1) yes, the switch has a default side, which if I remember correctly is the yellow one. It’s easy to find out which side it is -the LED on the remote shows its color when first powering the KVM.

2) Sometimes just removing the USB device that’s not being recognized for a brief time and reconnecting it works, but you have to try a lot of things. Your method sounds OK; I don’t remember if I ever did something similar (maybe once).

As for shutting down machines, most of the time they just fell asleep (both are desktops). I believe just shutting down both shouldn’t cause problems because they are still powering the KVM as long as it’s still connected and the machines themselves have power, but I don’t remember doing it.

Whenever your KVM loses power (say a blackout), you need to fully disconnect it from your computers and then connect it back before restarting your machines, or else it won’t work, even if you turn them on in the proper order.

1) the switch does not stay switched to the side you last had it on necessarily when you shut down both machines. It seems to default to being set on one side. So boot the machine first where the switch defaults to. Once that machine is up and working, then switch the kvm and boot the other machine.

2) If you get into a situation where the mouse/keyboard are not working on either side while the computers are up and running, remove power from the kvm by removing both usb connections to the computers, then connect the kvm usb port first to the “default” machine where the switch is set to. Once that machine recognizes the mouse/keyboard, then *switch* the kvm and then connect the kvm usb port to the other machine, it should recognize the mouse/keyboard at that time.

Main point: when the KVM switch receives power after being off, it defaults to one side regardless of which side it is receiving power from. So if you power up the kvm by connecting to the non-default side, you will not be able to get your computer to recognize the keyboard/mouse. You have to do it in the right order, so try to figure out which machine the switch defaults to and then boot that one up first.

What if I can’t remember which one I turned off last? I do plan to turn off both machines every night, so I want to be sure I can do this properly without having to reset everything every time! So please summarize the protocol for turning off and on the machines for a nightly shutdown and restart process.

On another note, the power went off and it was a pain to reconnect. I had to do what the startup manual says – make sure the mouse and keyboard are working on both machines by plugging in the monitor, mouse and keyboard for each machine and test, one at a time. Then plug mouse-keyboard-monitor into KVM switch, and then connect one machine at a time. That is the only way I have been able to get it to work. It works fine once set up, but setting it up has been time consuming.

OK, so please help with shutdown-reboot question.

Take Flatland: it’s as didactic as satyrical; the way feeble and dumb lines can kill the strongest polyhedron is as clear as it gets. Yes, it’s too obvious -but what’s so wrong with going straight to the point? :D
Anathem seems to have satire (b*ytt? Is that your best?) and it seems to have philosophy (the brief bit about philosophical attitudes towards knowledge was okay) but it doesn’t follow through.

I started the first book in His Dark Materials Trilogy, didn’t get very far before putting it down.

I’m not sure why you think these are far superior to Anathem. Absolutely it is hard to get into – it was for me at least – I started it once and gave up after 20 pages.

I thought Canticle and Flatland were very obvious in the points they were trying to make. I think you’re making some assumptions about the point that Stephenson is making. As some who went to grad school for science, and has moved over into “engineering”, the interplay in his invented world between these disciplines and people who are non-technical is amazing. It spoke directly to my experiences and presented a world in which those experiences are greatly amplified.