Belkin OmniView™ (F1DK102P) 2-port KVM Switch

The local computer superstore did not have an ordinary mechanical KVM switch available, so I went with the Belkin on the strength of their reputation. Unfortunately, certain assumptions are made in the design of this unit that cause it to be poorly suited to use with my setup; I'm trying to control a docked Dell D600 laptop and a Compaq desktop from the same keyboard, mouse and monitor. There are several issues involved which the instructions don't take into account. First, the KVM switch wants to use the same keystroke as part of its selection sequence that the laptop wants to use as a control signal emulation; the "scroll lock" key. This caused the need to select a different key for the laptop's control signal, which had its own set of issues as a result. Second, it turns out that the KVM switch is picky about the timing of the two keystrokes needed to swap from one system to the other; lag too long between keystrokes, or try to swap back too soon, and the sequence gets ignored. Third, when the KVM was hooked up to the docked Dell, the laptop wanted to treat it as a second monitor rather than a repeater for what's on the lcd screen. This is, of course, partly an XP issue...but it's something that needs to be considered as an obstacle that the customer will likely encounter.

My recommendation: Unless you have a compelling reason to want to swap systems using the keyboard, insist on getting a KVM switch that has buttons or a knob that you use to swap back and forth.