the search for official drivers for the OS you need was not successful
PS I wrote a letter to the EZ-Key support, asked when there would be drivers for 7. I have been waiting for an answer for a month and a half already.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/88263/
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