Walt Mossberg answers tech questions for The Wall Street Journal in his “Mossberg’s Mailbox” column. A recent question and answer has much value for a current Windows-only user looking to add Apple’s new Mac mini to their computing arsenal.
Q: Last week, you wrote that Windows users who bought Apple’s new Mac mini computer could just unplug their monitor, keyboard and mouse from the Windows PC and plug them into the Mac. But is there a way to share a single monitor, keyboard and mouse between a Mac mini and a Windows PC?
A: Yes. It’s called a KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) switch, and it allows you to run two or more different computers from the same monitor, keyboard and mouse, switching between or among the computers at will. It not only works with a Mac mini (and some other Mac models) and a Windows PC, but it also allows you to hook multiple Windows machines, or multiple Macs, to the same screen, keyboard and mouse. One big maker of KVM switches is Belkin, at http://www.belkin.com
A two-computer KVM switch has three sets of plugs, usually labeled Console, Computer 1 and Computer 2. You plug the monitor, keyboard and mouse into the Console plugs. Then, you connect the video, keyboard and mouse connectors of one of your computers into the Computer 1 plugs, and the ports from the second computer into the Computer 2 plugs on the KVM. After that, you just use a switch or button on the KVM to select which computer will be active on the central monitor, keyboard and mouse.
If you buy a KVM switch, make sure it has the right kind of plugs for your monitor, keyboard and mouse. Some use modern USB mouse and keyboard connectors (required on a Mac mini); others use older PS/2 keyboard and mouse connectors. Some mix the two types of plugs. Most use standard VGA monitor ports, but some use the more modern DVI video connectors. Some KVM switches can also control audio, or allow the sharing of USB peripheral devices. Some come with cables, others treat them as an extra expense.
One caution: if you have a laptop or a desktop with a built-in screen, like Apple’s iMac G5, you usually can’t share the built-in screen with another computer, even via a KVM switch. In general, the shared screen, keyboard and mouse must be stand-alone components.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: The Apple Store offers the Belkin 2-Port KVM Switch w/ 2 KVM Cables Bundle. The new OmniView SOHO Series USB KVM Switch with Audio from Belkin allows you to control two USB computers from one USB console for US$129. More info here.
Those switches are wonderful in a server room.
MDN Magic Word “federal.” Am I being watched by the federal government?
Yes, you are.
I bought a simple 2 computer KVM switch for my Dual G5 and my PC, and it was $19. Don’t forget to purchase some short VGA cables and USB cables. All told, I spent about $40 to hook both computers up to the same Keyboard, Monitor and Mouse. (And the Apple Keyboard automatically works with the PC, I was stoked about that)
The only time, however, that I ever need to use my PC, is when I boot it up into Linux Mandrake for sharing the HP printer. I’ve tried a Parallel to USB cable, but it didn’t work. But I can print B&W documents through the PC like a Print Server. So it’s still cool.
So I’m trying to get my sister to “switch” to a Mac. She has a PS/2 keyboard. Her computer has two PS/2 inputs, one for the keyboard and one for the mouse. Are there any KVM switches that combine both PS/2 and USB connections? I didn’t notice if she had a USB I’ll have to check again. She has both a USB & PS/2 mice. Anyone care to add any comments? Thanks.
I didn’t notice if she had a USB port on her computer.
I love KVM switches in the server room. I have one set-up to switch between three servers, two Macs and a Dell PC. Works like a charm, though, I let the PC keep it’s own keyboard. I hate the delayed mental translation for coordinating keys on the keyboard with my actions. I see the Mac keyboard and I just think Command+ , I see the PC keyboard, and my mind switches to Alt.
But maybe this has been mentioned, but since when did Apple start accepting reviews of products? It’s cool. I almost wish I had something to say about the Belkin, but maybe if I have some time I’ll go back and rate some of my other Apple Store purchases.
I have a much, much better solution than a KVM switch. Buy a liter of petrol, douse your Wintel machine in it, and light that sucker on fire.
“It’s only after you’ve lost everything that you’re free to do anything.” – Tyler Durden
Magic word: standard …as in “This should be standard operating procedure.”
Ralph, I don’t know about them, but the article says that some KVM switches combine PS/2 and USB, so it sounds like they’d work for her.
Ralph – toss out the old PS/2 keyboard rather than finding a switch to work with it. You can get a cheap USB keyboard for $20.
