Why do I have to reboot my PC's in order for the keyboard to work? I'm running Windows 2000.

The problem you have encountered with Windows 2000 and the MS9E is due to the fact that Windows 2000 requires the keyboard be attached when it boots so the keyboard can be initialized. The MS9E has mouse emulators built-in but no keyboard emulators. This is not a problem for Windows 98 because it does not require the keyboard be present when it boots. Microsoft does have a hotfix for Windows 2000 regarding this problem. Article ID Q262798.

This problem was first corrected in Windows 2000 Service Pack 3.

You can see more information on this problem at:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q262798/