Use 2 PC's w/ one Keyboard & Mouse ?

EaglePhoto

See here for some info : http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSectionView.process?Section_Id=56
There are several brands and breeds of these critters, so you should be able to find what you need.

John

The Keyboard/monitor swtiches are available, as referenced in the post and from several other companies.  However, the price of these switches is not cheap as they are made primarily for commercial locations, not for home users. 

It's me again.

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought I saw either in an office or on TV once where there was 2 Monitors side by side, and this guy was able to use One Mouse and go between the two Monitors working on 2 different programs.

Can you explain how Networking actually works with 2 Home PC's and do I have to have another DELL to be compatable with my DELL Dimension 4100 that I am currently using?

I want to buy another PC and am thinking of another DELL since this one has served me well.  Also, I want to make sure I get what I need in the next PC, to work, without any problems, Adobe Photoshop plus some high-end Games.  Would a new DELL PC come with a video card good enough to handle all this?

Thanks,

E. Ray Austin........EaglePhoto@twlakes.net

Good place to buy KVM switches, they have every kind & brand on the planet  http://www.kvms.com

I run 3 Dell PC's off the same keyboard and mouse with a Belkin OmniView E Series 4 Port KVM Switch.  I keep one cable set open so I can hook up friends PC's real fast to fix their problems.  I've used Belkin and Iogear brands and had good luck with both.  Remember to get the correct length cables, at kvms you can order them with what length cables you want.  Remember to get one for USB or PS2 depending on what your keyboard and mouse is.

If you've never used one, don't worry.  KVM switches are real easy, no drivers to install, it's just a pure hardware device.  Most have a button to switch from one PC to the next.  On most you can also hit the "ctrl" key or the "scroll lock" key twice and switch to the next PC.  Different brand use different keyboard keys for swaping, but all are real simple.

 

 

 

 

 

Message Edited by NHRARacer on 12-01-2003 04:55 AM

Message Edited by NHRARacer on 12-01-2003 04:57 AM

I appreciate your reply, but I have another question.  With this setup you described using the KVM switches, can I be working on one PC lets say in Adobe Photoshop and then switch over to the other PC running another program, example MS Word?

Can I transfer files from one PC to the other?

Do you use one Monitor with your 3 PC's or do you have 3 Monitors?

Thanks again.

E. Ray Austin

Can I be working on one PC lets say in Adobe Photoshop and then switch over to the other PC running another program, example MS Word?

Yes

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Can I transfer files from one PC to the other?

No, not without the PC's Networked together, you can be Networked and have a KVM switch.

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Do you use one Monitor with your 3 PC's or do you have 3 Monitors?

Yes just one monitor, sorry I forgot to say Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor.

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A KVM switch is just a switch box to use completely separate PC's with the same Keyboard and Mouse and Monitor.  With a KVM switch the PC's are not connected together like a Network, they just share the same Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor.  When you are viewing one of the PC's,  it's the same as the other ones don't exist, if they are not Networked together also.   

You can't transfer files between PC's unless they are networked together in some way (Router, Hub or Crossover Cable).  My 3 PC's use the same Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor and 2 of the 3 PC's are also networked to each other with a Router.  Hope this hopes and didn't confuse you more.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006IRR8/qid=1070333007/sr=-13/ref=sr__13_etk-electronics/103-1471777-9772606?v=glance&s=electronics&n=172282

Link to IOGEAR GCS62 $25 at Amazon. Works great - 2 computers. Tap scroll lock twice and bounce between machines like you never left either one.

I found two machines not to be enough so I'm getting an IOGEAR GCS14 four computers $59.99 and  ,01 shipping at CompUSA over the weekend.

No experience on the GCS14 yet. I read it is a little more involved to switch between machines. You will enjoy the two machine model. Does everything you want.

Hi,

  I am not sure what you mean by 2 computers and 1 keyboard and mice, it might be the one that you saw is a dual monitor option. Some video cards can have dual monitor options, One computer, 2 monitors, it wil give you an extended view of your desktop or a clone. If you need the space, since you use photoshop, I would suggest to go get a bigger monitor(21" maybe), and then just make your resolution small, so everything would fit on your desktop. Like for example, you might be using a resolution of 1024x768; going much higher can give you more workspace, but again it will require bigger monitor for that. Hope that helps!

The 4100 is pretty long in the tooth these days, and a new system would be several times faster. If you buy a new system with a high end processor (with hyperthreading, which acts as two processors), plenty of RAM, and dual monitors, you can run both programs "full screen" at once without having to deal with a KVM and networking.  You might also want to look at the Precision Workstations, which are professional systems (with professional video cards) rather than the consumer Dimension systems.

 

The KVM switch is a good method to attach two or more systems to one keyboard mouse and monitor. I use one myself. As for data migration back and forth you have several options. Network the systems, Connect using a data transfer cable either parallel, USB or Null Modem cable.