Tech Support plz

[bugshaw]

I have a shiny new monitor. It works with my home PC and my work laptop, is it possible to connect it to both of them at once, to avoid crawling under the desk to fiddle with the cable? In a perfect world there would also be some way to switch between PC/laptop, but I'm resigned to the option of only having one device at a time switched on.

*peers at computer and monitor*
*peers at Wikipedia*

The monitor has a VGA socket and a male DVI-D (dual link)socket;
The PC has a VGA socket and a female DVI socket;
The laptop only has a VGA socket.
Currently I keep one end of a VGA cable attached to the monitor, and switch the other end between PC and laptop.

Any suggestions? Maplins said I could only split it if they were both VGA. Thank you!

EDIT: I appear to have some solutions, many thanks :-)

Comments

[drplokta]

If the monitor has a button to change the input, you could plug the laptop into the VGA socket and the PC into the DVI socket, and use that button to switch between them.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I suppose the switch would have to be on the monitor side of its sockets...
None of the buttons are that sort of switch, and the monitor's menu doesn't have any switching options.
I guess then I'd need a thing to turn one VGA input socket into two, with a switch to select one?

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Yes - one of these or similar.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

How quaintly clunky! Yet obvious in its function.

[crazyscot.livejournal.com]

I've never come across a dual-input monitor which didn't allow you to select the input, i.e. switch between VGA and DVI. Given that your PC has DVI out, the thing to do would be to connect the laptop by VGA, the PC by DVI, and see what happens. (I would hope to find a button on the monitor, marked SOURCE or INPUT or something similar. It may also have logic to notice that only one input is hot and switch to that input.)

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I don't have a DVI cable yet - this post is by way of working out a tech shopping list :-) I'm of limited mobility at the mo so was hoping to send a minion with an exact specification.

Still can't see a switch. Guess it must auto-select the hot input, which makes it harder to switch from X to Y for a quick check on something. I ought to work around that though, after all, I don't have my home PC to hand when I'm working on site :-)

[uisgebeatha.livejournal.com]

What drplotka said. Pete's widescreen monitor has a button that lets you switch between VGA and DVI, which came in useful when he was transferring files from the Linux desktop to the Windows one.

At one point I had both my Vista laptop and XP desktop on at once, and that setup was *looks* the VGA cable from the laptop to one monitor, and for the desktop VGA to DVI using an adapter. Think that's right anyway, couldn't see everything under the desk there...;)

ION, I should come round and collect videos from you. What you up to tonight?

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Have misthawk massage tonight :-) Am around Wednesday, Thursday, Friday...

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

What everyone else said - but the monitor may be autoswitching, in which case there could be problems if both are on at the same time.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Forgot to add that I have a couple of spare male DVI to male VGA leads if that will help at all.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Thanks, but I think I'll take the VGA switch route :-)

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

The other obvious option is a KVM switch - connect both computers to a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse. They're relatively cheap, especially if you get one that comes with the cables ready-attached, will cost little more than a VGA-only switch.

Several here http://svp.co.uk/searchresults.php?sSrch=kvm&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the list. I don't buy these things often and never know where to look. And it would solve the problem of precariously balancing alternate keyboards...

[damerell.livejournal.com]

KVM switch? Often a bit flaky, but if you only have one machine on at once...

[nojay.livejournal.com]

I have a monitor with two feeds (VGA and DVI), similar to your one. If only one source is connected it will display that one. If both sources are live then powering it off and back on using the front-panel power switch flips the source in use. You might want to give that a try.