Belkin has a nice looking 2-way and 4-way KVM (DVI & USB) switch. Push a button and switch between machines.
I bought one of the 2-ways and found that the Apple 20″ Cinema display connector won’t fit. In fact, I tried half a dozen other DVI monitor cables and they wouldn’t fit either.
The Belkin model has a plastic lip in the back which prevents most DVI connectors (master) from fitting.
Yeeeesh. You’d think people would check such things.
Tera Patricks
Mac360
You may well need a separate PS/2 to USB adapter, preferably one that has two PS/2 sockets and one USB plug.
Here’s one example (found by Googling on ‘ps2 usb adapter’)
http://www.toolspcs.com/frgrshtousba.html
Never used it so can’t comment on how good it is, but hard to imagine it doesn’t work! Apple could helpfully bundle something like this with the Mac mini.
I guess its the PS/2 ports on her computer that I’m most concerned with. I could leave her mouse connected to it and give her my old Apple USB keyboard. With a USB KVM switch, could I plug her PS/2 port on the comp with a USB/PS/2 adapter from the switch? Thanks for the comments.
I wanted to point out a great non-KVM solution to sharing a monitor, keyboard, and mouse between a Mac and a Windows machine: Microsoft’s free “Remote Desktop Connection” client for Mac OS X.
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/otherproducts.aspx?pid=remotedesktopclient
This tool allows one to disconnect all peripherals from the Windows machine in question, leaving it connected only to the network. The user can then connect to it via the network. There is admittedly some latency in this method which would not be visible with a hardware solution, but it is surprisingly fast and I do not notice any lag except with games. There are several benefits of this solution over a traditional KVM: 1) it works with built-in laptop screens, 2) clipboards are automatically shared between the two machines, and 3) you can often open a higher-resolution screen on the remote machine than it’s built-in video card would normally let you 4) it saves money!
I use this solution at work with two separate PCs (one running XP, the other 2000) and it saves a lot of time. Best of all it keeps me in the Mac environment most of the time. Remote desktop clients are also available for Windows-to-Windows connections, but for Windows-to-Mac or Mac-to-Mac you will have to resort to Apple’s not-free Remote Desktop client, or to the open source VNC project.
1- Re: Oliver. RDC is the BEST software ever developed by M$ and works very well.
2- Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Windoze Keyboards with a Mac. There are many good keyboards available with a Mac layout. Kensington offers a complete Wireless Keyboard/Optical Mouse setup that can be had for as little as $60 (US). It’s well worth the money and a lot cheaper than the Apple Bluetooth option.
Ralph, I don’t see why you could not use a PS/2 to USB adaptor. I hear they can be found for around 5 dollars. I would definitely give her your old Apple USB keyboard though. For someone new to the Mac it is best to keep the confusion to a minimum and having the Apple key be the Apple key will make things more straight forward.
I think that many many people who install this set up will find themselves flicking the switch to the PC side less and less as they get used to OS X.
Apple should make this easier for switchers and offer “switcher bundles” or a “switcher section” in the stores with everything they need. They should also have a very basic level video on the Apple site outlining exactly how to set everything up and this should be referenced on the Mac mini literature/box. First impressions only happen once. It won’t take much to make this a really really pleasant experience for all the new Apple faithful coming on board.
The switcher section should include such things as: PS/2 to USB adaptors, any cables they might need, KVM switches, and they should also resurrect a cheap 15 inch flat panel display for use with the mini. Apple should keep this all in house for profits and to optimize the user experience with one stop shopping.
“Buy a liter of petrol, douse your Wintel machine in it, and light that sucker on fire.”
Classic! Thanks for the laugh BSOD.
i’ve used some pretty shoddy kvm’s in my time. i see some of the cheap 2 machine kvm’s on some of the online stores and i can just imagine the errors that might pop up. i’d like to see apple offer a selection of 3rd party “approved” kvm’s on their site for mac mini buyers.
Oliver,
Do you have RDC crashes when copying/pasting between the Mac and Windows machines? Which OS are the Wintels in question?
No, no crashes. In fact RDC has never crashed on me yet: ‘complex’ clipboards just fail silently. The OSes I am connecting to are XPsp2 and 2000 (sp ??). I am using it from 10.3.7.
Dan,
I have a Macbook Pro running windows xp and it will crash everytime I try to copy from the XP system while under RDC