Fingers Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Hi all, I thought I would post this to share my experience as I haven't found anything similar posted already. Problem Corsair gaming keyboards, in my case a K60, require two USB connections to function properly. Aten KVM switches, in my case an Aten CS-682, only have one USB port for each of the keyboard and mouse. Whilst you can plug both K60 USB cables into the Aten KVM and your mouse into the K60 USB port, I found problems with this. Plugging the Corsair USB keyboard cable into the Aten USB keyboard port, then the Corsair USB pass through cable into the Aten USB mouse port, the keyboard would not work. This is because apparently the Corsair gaming keyboards utilise a 16 bit signal and nearly all KVM switch USB keyboard ports are 8 bit (I found out from another post in this forum) with the Aten USB keyboard port providing this 8 bit emulation. By connecting the Corsair K60 USB keyboard cable into the Aten USB mouse port, with mouse emulation disabled, and the Corsair USB pass through cable into the Aten USB keyboard port, you get full functionality of the K60. However, you then need to plug your mouse into the K60 USB port. This led to problems with my system in detecting my Logitech gaming mouse (MX518) and caused all sorts of sensitivity and disconnection issues for me whilst gaming, including erratic behaviour - not the kind of thing you want whilst gaming. Solution Aten KVM switches have a function that allows you to turn off the mouse emulation of the USB mouse port so that it can work as a normal USB connection. This allows you to plug in a standard USB hub to that mouse port. Details of how to turn off the mouse port emulation can be found in the manual for your Aten KVM or on the Aten website. By turning off the mouse emulation, plugging in a USB hub to the Aten mouse port then connecting the Corsair keyboard AND your gaming mouse to the USB hub allows you to continue using your KVM as intended as well as utilise whatever software your mouse requires without problems. Caveats This worked for me with a Corsair K60, Aten CS-682 and a Logitech MX-518. Whilst I am fairly sure it will work with all Aten KVM switches that have the ability to disable the mouse port emulation, I cannot be 100% sure. If your KVM switch has this functionality, irrespective of the make/model, it should work but your mileage may vary. This means that there is no guarantee that this will work with your particular Corsair gaming keyboard, mouse and KVM combination. Good luck. Update After some testing, I found intermittent disconnects with the solution above. To solve it all I had to do was switch the KVM focus from one PC to another then back again and I had k/b & mouse control back - but it was a pain. Alternative Solution What I did next was to plug in the Corsair k/b USB cable into the Aten USB mouse port (which still has mouse emulation disabled). I then plugged my mouse into the Aten keyboard USB port - it works. It means that you can't use the USB port on the Corsair k/b as the cable isn't plugged in and your mouse is likely to be not detected as it's proper model - it will simply be a 3 button USB mouse - but I have not had any more disconnects since. As before, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted May 21, 2013 Corsair Employee Share Posted May 21, 2013 All of our new keyboards now have a BIOS setting which allows them to work with KVM switches. Thank you though for sharing this with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingers Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 All of our new keyboards now have a BIOS setting which allows them to work with KVM switches. Thank you though for sharing this with us. Is there such a BIOS setting for the K60 or doesn't it qualify as a new keyboard? I have v1.31 installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falkentyne Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 K70/K95 have a bios compatibility switch. K60 doesn't; such a thing can't be added by a firmware update, as its a hardware change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingers Posted May 23, 2013 Author Share Posted May 23, 2013 Okay, sort of guessed that would be the case. In other news, I found problems with my solution in the OP, I've updated it with another solution that works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnashdown123 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 I am not familiar with Aten products. I have used a few KVM Switch solutions from KVMSwitchTech and they work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rahabib Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 dang it. guess I gotta return my keyboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted June 25, 2013 Corsair Employee Share Posted June 25, 2013 Our new firmware updates to K60 and K90 will now enable a "BIOS mode" through a keypress combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomaam22 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I am trying to use the K95 / M95 with an Aten KVM & Aten Extender. What BIOS setting did you use to get this setup to work? I've had no luck at all getting either item to function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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