Control 2 PC's with 1 mouse/keyboard - Simultaneously

badogblue

badogblue

badogblue

Associate
Joined
12 Jul 2009
Posts
113
Location
N.Ireland
So I need to control 2 separate PC's which are beside each other but on different networks with 1 mouse/keyboard simultaneously.

I've looked at software like synergy or input director but they both require that all PC's are on the same network and only the latter allows simultaneous control.

Hardware wise, a kvm switch is not suitable as it doesn't allow simultaneous control of both PC's.

Any suggestions, at the minute I'm out of ideas?
 
I use one of these:

UGREEN USB 3.0 Switch, 2 in 4 Out Put USB 3.0 Sharing Switch Box Box for Mouse,Keyboard,Scanner, Printer with 2 pcs of 1.5m USB 3.0 A to A Cable

£16.99
 
HoneyBadger said:
I use one of these:

UGREEN USB 3.0 Switch, 2 in 4 Out Put USB 3.0 Sharing Switch Box Box for Mouse,Keyboard,Scanner, Printer with 2 pcs of 1.5m USB 3.0 A to A Cable

£16.99
Click to expand...

Thanks, but that won't work as it's a switch.

I need to control both PC's simultaneously (move 1 mouse to move cursor on 2 PC's)
 
I suspect such a beast doesnt exist, you might have to make your own,
connection to pc 1 all 4 wires connected
to pc 2 only the 2 data wires connected
but will pc2 see the data or will it go bang?
And how are you going to sync mouse movement there is bound to be some difference in ultimate cursor position

may be useful but its old
 
Last edited:
would a Bluetooth mouse with 2 receivers work? or does the Bluetooth stop you from pairing to 2 different machines? could maybe rewire a mouse to have 2 usbs coming off it, but that's hardly ideal.

edit - or rewire a switch to send out to both machines at once.
 
Artical today might be the answer for you badogblue

Multiplicity now on Steam; control two PCs with one mouse and keyboard:
https://www.neowin.net/news/multipl...&utm_campaign=Feed:+neowin-main+(Neowin+News)

Multiplicity is a software solution developed by Stardock, that allows users to control multiple PCs using a single pair of mouse and keyboard. Since its release way back in 2004, the software has gone through various updates, each introducing new capabilities and functionalities.

Today, Stardock has announced that it is bringing the keyboard / mouse (KM) solution to the Steam gaming platform.

Good read and might give you some help :)

https://www.neowin.net/news/multipl...&utm_campaign=Feed:+neowin-main+(Neowin+News)
 
Whats the use?

If one machine lags, while the other one doesn't, then the cursors might become out of sync.
 
Paul2016 said:
One possible use would be multiboxing ;)
Click to expand...

I wondered for a moment if OP was trying to multi-box alphas or an alpha and omega in Eve due to using different networks (though you could use same network and different gateways) to get around the alpha restriction.

99% of solutions software wise will require the systems to be either on the same network or some other bridge and hardware KVMs with input broadcasting tend to be more on the expensive end of the scale.

You can't hardware DIY this electronically without some additional circuitry.
 
Knowing why you need such a monstrosity in the first place will help with suggestions. The fact that such hardware doesn't spring to anyone's mind here speaks volumes :p

Simplest solution would be to butcher a mouse and spice in another USB plug, matching wire colours. Why you would want to is another matter
 
I suppose you could use software if both both machines had more than one network card, just setup your own mini subnet for the purposes of the software and have your original network cards on their own subnets as required.
 
HoneyBadger said:
I suppose you could use software if both both machines had more than one network card, just setup your own mini subnet for the purposes of the software and have your original network cards on their own subnets as required.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replies guys, I think I've got it working using HoneyBadger's idea and Input director (only software I've found with mirror mode).

Though to keep both pc's on separate networks would each pc need 2 network cards? My plan was to connect both together with a crossover cable creating a mini lan connection for software, then connect each pc to there own unique wifi connection. You think that would work? Thanks.
 
Hi all, I'm looking for a similar solution, but it can't be software based, and i can give you a reason why. i'll be running 2 audio playback macs, they will boot up simultaneously and will be main/redundant, hence the solution cant be software based as that makes the redundancy pointless, i'm hoping as they boot up siultaneously the cursor positions will be synchronised, the keyboard and mouse will be used for programming the show and making small ammendments on the fly, so I dont have to do everything twice, and I would also need a USB midi pad controller to work through it as well for running the shows.
I have found this: http://www.vetra.com/844Ukmtext.html but its quite pricey and im not sure that the midi controller will work through it, and obviously i'd need 2 of them to use the midi controller.
also there can't be a data connection between the 2 machines because that would make them less redundant.

Thanks
 
It just sounds like a terrible idea for so many reasons.

You could build an electronic setup that duplicates the signals from the sensors in mouse and keyboard. You'd then have to wire it all up to get to both machines.

Synchronization is almost guaranteed to become a problem. You don't want to reboot both systems, just to make sure the redundant system syncs up when its cursor goes astray.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom