Re: [tlug] Hardware Issue

["Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon" <ronfaxon@example.com>]

Joe Larabell wrote:

>For what it's worth, I've had trouble with two different KVM switches on
>boot-up. The one I use at home, if I recall right, is an "ATEN" and when I
>used it with an RH8 system it apparently reported something different on
>boot depending whether the switch was "looking at" that computer or not.
>If the switch was switched to some other computer while the RH machine was
>booting, kudzu would fire up and decide there was no keyboard attached.
>The only way to convince it there really was a keyboard attached was to
>reboot and leave the switch pointing to that machine until after the H/W
>detect had run.
>
>  
>
I'm using a "Nakagawa" KVM switch, and the way it works is like this:

With none of the four computers running, the first one booted is 
automatically selected.

For a second machine, I hit the power switch and then immediate hit a 
Ctrl key twice to get it to switch over.  Once past the BIOS (and OS 
selection on a couple of dual-booters), I wait a few seconds and then go 
back to working on a machine already up and running.  When I get back to 
the newly booted machine, it's running properly.

This KVM is good in that it remembers different monitor settings.


Another KVM switch I'm using is an old Corega that works well enough 
except for a few irritating features:

It always defaults to the #1 computer, irrespective of which computer is 
first booted.

Hitting the Ctrl key won't switch computers - you have to hit the button 
on the KVM switch itself.

It doesn't remember different monitor settings, so if one computer 
requires different settings from another, when you switch back to a 
previously well adjusted computer, the settings are mucked up.  The 
result of this is that one seldom-used computer has the screen 
off-center all the time now.


One more Corega I'm using is only for two machines, but - and now I 
remember something I'd forgotten - it works flawlessly with a pair of 
Dell Dimension C's (very bad design - if you see a used Dimension-C in a 
used shop, run in the other direction as fast as your legs will carry 
you), which the Nakagawa did not.  what would happen with the Nakagawa 
is that I would be working on something on one of the Dimension C's and 
the mouse would start to malfunction.  I thought it was the mouse, but 
after changing mice, the problem persisted until I put those two on a 
different KVM switch.

Ah... well... now it's starting to look like the KVM switch is the 
culprit.  Come to think of it - when the problem OptiPlex was over on 
the old Corega KVM switch (with different memory, OS, hard drive, 
keyboard, mouse and monitor), it never exhibited the keyboard error......

>At work I have a corega KVMU. If I boot my ThinkPad while working on the
>Lunix machine, the laptop will come up in a very brain-dead graphics mode
>(like 640x480 / 8 color).
>

The old 4x Corega I have - in spite of its other faults, seems to be 
able to allow the bank of computers it's hooked up to to boot up without 
having to be selected.  I'm not sure about the Nakagawa - since I have 
to enter a BIOS password to get the computers it's hooked up to booted 
anyway, I've never tried it.  They do boot up fine once past the first 
15 seconds or so.

>Or try attaching a keyboard directly to the "flaky" machine for a while
>and see if the problem goes away.
>
>  
>
I tried that - but then the KVM switch completely ignores that computer!

Well the encouraging thing is that hitting that second button that old 
Dell's have has - so far - resulted in 100% success on the second try.  
If I start having to do that multiple times, then I'll switch over to 
emergency mode!

Thanks for everyone's input!

Lyle