Tripp Lite B004-VUA2-K-R 2 Port USB KVM Switch w Audio and Cables

• 2-Port Desktop KVM Switch with Audio and USB KVM Cable Kits
• Controls 2 computers from a single monitor, keyboard and mouse
• Lets 2 computers share an audio device
• Compatible with all major operating systems
• 1-year warranty

This product was easy to set up, works great, no hassle. Can be used with/without the driver disk, though you need the drivers to setup audio-lock (i.e., listen to audio on computer #1 while moving mouse/keyboard control to computer #2). I can't speak to the video quality because I'm only using the K/M/A components.

Even though this is a great product in the end, setup was a little scary. I wasn't going to give it less than 5 stars because it does what it's supposed to and is priced great too. However, there's a couple things you need to be aware of:

1. The keyboard/mouse USB ports to not go as deep as most, leaving one with the impression that the connection is not solid. However, I have had NO PROBLEM with my connections. It was just the initial impression that the connection *might* not be very good.

2. The audio pass-through is subject to some noise interference. When I first plugged everything in, the noise was so bad that I thought I was going to end up returning the device. I was able to fix the problem by turning down my speaker volume and turning up my Windows volume control settings.

BTW, I use a wireless mouse, and my keyboad is actually plugged into the USB hub of a separate number pad, which in turn is plugged into the keyboard port of the KVM. I have no problems with any of my input devices.

Last thought: Like any other KVM switch, every time you switch control you'll hear 42,000 bell sounds as your machines detect USB device connections/disconnections. You'll want to customize your Windows audio scheme to shut that off. It took me about 2 switch-overs to realize how annoying that is!

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Just an FYI for 64-bit Windows 7 users: this switch does not work with it. I intended to use it to switch between an old XP machine and a new Win7 machine. It locked Win7 up so completely that I had to hard boot it. I googled around a little and, sure enough, this is a common problem with this switch (and, to be fair, many others).

For now, I'm just going to use Remote Desktop to access my XP machine from the Win7 machine. This switch will go into the closet. Hopefully, I'll have a use for it, someday.

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Don't let the pictures confuse you as to how this hooks up to all your stuff. The mouse and keyboard that hook up to the device are sent to both systems via the VGA output on the device. The VGA cord actually splits into a VGA and USB once it reaches your computer. Also, what look like mini-USB connectors on the device actually turn into headphone and mic jacks once they reach your computer.

2 issues.

1) The documentation says it works with Linux in the sense that you can still use ScrollLock-ScrollLock to switch between systems. That is not working for me. If you run Windows, it may work just fine, or work with the special software they make for Windows. Don't know. I have to manually switch systems with the buttons on the device, which isn't THAT much of a pain, but it is a minor pain.

2) Slight VGA issues. When the screen is black (not off, just totally black background), there are very faint lines that are scrolling down on it. You will not see these under normal conditions, but you can when it is totally black. Also, there is some very slight ghosting of things. Like, a very faint image of the mouse cursor will appear to the right of the cursor on a very dark background. Once again, it is very faint and only the most picky of people would notice it. VGA suffers from these issues anyway, so it may be that, but it is possibly exaggerated with the device.

Other than that, it does the job, and it's relatively inexpensive as far as these things go.

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This switcher works great to go between my old and new computers that share a monitor. One big tip,though, be careful when you click on the 1 and 2 buttons on top if you push them too forcefully, they'll jam underneath the plastic cover and you'll have a hard time getting them to pop back up where they should be. Love this switcher.

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This product works fine. Whether the switching is done manually (buttons on the device itself), or using the keyboard combination, the transfer is smooth and fast.

(Note: I haven't tried the microphone/speaker switching features.)

There is a problem when using this switcher, and it's one that never occurred to me before I used it. Your keyboard doesn't work unless the KVM switch drivers are loaded. Consequently, you can't start the CMOS setup service at power-up for example. Also you can't enter Windows "safe mode", because they both require keyboard input before Windows begins to load.

My workaround is to keep an old keyboard on the floor nearby that connects to the primary computer through the traditional keyboard connector instead of USB. This solves the problem, but having a keyboard on the floor adds to a cluttered look and is, frankly, inelegant.