Advice please - Swapping between workstations

[si_c]

I've just had an idea - my monitor, mouse, keyboard are all plugged into the dock. The laptop connects through one USB-C cable. So If i get a small tower PC then I can simply unplug the USB-C from the laptop and insert it into the PC tower? I guess I'll have to make sure that the PC Tower has a suitable USB-C slot, or I may have to buy an adpator but that's fine.

I'll only be running Reaper music recording software, so won't be a huge load on it and I'll only need the one monitor

That will work, especially for occaisional use.

 

[Time Waster]

I have a dlightly different variation of the OP's situation. I have a work supplied set of kit including a single monitor and my owwn laptop. I am not allowed to plug anything into my work laptop that was not supplied by the company or approved by them. I can not plug any company supplied peripheral into a personal computer or anything. So I have one monitor for work and one fo personal with two laptops, two keyboards and two sets of mice. I also have a work supplied 4 socket USB hub and a personal 4 way USB hub plus USB-c sockets and HDMI socket in a similar hub that connects to my USB C socket on my laptop. now space on my desk is tight so I really can not fit a second monitor for the twwo laptops (could one on top of the othe perhaps but would have to take off the storage shelves above the monitors as is. I also can not fit both laptops flat on the desk so I bought a ugreen tw laptop stand. They both fit on it securely with the bottom vents pointing away from each other to allow cooling effectively.

This is my best situation at home.

At work I have my LAN cable through a USB C adaptor into one of the USB C sockets. I have the HDMI into my main monitor and a second HDMI through a Usb C Adaptor into the second socket on my laptop. This goes to a second monitor which I tilt into portrait arientation - great for reading documents better with the full page fitting well. I then attach my mouse and headset to the 4 way USB hub. I have basically used all sockets on my laptop and only have two spare usb on the hub. I use my laptop keyboard as I do not want to carry my keyboard every on sitee day. I have my laptop monitor under my landscap monitor and the portraait monitor next to both of them. I have set it up in windows to oarientate that way too. SO I can move the mouse in a wide circle and it moves around all 3 monitors. It works for me at work.

I think for the OP a switch would possibly be the best option I did once have a switch at work decades ago for some use but it was such huge, old thing back then. A big box with a turn style dial to switch between A and B. It worked despite looking like an early switch from days of computers the size of a room with punch cards for programming.

 

[Alex321]

I've just had an idea - my monitor, mouse, keyboard are all plugged into the dock. The laptop connects through one USB-C cable. So If i get a small tower PC then I can simply unplug the USB-C from the laptop and insert it into the PC tower? I guess I'll have to make sure that the PC Tower has a suitable USB-C slot, or I may have to buy an adpator but that's fine.

I'll only be running Reaper music recording software, so won't be a huge load on it and I'll only need the one monitor

Most pre-built current towers have one USB-C port, on the front.

 

[figbat]

You may want one of the monitors plugged into both the hub and the computer (using one of the additional inputs on the monitor) as it may throw a wobble if it can't detect a main display on the desktop. All should work.

This is how my home office is set up. I then swap the input source on the monitor to switch between laptop and desktop.

 

[Alex321]

This is how my home office is set up. I then swap the input source on the monitor to switch between laptop and desktop.

And mine is the same.

Work laptop plugged in to display port 1 on the monitor, home desktop into display port 2.

Usually only one is switched on at once, and it automatically takes the feed from that. If both are switched on, it is a button on the bottom of the monitor to switch between them.

 

[Conrad_K]

No worries, with the right dock anything is possible. This chap has multiple computers for world of warcraft all controlled with 1 k/b+m.



View attachment 758086



This is probably the simplest solution.

That reminds me of when someone asked Terry Pratchett why he had six monitors. He replied, "Because I don't have room for eight."

 

[november4]

If you want to have them both on at the same time, each with a screen, then use a program like mousewithoutborders to use the 1x keyboard and mouse for both systems, the mouse just scrolls across

 

[icowden]

Thank you. I don't use the laptop as a laptop - it's mounted on a cradle and I use an external mouse and keyboard. I don't have enough room on my desk for two sets of everything which is why I wondered if there was some magic switching-dock where you could choose which source you want to use.

Yes there is.
It's called a KVM switch.
https://amzn.eu/d/8ZhzWU0

Check your inputs and outputs to make sure you have the right switch. I use this one:-
https://amzn.eu/d/fjO5b5H

It has a little button on the front - you just push it to swap computers. Mouse keyboard and monitors (and any usb extenders) just re-map to the current device. Mine even has a little extension button on a cable so you don't have to have the main KVM on your desk - you can stick it the extension button to the bottom of your desk out of sight, or somewhere convenient.

 

[BigSid]

At work I used to have 2 PCs with a KVM switch. To change between the computers the KVM switch was controlled by the keyboard; CTRL, CTRL, then 1 or 2 to select which computer I needed to use.