On 2020-02-06 07:45, rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:
I've installed Buster on a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop. I have it connected to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse via a KVM switch. I thouight all was well, but now, a day later (with the KVM switched to other computers), switching the KVM back to the laptop, the external monitor, keyboard, and mouse are no longer enabled. (They still work fine for any of the other computers.) I suspect that if I reboot the laptop, or maybe even if I logout of the current user and back in, I might get the external monitor, keyboard, and mouse re-enabled, but I don't really want to do either -- as is often the case, I have various files and such open and to an appropriate place that I don't want to lose (nor have to re-establish). So, that leads to two questions: 1. Is there a way to re-enable the external monitor, keyboard, and mouse without doing something like rebooting? 2. Is there a way (a setting to change) to keep the problem from recurring in the future? One more "extra credit" OT question (which I can ask in a future thread if no one responds here) -- how can I tell whether the Buster installation is using X or Wayland?
I have an IOGear GCS78KIT and several computers, including a Dell Inspiron E1505 with Debian 9 and Xfce. Getting everything to work can be very challenging/ frustrating. I ended up with this make/ model after buying, testing, and returning a several others at Fry's. None were 100%; the GCS78 is fairly close.
The switch is PS/2 and VGA. I use a KUL ES-87 USB keyboard, a Viewsonic VX2260WM monitor, and a Microsoft Optical wheel mouse. The keyboard and mouse included included USB-PS/2 adapters. At the computer end of the cables, I use IOGear PS/2-USB adapters and/or StarTech VGA-* adapters as required. The old IOGear GUC100KM works with all machines. The newer GUC10KM does not work reliably at boot with older machines (including my laptop), requiring a power cycle by unplugging / plugging everything.
The KVM switch is powered 24x7. Eventually, it hangs. I need to power cycle it a couple times a year by unplugging / plugging everything.
The laptop has Debian 9 and Xfce. I try to configure Applications Menu -> Settings -> Power Manager to keep the laptop turned on and the display active at all times. When it is connected to the KVM switch, I use Applications Menu -> Settings -> Display to set the external monitor as the primary display and disable the laptop display, and I use the laptop keyboard to dim the backlight.
I have found that if I close the lid on the laptop, with or without an external monitor or KVM connected, I am unable to get the display working again without a reboot. I always install sshd, so I can log in via SSH and issue shutdown commands.
David