2 computers, 2 monitor, 1 keyboard & mouse, live switching?

[Davi]

At the moment have one PC, to which I am shortly adding a pair of panel monitors so I can have toolbars on one, work area on the other. One keyboard and mouse obviously.

Now ideally I could do with a second PC, (have a spare awaiting a rebuild), but don't have the space to have a whole new workstation, so would like to be able to run it on the monitors keyboard etc of the first PC - but would like to be able to switch on the fly so both PC's can be running and not need shutting down every few minutes.

Easy / cheap way to do this or not?

[GHW]

Worth a shot before you spend cash on a KVM or similar...

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

[pdV6]

GHW said:

Worth a shot before you spend cash on a KVM or similar...

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

Sounds like fun, but it only addresses keyboard and mouse sharing.
In restricted-space scenarios, its actually the screen that's the problem (the computers themselves can usually be stacked out of sight somewhere convenient) and that's where a simple hardware KVM switch comes into its own.

[Davi]

pdV6 said:

GHW said:

Worth a shot before you spend cash on a KVM or similar...

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

Sounds like fun, but it only addresses keyboard and mouse sharing.
In restricted-space scenarios, its actually the screen that's the problem (the computers themselves can usually be stacked out of sight somewhere convenient) and that's where a simple hardware KVM switch comes into its own.

thanks for the thought GHW but as pdv6 says it's the screens that are the bigger problem for me - the 2 screens are for one PC, not one for each, and I have no room for a third.

[annodomini2]

this: Maplins

or this: Amazon better price.

or this: Ebuyer

[SneakyNeil]

Full screen remote desktop session from main PC to second one?

[Davi]

annodomini2 said:

this: Maplins

or this: Amazon better price.

or this: Ebuyer

cheers, didn't realise you could do dual monitors with them!

SneakyNeil said:

Full screen remote desktop session from main PC to second one?

hadn't considered that, might well be worth investigating though...

[SpencerO]

I use a linksys KVM kit - very small, works like a dream, and about 30gbp. Think it was from amazon but cant remember the model number. Hot key on the keyboard is scroll lock i think, if it makes any difference. This is swapping between 2 pcs and 2 monitors, but one pc is double desk top, and one mouse / kb..

[ATG]

SneakyNeil said:

Full screen remote desktop session from main PC to second one?

For "work" useage or as a server this will almost certainly do very nicely, for entertainment it will probably be a non-starter.

[lazy_b]

I'll second the Linksys KVM switch. It's small, neat, and comes with built-in cables for two PCs (keyboard, mouse, and monitor). I Bought one when my (dubious provenance) mechanical KVM switch finally got too unreliable to tolerate. You can configure it to switch manually between PCs (default is a double-click on the scroll-lock key) or to scan them alternately.

Edited to add:
Just dug out the "instruction" leaflet (basically:- plug things in; it works!). Model no. is KVM2KIT

Edited by lazy_b on Wednesday 30th May 19:54

[Davi]

ATG said:

SneakyNeil said:

Full screen remote desktop session from main PC to second one?

For "work" useage or as a server this will almost certainly do very nicely, for entertainment it will probably be a non-starter.

TBH I don't really use the computers for entertainment, only reason for wanting 2 is that I want to keep one totally clean for CAD work, the other for internet/general office work/the absolute mass of useless software I have for infrequently used purposes that always seem to conflict with something else!

When you say "entertainment" did you mean more gaming, or would you include video editing in that?

[Davi]

lazy_b said:

I'll second the Linksys KVM switch. It's small, neat, and comes with built-in cables for two PCs (keyboard, mouse, and monitor). I Bought one when my (dubious provenance) mechanical KVM switch finally got too unreliable to tolerate. You can configure it to switch manually between PCs (default is a double-click on the scroll-lock key) or to scan them alternately.

Edited to add:
Just dug out the "instruction" leaflet (basically:- plug things in; it works!). Model no. is KVM2KIT

Edited by lazy_b on Wednesday 30th May 19:54

ta, will have a look at that

[ATG]

Davi said:

ATG said:

SneakyNeil said:

Full screen remote desktop session from main PC to second one?

For "work" useage or as a server this will almost certainly do very nicely, for entertainment it will probably be a non-starter.

TBH I don't really use the computers for entertainment, only reason for wanting 2 is that I want to keep one totally clean for CAD work, the other for internet/general office work/the absolute mass of useless software I have for infrequently used purposes that always seem to conflict with something else!

When you say "entertainment" did you mean more gaming, or would you include video editing in that?

I'd guess you will have problems with anything like realtime animation. High end graphics cards need near direct access to the PC's resources, so putting a network and Remote Desktop software between the PC and the grpahics card that is actually driving the monitor must have a big impact on processing speed.

Given that Remote Desktop is a cost free option, I'd nonetheless give it a go and see what the performace is like.

[SneakyNeil]

Davi said:

ATG said:

SneakyNeil said:

Full screen remote desktop session from main PC to second one?

For "work" useage or as a server this will almost certainly do very nicely, for entertainment it will probably be a non-starter.

TBH I don't really use the computers for entertainment, only reason for wanting 2 is that I want to keep one totally clean for CAD work, the other for internet/general office work/the absolute mass of useless software I have for infrequently used purposes that always seem to conflict with something else!

When you say "entertainment" did you mean more gaming, or would you include video editing in that?

Not sure about video editing over remote desktop, TBH I'd be surprised if it worked well but I've been surprised before... like ATG says it'll cost you nothing to find out anyway.

[Davi]

good points, well presented. I'll have a play with remote over the next few days and if there are any problems go get one of the switches.

Cheers for all the help guys

[dilbert]

Davi said:

At the moment have one PC, to which I am shortly adding a pair of panel monitors so I can have toolbars on one, work area on the other. One keyboard and mouse obviously.

Now ideally I could do with a second PC, (have a spare awaiting a rebuild), but don't have the space to have a whole new workstation, so would like to be able to run it on the monitors keyboard etc of the first PC - but would like to be able to switch on the fly so both PC's can be running and not need shutting down every few minutes.

Easy / cheap way to do this or not?

I just posted about connecting up a peer to peer network between two PC's with a crossover ethernet cable which I just did here. Piece of cake.

I wanted to do just the same as you, to get my stuff off the old PC, until I'm happy with the new one. I used VNC, to get a desktop on the other machine. Works a treat. No fuss no bother. The only minor problem is that I don't know exactly when the other machine is safe to turn off, because it originally had Win98 distribution disks, and when I went XP, the standard release of XP did not support auto power off.

Startup is fine, because VNC waits until the other machine is up.

http://www.realvnc.com/

It's free!!!!!

Edited by dilbert on Thursday 31st May 09:31

[Wildfire]

I use an ATEN KVM switch to great effect on something similar.