I got a Cherry wireless keyboard and mouse from surplus stock from work when I built my computer, and they seemed to work fine (Cherry's the make not the colour incidentally). I didn't get a manual with it, but it all seemed straight forward, I just pressed the connect button on both devices and since then they've bvoth been working. But the, well, the hub I guess you'd call it, that links the keyboard and mouse to the computer has a flashing red light on it. When I got them it didn't do this, but after about a couple of weeks it started to flash. The red light is under what looks to me like a small picture of a battery (there are four lights alltogether, the other three have pictures I don't recognise). I figured the batteries must need replacing (they were in it when I got it so I didn't know if they were any good or not). I bought some expensive long lasting batteries and plonked them in, and all was well for about a month, then low and behold I come back from a three day excursion to Cantabury and the damn thing's started to flash again. It can't be the batteries, they were energizers, I've had them in appliences and they've lasted for months and months with constant use, but these have barely lasted a month in the keyboard and mouse. The light doens't always flash either. It seems intermitant. And it occasionaly stops flashing if I move the mouse. Is it the batteries do you think or is something else afoot? Slim Vision

The fact is, wireless keyboards and mice use batteries up fast. I have been using rechargeable because they go through them once a month. The best batteries you can use would be the E-Squared Lithium and they cost a lot. Even with those you might get 45-60 days out of them. <===Lefty===

Oh. Guess I better get some rechargeables then. Actually, there's something else about this keyboard I may ask about, but I want to try something first. Thnaks for the info so far though. Slim Vision

Yea I thought so. There's a power key on the keyboard, and in the BIOS power management you can have it so the keyboard can turn the computer on if you press the power key, the space bar or if you press control + Escape. Now, all the other keys work, and turn the power on to the computer fine, but the power key doesn't. Not only that but presumably it says off on it so one could turn off the computer with it. But Windows ignores it if it's pressed. There are some other keys next to it, one's an email button, another's a home button and the last one's a calculator button - they all work. Now I figured the power key is just not being recognised by windows and perhaps I could make XP recognise it as being a power key, but I can't do that with the bios. So if it doesn't turn the computer on is that just something I'll have to live with or is there a way i can get the bios to recognise it as the power key? Slim Vision

Nevermind. I'm going to get rid of this set and get a nice wired keyboard & mouse. Might get a new flatscreen monitor too while I'm at it. Slim Vision