Would KVM cause problems with BIBM/BIU?

[ohaya1000]

Hi,

I just got a TESmart KVM and installed it tonight. So far, I have my 2 laptops connected to it. Both are Win10 machines, one is the older Dell Precision (which has BIBM and MBR) and the newer on is a Dell Vostro (which uses BIU).

The KVM has a USB 2.0 port on it that they provide to connect things to the KVM (this USB 2.0 port is separate from the 2 ports they have for the keyboard and mouse.

I *think* that when something is hooked to that separate USB 2.0 port, it operates with something they call "passthrough" (I 'm not 100% what is different about that).

When I first started using it, I had some USB drives connected directly to the Vostro directly, and when I rebooted the Vostro... it was kind of strange. First, BIU did automatically count down the time and it took quite a long time esp. wihen it was booting Windows... the small spinning circle of dots was on the screen for a really long time.

Anyway when it got to Windows, I noticed that the USB drives weren't visible, so I rebooted and while I was in BIU, I checked Partition Work and I could see the drives, buth later, while still in BIU, I could only see the onboard drives and USB drives were gone!!

I shutdown the machine and connected the USB drives to the USB 2.0 port via a hub then booted the Vostro again.

Then I could see the partitions from the USB drives and I added them to the boot menu and booted to Windows, and then I could see those partitions.

I was kind of surprised by all of this !! Why would a KVM interfere with BIU like that?

Has anyone here worked with any of those TESmart KVMs and BING, BIU or BIBM?

Thanks,
Jim

[TeraByte Support(PP)]

Haven't used that specific KVM, but if that port is basically a switched hub type connection it may not be detected correctly by the system(s) at times. If the keyboard/mouse connection has both emulated and passthrough modes, one of those may work better than the other. Personally, I wouldn't connect a drive to a KVM switch. Also, if it's a physical drive, it may be sleeping and spinning back up, which can cause delays. If the hub has its own power and the KVM port doesn't, that could also be a factor.

[TeraByte Support]

You also have the BIOS USB support, that's what you see in BootIt when the drives show up. Most of the new BIOSes only make it available if attached at boot. Some of the old original systems that supported USB you could actually hotswap and the BIOS would pick it up - but they got rid of that and went with only when attached at boot.

[ohaya1000]

Hi,

I think that I was just able to reproduce the first problem that bothered me worst... where it gets to BIU but the countdown stops and it just hangs.

What it looks like to me is that if:

- I have the keyboard and mouse plugged into the "dedicated" keyboard and mouse USB ports, and then boot the machine and it gets to the BIU, then
- If I move the mouse, that causes the countdown to stop and it is kind of stuck.

However, I still can reboot with Ctrl-Alt-Del!!

If I plug the mouse into the "other"/3rd USB 2.0 port, then it seems fine... I can use the mouse while BIU is on the screen and moving the mouse doesn't make the countdown stop.

I had asked their support some questions about the ports and pass-through and this is what they just responded:

Thanks for reaching out to me. The only USB devices that can be connected to our KVM are the keyboard and mouse ports and a USB2.0 port. When you connect the USB device to the USB2.0 port, it is equivalent to directly connecting to the computer, and KVM will not have any impact on the USB device at this time.
 
For the keyboard and mouse dedicated port, because these two ports have a built-in separate chip, it is only suitable for connecting keyboard and mouse devices to these two ports. After you connect the keyboard and mouse to the special port of the keyboard and mouse, I suggest that you enable the pass-through mode of the keyboard and mouse (using hotkeys Scroll Lock+Scroll Lock+F2 to turn on this mode) to enhance the compatibility between the keyboard and mouse and KVM to facilitate the use of functions such as hotkeys.
 

Does that give you any hint/idea about why, when I have the mouse plugged into the mouse port as opposed to the 3rd USB 2.0 port, it causes BIU to hang if I move the mouse (FYI, the "pass-through" mode IS enabled).

It sounds like to me the reason why the keyboard/mouse ports are "special" is that they listen for the hostkey combos on those 2 USB ports, but not on the 3rd USB 2.0 port.

I seem to be able to leave the keyboard on the keyboard port and plug the mouse in the "3rd" USB 2.0 port, so I *think* that I'll still retain the hotkey capability, but I am going to ask about what would cause the mouse to hang BIU if I move the mouse.

Any ideas?? Let me know.

Thanks,
Jim

[ohaya1000]

Would any of the settings in BIU be able to avoid the mouse causing the hanging?

[ohaya1000]

I've been emailing back-and-forth with the TESmart support and basically they said if the mouse doesn't work when plugged into the mouse USB port thenjust plug it into the 3rd USB port.

I DO wish that I could get it working with BIU though, as if I plug it into the 3rd port, I lose some of the KVM functionality (they have a mouse wipe feature that doesn't work on the 3rd port).

So if there is a way you think of possibly getting this working, I'd appreciate that!

Thanks
Jim

[TeraByte Support]

It's getting that mouse support from the BIOS again. See https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/kb ... t-a-mouse/

[ohaya1000]

I'm not 100% sure if I am understanding what you are suggesting?

Are you saying/suggesting to plug the mouse into the mouse USB port, but don't use the mouse when in BIU, but use the keyboard instead in BIU?

I thought/vaguely recall that when running Makedisk that there are some BIOS options. Might those options allow mouse to work with BIU to when the mouse is plugged into the mouse port?

Jim

[ohaya1000]

Hi,

I had several other mice, so I tried several of them today, plugged into the KVM's mouse port and basically some mice caused the BIU to hang and some did not (e.g., an old MS mouse and a Logitech mouse (both wired).

Jim

[TeraByte Support]

ok, but the mouse support is coming from the system BIOS (legacy or UEFI)...