As many of the connectors look very similar, particularly to a novice PC user, the colour-coding of connectors and ports makes it far easier for people to connect peripherals to the correct ports on a PC. This colour code was gradually adopted by almost all PC and motherboard manufacturers. Some of the colour codes have also been widely adopted by peripheral manufacturers.
| Colour | Function | Connector on PC | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mouse and keyboard | ||||
| Green | PS/2 mouse / pointing device | 6-pin mini-DIN female | ||
| Purple | PS/2 keyboard | 6-pin mini-DIN female | ||
| General input/output | ||||
| Black | USB 1 | USB Type A female | ||
| White | USB 2.0 | USB Type A female | ||
| Burgundy | Parallel port | 25-pin D female | ||
| Teal or turquoise | Serial port | 9-pin D male | ||
| Video | ||||
| Blue | Analogue monitor | 15-pin VGA female | ||
| White | Digital monitor | DVI female | ||
| Audio | ||||
| Pink | Analogue microphone audio input (mono or stereo). | 3.5 mm TRS | ||
| Light blue | Analogue line level audio input. | 3.5 mm TRS | ||
| Lime green | Analogue line level audio output for the main stereo signal (front speakers or headphones). | 3.5 mm TRS | ||