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I picked up a PS2 to USB adapter so I can plug my keyboard into my laptop. The laptop recognizes I have a USB device plugged in, but doesn't recognize what it is and I can't use it. Are there any generic drivers I can install to make the laptop see the keyboard?

Did your keyboard come with a driver disk?

No way. Its an old microsoft natural shaped keyboard. Their standard keyboard which is split down the center of th keys. Absolutely no hotbuttons for any computer commands. Just a pure keyboard.

Some of those adapters are only meant for certain keyboards- what kind was it?

Your USB adapter should present itself as a standard USB HID without any neccesary drivers.

Its likely an incompatibility. They shouldn't exist, but it happens. Seen the exact same behaviour, most recently, with a memory stick which didn't want to work on any of my standard usb ports, but worked flawlessly with the ports on my add-in card.

If you really want it, try to perhaps get a PCMCIA USB port card and plug it in it.

If it's a passive adapter, it won't work...

Hence the PCMCIA card (which is basicly adding ports to the actual laptop and is, I belive, always powered) and not a hub recommendation (which can be active and passive).

Plus a hub very likely wouldn't help with a incompatibility problem since all transfers would go over the same USB controller which is exactly what needs to be avoided in this kind of a situation. The PCMCIA card holds its own controller.

If you're using an HP Pavilion laptop then I know that it won't work. I just reacently recieved an e-mail reponce to the exact same problem. Old Microsoft keyboard that's got the division right down the center and at the angle? No hotkeys, no quick switches. For some reason the HP drivers want to try and install software for it from a CD, so it's waiting on you to put a CD in. You have to update the HP software. I did it and had no problems what-so-ever. But this was just my experience with it, and laptops can be very fickle.