this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2024
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USB Switch for docking station to switch between PC and Desktop (lemmy.nz)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I've got a laptop and a PC. I've connected my monitors, keyboard, camera, etc to this docking station

This works like a charm from both my laptop as well as my PC. However, switching between the two is annoying as it involves unplugging & plugging in.

Is there a USB switch I can connect the docking station to, and then a cable each to my PC and Desktop? The docking station has host charging, so it charges my laptop, so I guess the USB switch needs to be powered, or not?

I saw this one which has good reviews.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (3 children)

You want a KVM, mind you this won't broadcast a keypress or cursor movement to both at the same time but you don't sound like you're trying to hardware multibox or anything like that, but I feel the need to point out that little nuance. You press a button and the keyboard/mouse/(and monitor if needed) switch from one to the other

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Right now it all works by just swapping the usb cable from the docking station to the PC and vice versa. Monitors, keyboard, mouse are all connected to the docking station; the PC uses it as well. So a USB switch seems the easiest.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Going to reiterate the above message, you want a KVM. The one I use by Tessmart or something like that has worked great for me for 4 years now. The model I chose let's me do dual monitors for each laptop docking station I have plugged in (work & personal). They are a US company so you'll need to find one that delivers to your area.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago

Thanks. I checked Tessmart and they sell KVM+ Docking in one. That will work, but I believe is unnecessary.

In my case, I believe I only need a USB KVM switch as I already have a docking station.

So my plan was to have a USB KVM, with one USB device connected: the docking station. Then, from the USB KVM there's one USB cable to my laptop, and one to my PC. All peripherals (monitor/keyboard/mouse) are connected to the docking station.

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