Review on 🔀 D-Link KVM-121: Efficient 2-Port Kb/Video/MSE Audio KVM Switch by Darryl Buck

Before buying such things, it makes sense to go to the manufacturer's site and read the instructions before buying. There you can see subtle points that are not covered in the product description or user reviews. I usually do this, but this time I was too lazy. How difficult can it be? It's just a switch, right? NOT RIGHT! For this product, the KVM-121, the manual contains a statement that says "If you are using a dedicated mouse such as a wireless or scroll mouse, make sure you are using generic PS/2 mouse drivers. Non-standard PS/2 may have PS/2 protocol extensions that are not supported by the KVM-121." WOW! What an understatement! As a man, I got this thing in the mail and just installed it with little to no instructions and it worked great as advertised plug and play with no problems for almost a month, then it all fucking fell apart when one night the computer crashed and I spent a whole weekend indoors in beautiful Southern California troubleshooting computer problems! Here's a timeline of my lost weekends, hoping it will save a future user a lot of heartache and exacerbation.1 The Switch worked flawlessly for about a month with a Microsoft wireless scrolling mouse, switching between a 2004 Sony PC running Windows XP SP3 and a Dell laptop also running Windows XP SP3.2 One night around 2am the Computer restarted for some reason and got stuck on the boot screen, didn't recognize the wireless scroll mouse and didn't respond to multiple restart attempts by pressing the power button or turning it off. Cable. The Dell laptop recognized the mouse when I switched the KVM-121 to Dell. That was my first indication that the problem is not with the KVM-121, but with the mouse and its driver. But I couldn't control a frozen computer without a mouse.3. After much ranting about the merits of PCs over Mac operating systems and threatening to replace the PC with a nearly freeze-proof Mac like the one my wife uses (hopefully scaring the machine a bit), I installed Sony Windows Recovery Disc in CD player - HDD and PC started in recovery mode. The recovery disk asked me to remove peripherals from the PC, which I did. It then asked if I wanted to continue with the recovery process, erasing all data on the hard drive in the process. I wisely hit cancel and removed the recovery CD from the CD drive. Then I (still swearing) plugged the old Sony wired mouse that came with the PC straight into the back of the PC (no KVM switch) and waited. The PC restarted fine and all my data was still there and it was responsive to the wired Sony mouse! I immediately did a full backup with a Western Digital external hard drive while I could and went to bed around 3am. The next day, while the Sony wired mouse was still directly connected to the PC, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and uninstall the wireless scroll mouse driver. I then connected a wired mouse to the KVM-121. I then looked for all the folders related to the Microsoft Wireless Scrolling Mouse and deleted it (it wasn't listed in the Add/Remove Programs section). 5. I then hooked up a mouse to the KVM-121 and started up both the PC and laptop and both worked great! Moral of the story: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BOYS! Also, get rid of all unnecessary mouse drivers and avoid wireless scroll mice when using this particular KVM switch. As for the KVM-121 I give it 4 stars because according to the instructions it worked perfectly but didn't list it for sale. Conflict with wireless mouse. Enjoy!