Introduction: How to Easily Switch From Personal to Work Laptop in My Home Office
Switching from personal laptop to work laptop can be time consuming and frustrating as you attempt to untangle the mess of cords. So I decided to find an easier way. I have the following hardware on my home setup and I want to use all of the same equipment but with my work laptop.
- HP personal Laptop
- Secondary monitor with HDMI cable
- Bose sound system
- Full size Keyboard (this is optional but my preference)
- HP Envy scan/copy/printer
- Trackball mouse
Always follow manufacturers safety precautions.
Electrical shock warning: Never use cords that are damaged.
Step 1: USB Hub
Behind my laptop I have a built in USB hub. You can purchase an external USB hub, ( I just found one on Amazon for under $10) I have the following equipment plugged into it
- Bose Sound System
- Keyboard
- USB Fob for my trackball mouse
- USB fob for my Garmin running watch
Step 2: Unplug Personal PC
Power down personal laptop and then unplug:
- power cord
- HDMI cord from secondary monitor
- the USB cable from the USB hub
Step 3: Work PC
Take the personal laptop out of its spot and place the work laptop in the same place.
Note: My personal laptop uses an HDMI cable but my work laptop uses a DisplayPort, so I bought an adapter off amazon for under $10.
Step 4: Cable Install to Work PC
plug in
- Power cable
- USB Cable
- Secondary monitor cable
Step 5: Power Up
Power up work laptop and you now have exactly what you are used to but with your work PC.
The first time you do this it will take a brief moment to download the drivers for mouse, sound system and printer. If you already had Wi-Fi on your work laptop then it should be mostly automatic.
Step 6: Time to Get to Work
You are now ready to get to work.
You can by hubs or port replicators that can plug your display into and it could be less complicated, but I decided to go cheap and plug the one cable in myself.
