KVM Switch Help

joel4119

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Jul 18, 2015
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Hello,

I'm hoping to order a KVM switch that will allow two different workstations to be connected to a single PC. Each workstation would need a keyboard, a mouse, a primary display and a secondary/extended display.

Currently the PC that I want to add this functionality to only supports two monitors, so I'm guessing I need to start by ordering a quad monitor graphics card for it. Assuming that to be true, could someone please advise what kind of KVM switch would work best for this kind of setup?

I primarily need the KVM switch in order to lock one workstation out while the other one is being operated. Basically every product I've looked at so far appears to allow one workstation to control multiple PCs, so perhaps I need the opposite of a KVM switch?

Any help on this topic is greatly appreciated, and let me know if I can provide any more details to clarify what I'm looking for.

Thank you,

Joel
 
Solution
See if you can narrow down the problem by testing each component in isolation.

For example if a PS/2 keyboard works when plugged directly into a PS/2 port but not when going through the PS/2 to USB adapter then the adapter would be suspect.

See if just one side or the other of the Belkin Reverse KVM works sans any other connections. (I attempted to go to the product specifications, etc. but the link just hung on me....)

As for the NTI box I looked at the link. The photograph and descriptions seem a bit misleading.... Not sure that you can truly have four users per se unless each user only has one keyboard or one mouse. If the user needs both a keyboard and mouse then you only can have two users. And the diagram seems to...
Hi Ralston18,

Thanks for the prompt response! I went ahead and ordered the reverse KVM switch you recommended but I can't seem to get it to work. I'm not sure if the issue is the device itself, the PS/2 ports in the computers I've tested it on, or the USB to PS/2 adapters I've been trying to test everything with.

Do you or anyone else have any other recommendations that can achieve what I need? From reading the Belkin instruction manual it sounds like the one you recommended would have worked perfectly, however it appears that I need one that doesn't require PS/2 ports.

I also ordered a similar device from Network Technologies Incorporated, but of course the one I received was dead on arrival so I don't plan on ordering another from them:

http://www.networktechinc.com/kvmsplit-usb-hdmi.html

Thank you,

Joel
 
See if you can narrow down the problem by testing each component in isolation.

For example if a PS/2 keyboard works when plugged directly into a PS/2 port but not when going through the PS/2 to USB adapter then the adapter would be suspect.

See if just one side or the other of the Belkin Reverse KVM works sans any other connections. (I attempted to go to the product specifications, etc. but the link just hung on me....)

As for the NTI box I looked at the link. The photograph and descriptions seem a bit misleading.... Not sure that you can truly have four users per se unless each user only has one keyboard or one mouse. If the user needs both a keyboard and mouse then you only can have two users. And the diagram seems to support that. Being DOA does not surprise me.

So you need a reverse KVM with USB ports - found this:

http://www.kvmswitchdirect.co.uk/PDFs/Datasheets/cs231_datasheet.pdf

There are others but a bit hard to pick out. I used "Reverse KVM" (with quotes) to help limit the searches. Your NTI kept popping up as did ordinary KVM switches with USB ports. A company named Adder came up also but showed PS/2 ports versus USB.
 
Solution