KVM Switch not working
(Sorry, I had this posted in the wrong forum...)
I'm still setting up my new MacBook Pro laptop. I thought it would be nice to take advantage of my 21" PC monitor while I'm at home, so I purchased my first KVM switch.
I plugged everything in as instructed, and it appears to be working at about 75%. In other words, I can use my mouse and keyboard with my PC just fine, and when I click the Scroll Lock key twice, the monitor shifts to Apple mode; it has the same bluish background my laptop does.
However, it doesn't display anything I see on my laptop's built-in monitor - the menu bar, open programs, etc. Curiously, it displays one folder, titled "untitled folder 3." My mouse works, though there's nothing for it to manipulate, save one empty folder. I can't tell if the keyboard works or not. The trackpad that's built into my laptop also works on my PC monitor. In other words, I can move the cursor on my larger PC monitor with either the mouse or the trackpad.
Next, I reversed the wires, plugging the PC into the KVM node that had formerly connected to my MacBook Pro and vice versa. The results are pretty much the same, except that now when I toggle to Apple mode, my mouse moves the cursor on the laptop's built in monitor, not on the larger PC monitor. Also, my MacBook told me it didn't recognize my keyboard, so I replaced it with a Mac-compatible keyboard. (I learned how to do the hot key trick so I can toggle by hitting the CTRL key twice.)
So my KVM switch is obviously almost working. I just have to convince my laptop to ignore its built in monitor and display everything on my PC monitor, not just one empty folder. Can anyone tell me what's going on, and how to fix it?
Incidentally, how are MacBook Pros normally connected to larger PC monitors? My computer came with a VGA adapter so it could be connected to such a monitor. When they're connected, does one ordinarily see the same display on both the laptop and the larger monitor, or is there some way to channel the display through the larger monitor only?
Thanks.
I'm still setting up my new MacBook Pro laptop. I thought it would be nice to take advantage of my 21" PC monitor while I'm at home, so I purchased my first KVM switch.
I plugged everything in as instructed, and it appears to be working at about 75%. In other words, I can use my mouse and keyboard with my PC just fine, and when I click the Scroll Lock key twice, the monitor shifts to Apple mode; it has the same bluish background my laptop does.
However, it doesn't display anything I see on my laptop's built-in monitor - the menu bar, open programs, etc. Curiously, it displays one folder, titled "untitled folder 3." My mouse works, though there's nothing for it to manipulate, save one empty folder. I can't tell if the keyboard works or not. The trackpad that's built into my laptop also works on my PC monitor. In other words, I can move the cursor on my larger PC monitor with either the mouse or the trackpad.
Next, I reversed the wires, plugging the PC into the KVM node that had formerly connected to my MacBook Pro and vice versa. The results are pretty much the same, except that now when I toggle to Apple mode, my mouse moves the cursor on the laptop's built in monitor, not on the larger PC monitor. Also, my MacBook told me it didn't recognize my keyboard, so I replaced it with a Mac-compatible keyboard. (I learned how to do the hot key trick so I can toggle by hitting the CTRL key twice.)
So my KVM switch is obviously almost working. I just have to convince my laptop to ignore its built in monitor and display everything on my PC monitor, not just one empty folder. Can anyone tell me what's going on, and how to fix it?
Incidentally, how are MacBook Pros normally connected to larger PC monitors? My computer came with a VGA adapter so it could be connected to such a monitor. When they're connected, does one ordinarily see the same display on both the laptop and the larger monitor, or is there some way to channel the display through the larger monitor only?
Thanks.
MacBook Pro
