USB keyboard/mouse and KVM

[Timothy Domst]

On Jun 26, 2004, at 10:11 PM, Timothy Domst wrote:

> I am using SuSE and I finally got my second box up and running.  I put 
> a very old card in it because I want to use it only for a router, and 
> maybe DNS.  I can start installing using my Apple USB keyboard and 
> mouse through the KVM switch, but when SuSE gets to where I need to 
> select my time zone and format my hard drive and pick what modules I 
> want, it won't let me use the keyboard or mouse.  This also happens to 
> my soon-to-be-server box, it has an evenly centered screen when 
> setting up and the keyboard and mouse work but then after it asks for 
> the specific monitor and keyboard and mouse the mouse sticks in the 
> bottom left corner and I have to play with the monitor settings 
> forever, when they were fine before.  Why can't I just use whatever 
> standard modules it was using when it worked?
>
> The USB mouse and keyboard and monitor work fine with the BIOS screens 
> on the motherboard, is the fact that Linux is taking over control of 
> all this stuff that makes it screwed up?  Does Linux use info from the 
> BIOS during installation, then abandon this info for a module after 
> it's installed?
>
Well I'm an idiot, I'm sure it's no surprise, but for the next person 
who asks about this particular problem, it's that the KVM switch takes 
more time to switch to a different computer if the card is slower.  
That's my best guess because what I did was wait a long time and it 
works.  My 32MB video card takes longer than the 128MB card.  It might 
not even be that, it might be something else, but next time someone 
thinks their KVM switch doesn't work tell them to wait.