2port KVM Switch Hotkey/autoscan Dkvm-2

Rating:
Summary: Saves time, space, and money!
Review: I've had two computers located under the same desk for a little while now. I set them both up on my home network, but I only have one monitor. I reformatted both before putting them on the network, and the whole process was a pain in the arse. When you get one up and running, you don't really know if it's networked properly until the other one is up and running looking for it on the network. I finally got the initial setup working fine (after several hours of crawling around underneath the desk to swith the monitor from on PC to the other), but everyone knows problems are going to keep coming: "Why can't I see the computer?", "Why can't I see the network printer?", "How come I can access some shares, but not others?" These are just a few of the questions that come along (looks like it's time to crawl underneath the desk for the umpteenth million time). Besides just networking problems, you have to keep track of which mouse and keyboard go with which computer. "How come the keyboard's not working?...oh, my god! I hope I didn't screw anything up on the other computer!"

Anyway, you get the idea. Now that I have the D-Link KVM switch, instead of spending time crawling around underneath the desk, I just push one button and within 3 seconds I'm accessing the other computer. This thing is great! Setting it up was intuitive, but was a hassle (you have to power down the systems, unplug the keyboards, mices, and monitor, plug them into the KVM switch, plug the switch into each of the computers, and power up the systems). But just that small amount of extra time invested will save you a lot more down the road! There are no extra drivers to install (which is good, because if you had to, you can only hope they supply them for ALL operating systems). I have one PC with XP pro and the other with Xandros (a linux distro). I've had zero problems so far. The manual also said that I needed to make sure if my mouse was special that it conformed to the Microsoft Intellimouse standard (or something along those lines). I don't have one of those, but I do have a 5-button 2-wheel mouse that plugs into the PS/2 port (that uses the 4D++ iWheelWorks driver software in Windows). I didn't have my hopes too high when trying to use it (because of what the manual said), and I figured if it didn't work correctly that it wasn't a big deal to have an extra mouse on the desk (one plugged into each computer). Well, it's been working just like I want it to in XP: all buttons and both wheels; (I know the buttons work in linux, but I haven't been able to find drivers yet to make the mouse do what I want, so I can't really use the extra buttons).

Let me reiterate:
Saves time: no more crawling around underneath the desk to switch the monitor to another PC.
Saves space: only need one keyboard, mouse, and monitor instead of two of each!
Saves money: since you only need one monitor, you don't have to go out and buy an extra one.
Cool features: no driver (works with computers that support PS/2 connections), easy to use (push one button to switch), small design (it was smaller than expected; I think the picture shown on Amazon is of the 4port switch, meaning the switch in the picture is wider than the one you'll receive if you buy the 2port version), supports 5-button, 2-wheel mice!

If you buy this, don't forget to buy KVM cables (one for each computer)! Also, make sure both ends are MALE! :)

Rating:
Summary: Easy to install and use
Review: My wife has a Win98 machine and I have a Win2000 machine. After we married, we didn't want the hassle of moving software and data files onto one machine so we stuck both boxes under a desk and used this D-Link KVM switch to share one keyboard, mouse and monitor. I also bought the D-Link DKVM-CB 3-in-one Cables to make sure there were no cable compatibility issues.

The switch and cables installed in minutes and worked the first time. The only problem was that the mouse tended to freeze when we switched between computers. Turns out that we had been using two different Logitech mice, and I solved the problem by making sure that both computers had the same mouse drivers intalled for the mouse we were using with the KVM switch.