Usb 2 Port switch - Windows 7 compatible?

USB Cables USB2-SWITCH2
1

Will the Plugable USB 2 port switch work in Windows 7? Shown here:
http://www.amazon.com/plugable/dp/B00…

I have looked at 500 devices and all the cheap ones reviewers say they won’t work in Win7. The ones that do are 30+ bucks…crazy.

2

Hi James,

Thanks for asking. Yes, it’s Windows 7 compatible. In fact, no operating system dependencies whatsoever, so it works with Windows, Mac, Linux, or even other platforms like XBOX, etc.

Ours is a passive switch, toggled simply by the button on the switch itself. It has no dependencies on any software or utilities to run on the attached PCs.

So it’s totally transparent to the attached PCs. All they see is the USB device(s) coming and going as they’re switched back and forth.

We wanted to keep that kind of simple behavior, just for the reason why you’re asking - with more people using a mix of computers and other devices, we wanted it to work with everything.

Hope that helps. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks!
Bernie

3

I am interested in using this device to share my HP Link-5 wireless keyboard and mouse between two computers. Will the device support this function? One computer is running Windows 7 and the other is Linux (Debian).

4

Hi Peter,

It should work for sharing the keyboard and mouse. We don’t have your particular wireless keyboard and mouse in our environment to test it ourselves. But here’s a good test you can try to help you know for sure.

If you have a USB hub, attach the wireless keyboard/mouse adapter to the hub.

Plug the hub into one of your computers and get any drivers that are needed for the devices.

Reboot that computer. Does everything work properly?

Perform the same steps on the other computer. Does everything work properly?

Here’s why this test is helpful. On some computers, the BIOS expects a quick response from the USB keyboard and mouse. The wireless adapter for the keyboard/mouse takes a while to start up: It’s a complex device with its own firmware and also needs to establish a wireless connection with the devices. It’s able to do this quickly enough when directly connected to the PC. But with a hub, there’s an extra delay as the system first enumerates locally connected devices (which is when it finds the hub), then enumerates devices off the hub. The two delays combined can make the response time from the keyboard and mouse too long for the BIOS of some PCs, causing the PCs to hang on boot.

If your computers don’t exhibit this problem when the keyboard/mouse adapter is attached to the hub, then it will work with the switch.

If you don’t have a hub to try this test, you could purchase the switch and see what happens. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, return it to Amazon.com for a refund.

I hope this information has been helpful. Please let us know if you have additional questions. We’re here to help.

Sincerely,

Aaron
Plugable Technologies

5

I just received your product and it works beautifully with both my Windows 7 and Windows XP computers. I am expecting a Raspberry Pi in another month or two and will add comments regarding its compatibility.

The switch was a breeze to set up and worked right out of the box. Thanks for the advice.

6

Hi Peter,

I’m glad to hear it worked so well for you. Thanks for your kind feedback. If you need any more support from Plugable, don’t hesitate to let us know. We’re here to help.

Best Regards,

Aaron