» Iogear GCS632U MiniView Micro USB PLUS KVM Switch with Audio and Cables

Iogear GCS632U MiniView Micro USB PLUS KVM Switch with Audio and Cables Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Been working great for a full year
Comment: I use this switch with a Vista and Ubuntu Linux machine, for a full year now. The switch is activated at least daily and it works like a charm, couldn't ask for a better performing switch. It locked up once in the past year, and to fix it all I did was unplug it from both computers and when I plugged it back in it had been re-set and worked fine. A bit of a pain, but not enough of a pain to lose a star.

I use the sound switching functionality and it works fine for me. I'm especially impressed that it switches analog surround sound--I have no idea how it does it but it does and I'm happy. I suppose I should figure out how it's done seeing as how I'm an electrical engineer, but I have too many other interesting things to occupy my time and so I haven't bothered to answer that question for myself. There's a low-volume, lower-frequency pop when I switch, which I can live with just fine. It would be nice if there were no pop, but again not enough of a pain to lose a star. I don't discern any added noise from the switch.

I don't know if other KVM switches can do this, but a gripe I have is that the computer has to be selected while booting, otherwise the computer is told your high-res video mode is not supported and boots to a lower resolution. So on re-starts, instead of being able to work on the other computer while I wait for the boot (note--only the Windows machine needs to be re-started regularly; the Ubuntu machine can run for more than a month continuously no problem; take that, Bill Gates!), I lose a couple minutes watching the boot process complete. If I knew of another product that could take care of this, I'd change my stars, but I don't even know if it's possible to fix this. The device would somehow have to be smart enough to respond to the computer's request for information about what video modes the monitor supports. While theoretically possible, it seems like it would be difficult and error-prone (e.g. what if I change out my monitor?)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: What a time-saver!
Comment: I had an older computer and the hard drive was fullllllll........of stuff!
Pictures, etc. I bought a new computer and realized I had so much to transfer. Then my wonderful husband did a bit of research. How about a gadget that would allow me to go back and forth between the old and new computers - I wouldn't have to transfer any files. I'd have the speed of the new machine and I wouldn't be clogging it up with all the junk accumulated on my old computer. It took my husband about ten minutes to install the switch with its various cables. Now I have one keyboard, one mouse and one monitor and by hitting "Scroll Lock" twice on my keyboard I can transfer back and forth between them. The speaker system on the old computer is wonderful and I use that for my music. He also set up my printer as a network printer so I can access it from either computer. It's the very best of both worlds. I would recommend this to everyone with my type of need. Thank you Iogear for the MiniView Micro USB PLUS KVM Switch.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: perfect accessory
Comment: Best way ever to use 0ne monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse with 2 computers. Easy to install

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Customer Rating:
Summary: not with my wireless
Comment: Other reviews are mixed with regard to use with wireless kbd/mouse, so I thought I'd chance it. No luck for me.

Quality and layout were good, and it worked well with a wired keyboard. It also *mostly* worked with my Logitech LX300 wireless keyboard (e.g., normal typing as well as nonstandard keys like VolumeUp, etc.). Unfortunately, none of the hot-keys were recognized from the wireless, so I was unable to switch computers.

I ultimately went with the TrendNet TK-209, which handled my wireless setup without issue. It also has dedicated switching buttons in addition to the keyboard hot-key.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Keyboard and Mouse Functionality
Comment: I bought the Iogear GCS632U MiniView Micro USB PLUS KVM Switch about 2 months ago. I admire the sleek and compact design. I am using Microsoft Windows Vista (and Ubuntu Linux) on one machine and Windows XP on the other. While I turn on the machines, the boot process displays "Keyboard Failure." I really don't know why it does that and it happens even if the other machine is turned off. I don't have problems with the keyboard, though.
One thing I noticed was the varied response of the switching process. The mouse cursor does not move when I switch right while the other machine is in the shut down process. When I get to the other machine, the cursor does not move for about 6-10 seconds. At first, I thought it did not work, so I had to restart both computers. But I tried to observe after a while and noticed that there was a delay.
Other than the concern I mentioned, it has been working great since I used it. The hot keys are functional. I never dared changing the original settings, though. The audio works great. I will be working on something in one desktop and use Skype voice on the other. My friend is thinking about buying one after he saw how it works.
I hope this review helps.

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