KVM wants me to press BOTH SCROLL LOCK keys?

[FatRakoon]

I have been toying with a coupel of KVMs the last few weeks on and off.

The first one is DVI and has a remote selector and I found that to be a brilliant idea, however, it did not seem to understand my keyboard and Mouse and I was forced to use a basic Mouse.

The second one I got, does seem to cater for my mouse, and indeed it seems to also accept my keyboards too.

However, the switching is done by the buttons on the KVM itself and with a load of cables coming out of all sides but one, I have not been able to find a happy place for me to keep it.

Now, in both these KVMs, they both allow me to select the computer I am using by a key combination, and on both KVMs, it is by holding down BOTH the SCROLL LOCK KEYS?

To be honest, I am unsure that I have EVER seen a Keyboard that has two Scroll Locks on it?

I have tried various combos like CTRL - SHIFT - ALT - INS - DEL - HOME - END - PGUp/Down and so on, and various combinations of those, but nothing seems to be getting me anywhere?\

Anyone have and ideas?

Also, after some time, on both these KVMs, they forget my mouse and it just stops responding altogether,

I have sometimews had luck with switching over and back again, but only sometimes.

I am a bit concerned that if I splash otu on a good one, will it be worth it, or am I just going to waste my money?

Any advise / help will be great.

 

[Hotwired]

I bought the cheapest possible kvm which switched using a button on the kvm itself and only had vga.

Worked fine for me, I don't believe money is the issue at all.

 

[FatRakoon]

Yes, well, right after I posted that question, I chucked the VGA one back on.

Its a TRENDNET Model TK-207K

It works sort of mostly ok... In fact, I am on the I7 right now, and it is switching between both this and the AMD just perfectly ( at this time ).

But, like I said, it will stop seeing the mouse shortly.

I suppose that its not like I am going to be needing to switch over every 2 seconds is it?
I am mainly using a Wireless keyboard and Mouse for the Mac and the normal Keyboard and Mouse for the PC, and I simply select inputs on the screen and use the right keyboard and mouse combo depending whether I am wanting to mess with the Mac or the PC. so I only swicth it over now and then, not every two minutes, so it wont be THAT much of an issue? - the remote button was a brilliant idea however, and not having it, is quite a struggle.

Can you switch it over using the Keyboard though?

If you can, what is the combination of keys that do it?

 

[Rroff]

You press the scroll lock key twice to invoke the kvm interface then press a number button corresponding to the port you want to switch to.

 

[David Bisset]

Yes, well, right after I posted that question, I chucked the VGA one back on.

Its a TRENDNET Model TK-207K

It works sort of mostly ok... In fact, I am on the I7 right now, and it is switching between both this and the AMD just perfectly ( at this time ).

But, like I said, it will stop seeing the mouse shortly.

I suppose that its not like I am going to be needing to switch over every 2 seconds is it?
I am mainly using a Wireless keyboard and Mouse for the Mac and the normal Keyboard and Mouse for the PC, and I simply select inputs on the screen and use the right keyboard and mouse combo depending whether I am wanting to mess with the Mac or the PC. so I only swicth it over now and then, not every two minutes, so it wont be THAT much of an issue? - the remote button was a brilliant idea however, and not having it, is quite a struggle.

Can you switch it over using the Keyboard though?

If you can, what is the combination of keys that do it?

I'd imagine it stops seeing the wireless mouse right about the time the mouse drops connection to save power - so long as it's in constant use it's fine?

Unfortunately this is likely to be a problem you can't work around except by not using a wireless mouse, though maybe others will know of a wireless mouse you can force to stay active. If it happens on the wired one too then make sure you've disabled auto-suspending (or selective suspending) USB in power management and are not using anything like powernap / powertop etc

 

[FatRakoon]

You press the scroll lock key twice to invoke the kvm interface then press a number button corresponding to the port you want to switch to.

That did not work either. I tried the numeric pad with and without numlock, also the main numbers and the Functions, but none of them worked.

I'd imagine it stops seeing the wireless mouse right about the time the mouse drops connection to save power - so long as it's in constant use it's fine?

Possibly, but the times it took to stop seing the mouse seemed completely random.

Unfortunately this is likely to be a problem you can't work around except by not using a wireless mouse, though maybe others will know of a wireless mouse you can force to stay active. If it happens on the wired one too then make sure you've disabled auto-suspending (or selective suspending) USB in power management and are not using anything like powernap / powertop etc

Sorry, I should be clearer.

My usual mouse and the one I use all the time, is my trusty Logitech G5.

On the Mac, I am using a Wireless Keyboard and Mouse setup.

I have used these when I am NOT using the KVM.

the ATEN DVI KVM does not like the Logitech Mouse or Keyboard and so thats when I used the Microsoft Basic Mouse.

I am on the TRENDNET KVM right now, and I am still using the Logitech G510 Keyboard and G5 Mouse, and it has been running all night on it without an issue... I would like to say that its annoying because its been constantly losing my mouse and thats why I posted about it, but as soon as I post... It seems to work???

So, for now, its plugged in to both computers, and I can reach down and press the buttons to select between them as I should do, and so far, its been fine.

The problem where I have to bend down is a big one for me, as I am in a wheelchair.

---

As a side-note, the DVI one that seems to be ok with basic keyboards and mice, I have found a great use for it... I have put the MiniMac next to the MediaCenter and its fine with the MediaCentre's Keyboard and so I can still toy with the Mac on that for a giggle when Im bored.
( Boredom is a huge issue for me - My wife is going nuts, but I have 2 PCs, 2 Macs and my Hackintosh all in the living room with me, I m that bored )
Also explains why I type such stupidly long posts.

 

[Rroff]

The ATEN should be able to change between different mouse emulation modes which should allow other stuff to work (it will be documented in the manual) the exact key-press might differ but when it says [scroll lock] [scroll lock] its a quick double tap not 2 different keys. (On some models to port switch via keyboard you would do for instance: [scroll lock] [scroll lock] [1] [enter] on others it will switch immediately on pressing the 1 key without needing to press enter).

Often hotkey port switching is disabled by default and you will have to invoke the KVM HSM interface with whatever the key combination is and then enable it from that.

Commonly HSM is invoked by holding down numlock, pressing the - key by it briefly and then releasing numlock - the keyboard lights should then start cycling. If you have notepad open with the edit box having focus pressing F4 should list the status of supported functions.

 

[FatRakoon]

Oh, ok, well I will have a look later then...

Right now I am still on the Trendnet and it has still worked fine so maybe its sorted now, but I would definitely prefer the ATEN with its remote switch.

I have put the ATEN onto the MediaCenter and the MiniMac, but I have not played about with it... The family are using that right now to catch up with corrie and emmerdale and its working fine with just that... Not started up the Mac or done any tests yet.