[brozozo]

Hi, guys. I recently rearranged my room, and I plan on having two towers on the same desk. I a mention of KVM switches in another thread recently, and I was wondering what I should consider buying. I checked out Belkin's basic stuff, but from what I can tell it's a piece of crap.

[Flipside]

Problem with most KVM switches is that they tend to be non-usb. I use one, but they're only really useful if one of the computers is not used that often, such as in my case

[jr2]

@d3r3k, do you have a USB port in the front of both computers & do you use a USB keyboard & mouse?  If so, you could try just getting a switch for the Video, and then just plug the kb & mouse to whichever one you're using.  Although I've never had a problem when switching PS/2 kb & mice, as long as both machines boot with them plugged in.  Once they're fully running, I hot-swap'm.  The only troubles I've had were rectified by unplugging & re-plugging them again.

[brozozo]

Problem with most KVM switches is that they tend to be non-usb. I use one, but they're only really useful if one of the computers is not used that often, such as in my case

Really? Well, I'm having no trouble finding them online, but I am noticing that the USB versions are a bit more expensive. What's up with that? Is PS/2 still a widely used format?

@d3r3k, do you have a USB port in the front of both computers & do you use a USB keyboard & mouse?  If so, you could try just getting a switch for the Video, and then just plug the kb & mouse to whichever one you're using.  Although I've never had a problem when switching PS/2 kb & mice, as long as both machines boot with them plugged in.  Once they're fully running, I hot-swap'm.  The only troubles I've had were rectified by unplugging & re-plugging them again.

See, that's the problem. One computer is fairly old (no front ports), and the other is less than year old. I plan on using both a lot too. I've got another question. Would switching between OSes (XP and 98) be a problem? Obviously, hot swapping would be out of the question, but would it otherwise work?

[Flipside]

Shoulda said 'When I got my KVM 2 years ago, USB ones were almost unknown'

I think they are more expensive simply because they are pretty new, certainly, it was very hard to find a USB KVM switch in the UK, and until recently, it still was.

[jr2]

See, that's the problem. One computer is fairly old (no front ports), and the other is less than year old. I plan on using both a lot too. I've got another question. Would switching between OSes (XP and 98) be a problem? Obviously, hot swapping would be out of the question, [/i]but would it otherwise work?

Not really out of the question.  I just had a brainwave: you could get a USB hub (connects single USB port>4 USB ports).  Also, I think that you can get USB>VGA connectors now.  So a simple solution (if it works) would be to have an extra USB wire to match the one leading from the back of your computer to the USB hub.  Then, just un-plug the entire hub and plug it into the other wire.  The first time u do this, it may take awhile for the drivers to install, but after that, it should be pretty easy.  Although, if your old computer's got USB 1.1 instead of 2.0, you might need to buy a new USB PCI card.

[brozozo]

See, that's the problem. One computer is fairly old (no front ports), and the other is less than year old. I plan on using both a lot too. I've got another question. Would switching between OSes (XP and 98) be a problem? Obviously, hot swapping would be out of the question, [/i]but would it otherwise work?

Not really out of the question.  I just had a brainwave: you could get a USB hub (connects single USB port>4 USB ports).  Also, I think that you can get USB>VGA connectors now.  So a simple solution (if it works) would be to have an extra USB wire to match the one leading from the back of your computer to the USB hub.  Then, just un-plug the entire hub and plug it into the other wire.  The first time u do this, it may take awhile for the drivers to install, but after that, it should be pretty easy.  Although, if your old computer's got USB 1.1 instead of 2.0, you might need to buy a new USB PCI card.

Thanks for the advice. I have considered pilfering my father's USB hub.