If you are the owner of a Microsoft keyboard or mouse you up until now had to rely on IntelliPoint and IntelliType Pro drivers to add full support for the devices. While it is without doubt possible to simply use generic drivers that ship with Windows to use basic mouse and keyboard functionality, special features may become only available after you install the drivers.

One of the issues that users may have experienced in the past is that you had to download and install two different drivers if you had more than one Microsoft peripheral connected to the PC.

That's going to change with the release of Microsoft's Mouse and Keyboard Center for Windows 7 and Windows 8. It is basically a unified driver for all Microsoft mice and keyboards so that you can control all device functionalities from a single application interface.

A 32-bit and 64-bit version of the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center is provided by Microsoft which both provide the same functionality. One can see immediately after startup that the program has been designed with Windows 8 in mind. Not only can it be launched from the Windows 8 start screen, its interface resembles other configuration screens of the Windows 8 operating system as you can see from the screenshot above.

When you start the program after installation you will notice that it will automatically detect the installed hardware. You need to make sure that it is connected to the PC at the time, and if you are using Bluetooth devices, you need to make sure the connection has been set up before you start the program.

Some devices may not be supported by the Mouse and Keyboard Center You can check mice and keyboard compatibility on this troubleshooting page. As far as Mice go, you will notice that mice like the Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000, the IntelliMouse Optical or the IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 are not supported by the Mouse and Keyboard Center. As far as keyboards go, there are a few that are not supported a swell. Consult the following table for a full list:

Unsupported Mice

Comfort Optical Mouse 1000

Compact Optical Mouse

IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0

IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth

Laser Mouse 6000

Notebook Optical Mouse

Optical Mouse

Optical Mouse by Starck

Standard Wireless Optical Mouse

Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth

Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 6000

Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000

Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse

IntelliMouse

Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000

IntelliMouse Optical

Mobile Memory Mouse 8000

Wireless Laser Mouse 6000

Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer 2.0

Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer with Fingerprint Reader

Wheel Mouse

Unsupported Keyboards

Keyboard Elite for Bluetooth

Keyboard with Fingerprint Reader

MultiMedia Keyboard

Wireless Desktop Elite Keyboard

Wireless Keyboard 2000

Wireless Optical Desktop for Bluetooth Keyboard

Wireless Photo Keyboard

Internet Keyboard

Wireless MultiMedia Keyboard

Wireless Comfort Keyboard 4000

Wireless Comfort Keyboard

Wireless Laser Keyboard 5000

Natural MultiMedia Keyboard

Wired Keyboard 500

The latest version of the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center can be downloaded from the official Microsoft Hardware web page. (via Mike)

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