Display on a hot-plugged screen

[Jérôme Cuinet]

Hello,

I want to use 2 PCs with 2 monitors, each connected. So I want sometimes to
use with PC 1 the two monitors, and sometimes with the two PC one monitor,
etc.

When the monitor is switched by the KVM, the unplug is well detected. But
unfortunately the re-plug doesn't cause the re-display.

Can I force Windows XP to display desktop on all monitors connected ?


Thanks

--


Jérôme Cuinet
BE-Logiciel
COSE
tel 33 01 48 37 42 53
fax 33 01 39 59 22 36
email (e-mail address removed)

 

[Twayne]

Hello,

I want to use 2 PCs with 2 monitors, each connected. So I want
sometimes to use with PC 1 the two monitors, and sometimes with the
two PC one monitor, etc.

When the monitor is switched by the KVM, the unplug is well detected.
But unfortunately the re-plug doesn't cause the re-display.

Can I force Windows XP to display desktop on all monitors connected ?

The reason that's happening is the computer is "forgetting" which
monitor to set itself for. AFAIK there isn't an easy way to cause a
rescan of the monitor when a different one is swapped in. An account
log off/on might do it though.

That would be a function of your video card so check out its advanced
etc. settings. Native to XP, no, I don't think there is anything to
accomplish that. It's usually called "clone" when you want to see the
same thing on all monitors attached to the computer.

Your first 2 paragraphs are a little confusing w/r to what you're doing.
They mitigate away from what I just said if I read them literally.

Are monitors the ONLY consideration? Not the keyboard also?
A KVM switch is going to allow you to use ONE monitor/keyboard to view
the output of either one of two connected computers. So you can use
either computer and see/control them from one monitor and
keyboard/mouse.

1 PC to 2 monitors: KVM not a lot of help there. You need a video card
there which can manage 2 monitors (2 monitor plugs). Same for the other
PC.

IMO/IME the closest you can come, which is pretty good actually, is to
use ultraVNC as already mentioned. RealVNC will also work if you have
it already. There are a few different flavors of it, all free.
Each PC then has a monitor attached to it. Either PC can be the
server as the user desires, and either the corresponding client. But
then, nothing I've said here covers what you want is I consider your
words literally.

I'd suggest you have to better describe the results you want and the
reasons behind them for people to get their heads around what you
actually want. I can envision a combo of the right video cards, one
KVM, plus ultra-VNC being able to accomplish what you want, but ... I
don't see any advantages to it all.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Jérôme Cuinet]

Thanks Twayne,

It's right that I confused my words by using the KVM term (but it's the only
terme that I know, if it's an other equipment which is on my workstations).


Monitors are well the ONLY consideration.

The average situation is two computers, side by side. So I have two
keyboards, two mouses and two monitors.

Two users can work on this two workstations. But also one user only may
also work, and so he want to work with all monitors he's seeing. The second
keyboard, mouse, and computer are unused, but the two monitors are beeing
used.

The two computers are plugged to the two monitors. Each computer have an
video card which have two monitor plug. The KVM (replace this word with the
right) are in each monitor. Consequently users can switch each monitor for
each computer.


If I well understood, RealVNC is a software solution which may produce a
clone display. But as I explained it above, I want an desktop extension, not
a clone desktop.


I have tried account log off/on on a laptop and screen extension isn't
unenabled while I unplug the monitor. So there effectively might have
special graphic cards to do this.


Thanks


Jérôme

 

[Alister]

Thanks Twayne,

It's right that I confused my words by using the KVM term (but it's the
only
terme that I know, if it's an other equipment which is on my
workstations).


Monitors are well the ONLY consideration.

The average situation is two computers, side by side. So I have two
keyboards, two mouses and two monitors.

Two users can work on this two workstations. But also one user only may
also work, and so he want to work with all monitors he's seeing. The
second
keyboard, mouse, and computer are unused, but the two monitors are beeing
used.

The two computers are plugged to the two monitors. Each computer have an
video card which have two monitor plug. The KVM (replace this word with
the
right) are in each monitor. Consequently users can switch each monitor for
each computer.

What I think you need is not a KVM but a VGA Switch box, something like
this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-way-SVGA-VG...66:2|39:1|72:1690|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

However, you may need more than one chained together to get the exact
configuration you are wanting.

Alister

 

[Jérôme Cuinet]

OK,

It's a DVI switch box.

The equipment doesn't have keyboard and mouse plugs, so it's well a DVI
switch box.

Thanks for this vocabulay precision.