How can i get my KVM switch to work? (win7 & ubuntu 10.10)

Posted by Will W. on Ask Ubuntu See other posts from Ask Ubuntu or by Will W.
Published on 2011-02-17T21:27:42Z Indexed on 2011/02/17 23:33 UTC
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i bought a KVM switch and i'm trying to use it to have it connected to my main PC (win7) and my new machine i just installed ubuntu on. I hooked it up properly, and tried using it. It worked when switching from the win7 machine to the ubuntu one, but after the (1st and only) successful switch, ubuntu just didn't seem to recognize my mouse or keyboard.

Basically when i tried it the easiest was to explain what happened was it only worked with Win7. When i switched over to ubuntu by doing a [scroll-lock] [scroll-lock], my keyboard and mouse were not recognized. However, the lights on the keyboard and mouse did work when on ubuntu, but they didn't function, and since keyboard wouldn't function, i couldn't do a [scroll-lock] [scroll-lock] to switch back to the win7 machine. So i was basically locked in to ubuntu with no mouse or keyboard, and i had to unplug the keyboard/mouse usb's and d-sub to plug the monitor d-sub back into win7 computer to type up this thread and google the issue. Seems some people have had this issue before but i couldn't find a fix...

I am 80% sure it has to do with drivers... but there isn't any for KVM switches, at least not this one also i never was unable to find ubuntu drivers/firmware for my mouse and keyboard (Logitech G15 and Razer Deathadder 3500). I don't know how to fix this, perhaps someone super-savvy could write/code a script or work-around or something? I really need to get this thing working, my back is getting sore from bending over and plugging in / unplugging usb/monitor/usb/monitor/usb/usb over and over again lol... and i really would be sad if the constant plugging unplugging of the usb's or the d-sub port would over time damage the ports... i don't want that...

There has to be some way to get this working.. Can anyone help?

The KVM is a IOGEAR GCS632U

Win7 x64 Ubuntu 10.10

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