Customer Reviews

IOGear USB 2.0 Peripherals Sharing Switch GUB201

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I got this thing to share a keyboard and mouse (which are plugged into a USB hub) with 2 computers. I was tired of having 2 keyboards and 2 mice on my desk!

I am using a Dell LCD monitor that has a built in USB ports and supports VGA and DVI simultaneously via a built in switch.

I can now plug in all my USB peripherals (external hard drive, keyboard and mouse) into my monitor hub and at the touch of a switch can toggle between the 2 towers.

It simply works, it takes a few seconds to kick in, but it works every time. No software installation necessary.

Note: The package comes with 1 USB cable only - so if you are looking to use it the way I did you would need 2 additional USB cables.

I bought this to share a keyboard and mouse between 2 computers (a Mac and a Dell)that each have their own monitors, so I didn't need a full KVM switch. After a quick 3 minute installation, this does the trick. Bus powered, so no external power supply and there is no need to install any software for it.

I use this to use one wireless keyboard and mouse with two computers. It works fine. The only thing I don't like is that it takes several seconds for the switch to work. That's not helpful if I am doing instant messenging on one computer in which I need to switch back and forth quickly. The install CD had an error message which showed up on both computers. Fortunately I could download the program from their web site.

BACKGROUND:
I, that is to say we, share an HP Printer/Copier/Scanner, and it works just fine. Our home office set-up on the other-hand does not work so well. As it turns out it's a Windows XP problem. You see, I set-up the computers on a network, and that works fine. With one caveat, you cannot share a scanner on XP. You can share everything else, but not a scanner.

And boy do I do a lot of scanning. So, through the network we can share the printer, but if I want to scan, I have to unplug it from the one computer, and plug it into my computer. This (as you can probably see) wasn't going to work. So, what to do? Get a USB "Resource Sharing" device.

I had purchased 2 other USB "Resource Sharing" devices, but I couldn't get either of them to work. What? A USB device that won't work? I've never heard of such a thing. And it happened twice! I was stumped. So, we went back to plugging and unplugging. Sigh...

Months later, I went hunting (again), but this time here on Amazon. I looked over all of the USB "Resource Sharing" devices, and I read all of the reviews, and then I (with trepidation, thinking back on my last 2 failed USB devices) made my purchase.

THE PURCHASE:
As it turns out, this device only comes with one cable, so I had to order another cable. Not a big deal, I needed something like a 16' cable anyway. Fortunately, a couple of the reviewers mentioned the one cable thing. I also thought it was odd that these devices cannot be sent to P.O. Boxes, but, again, no big deal.

THE PRODUCT:
With fear in my eye, I opened the package to the IOGEAR USB 2.0 Peripheral Sharing Switch, and followed the instructions. They went as follows:
1 - Connect it to computer 1
2 - Connect it to computer 2
3 - Connect it to the "printer/scanner" (in my situation)
That was it! Our computers went ding-donk, letting us know that a USB had connected, and little bubbles came up saying that new hardware had been detected and was ready, and the little switch itself went beep a couple of times saying that is was ready.

Guess what happened? It worked! I pushed the button on the switch, and the one computer can print & scan, I push the button again, and my computer can print & scan. I was so thrilled about something that didn't require any configuring, or reboots or any bother. Phew!

Something else that I like about how IOGEAR set this product up. It came with software, but even they say you don't need it. The only thing the software does is put a switch button on your computer desktop (instead of manually pushing the button on the device itself).

Thank-you IOGEAR for making a simple device that is simple to install, and simply works.

I installed this product and now both of my computers share the same printer. Installation was quick and easy, even with my two computers running different versions of Windows.
Soooo.. If I "power on" only Computer 1, the switch automatically connects the printer to THAT computer. Of course, if I only "power on" computer 2, the switch will connect to THAT one. Could it be more simple?? By installing the supplied software [CD], I can activate switching from computer 1 to 2 or 2 to 1 simply by tapping the NUM LOCK button twice on the keyboard of the computer that I want to be switched to. I don't even have to stretch my tired body to press the button on the unit!! I repeat - could it be more simple?
The unit works flawlessly.
AND.. I paid half the price of the local retail stores!

It just works! I want to kiss the manufacturer! I plugged in my wife's computer and my computer and then the printer. when I want to print, press the button and my side lights up--voila! When she wants to print, press the button, her side lights up, bingo!

This is such a nice item!

I bought this device to share a printer between my two PC's. One runs Windows XP and the other Vista Home Premium. Setup was a breeze and the printer works perfectly. Switching is automatic so I can even "hide" the switch.

So why am I only giving this device one star? Simple. After spending over two weeks trying to figure out why my XP machine no longer recognizes any of my digital cameras or thumb drives, I traced the problem back to this switch.

Removing this switch from my system resulted in everything going back to normal.

Yes, it does allow a USB device to be shared by two PC's. However, whatever is going on inside this thing is causing hardware conflicts. Needless to say, I am looking for another brand of switch and relegating this thing to the trash can.

Proceed with caution as this switch may cause more problems than it solves.

I see that J. Mantz also reviewed this product and appears to have had the same problem. This may not be a universal issue, but I am obviously not alone in running into the problem.

I used to have my printer networked thru my desktop Windows box at home. When I was VPN telecommuting to my office I couldn't access anything on my home network. The switch solves that problem. A double click on the NumLock key from where I want to print and the printer switches to me. It very occassionally hangs but the manual control on the switch always works.

This works great after a brief trouble-shooting session.

1. The click requires pressure for a second before it switches. At first I thought it wasn't working, then I held it down for a sec.

2. Sharing a keyboard and mouse between two iMacs: When you switch from "Mac A" to "Mac B", "Mac A" immediately throws a fit that an "Unknown Keyboard" is attached and asks you to run through a wizard to set it up. Then switch to the other Mac and then "Mac B" throws the fit. I got around this by temporarily attaching an extra mouse to the machine that was not switched to and exiting the Keyboard wizard, causing it to never come back. I had to do this to both Macs to get them to stop complaining that they didn't recognize this "Unknown keyboard" device. =)

But, now I am very happy with it and it's a wonderful purchase. Now I can use two computers at the same desk without needing two keyboards and mice.

This product works great. Especially for the price.

I use it switch between a Windows Vista box and Max OS X Snow leopard. Switch from the Mac to windows takes about 5 seconds, that's mostly because of the way Windows handles USB. Switch from Windows to Mac is nearly instantaneous.

Installation was automatic. No software installation required.

Would recommend it to anyone.