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Posts Tagged ‘kvm’

Mousewithoutborders, software KVM from Microsoft

  1. Mousewithoutborders, a free tool from Microsoft, allows you to control, from one keyboard and mouse two (or more) computers on the same network. These could be – as in my case – a laptop temporarily placed on the same desk as a desktop, or a desktop next to a server (if you do not run it headless anyway).
  2. Limitations
      1. Mousewithoutborders needs to control the Windows Firewall which is at work, in a domain administrator controlled windows network, disabled – so no luck getting it to work at the office desk, where it would be even more useful.
      2. For my Mousewithoutborders setup, to not exhibit connection issues, it seems crucial that both local and remote machine a checked in the matrix, and you even may have to type the network name of the remote computer.
        1. While initially, my network configuration was autodiscovered and the clients on the two computers that I try to control from one keyboard and mouse autoconnected, once I type the ID key into both installations
        2. Later, after I once used the “Clear”-button to cut the connection (when I temporarily had to physically reconfigure the arrangement of the two computers where the mouse movement across screens interrupted the new work flow)
        3. they lost their connection, and also could not discover the other client, when I requested reconnection (using the practical keyboard shortcut  option form the “Other Options”tab: one client managed to remember the other, but “timed out”trying to connect; the other client I could not get to remember or autodiscover the other client), until I manually checked the checkbox next to the computer icon (screen icon  turns blue) and typed the network name of the other computer into the textbox. Glad that I have the functionality back now…
        4. mousewithoytborders-get2connect-checkbox-checked-networkname-typedmousewithoytborders-get2connect-checkbox-checked-networkname-typed-connected