embedded ps/2 device problem i8042

I have found myself a bit out of my element here and hopefully can get some advice.

I am working on this factory embedded machine, basically a i486 computer with embedded chip. I installed Debian, works like a charm, but I can not get this ps/2 device to work and it's driving me mad. Basically I am just trying to make this 12 pin ps/2 input device get detected and working on Debian. It is supposed to just plug and play without problems like a keyboard.

Problem is they tested it with Windows install on the same machine and apparently had no problems, but I can't get it working with Debian installed.

It is just a simple looking keyboard with minimal key range of F1 to F6, Esc, Up/Down, etc.. to operate the end machine. Now here is me learning everything under the sun about ps/2 trying to make the input work:

apparently it is detected as a i8042 ps/2 device in dmesg and syslog. check. it's a 12 pin ps/2 port. check. so it seems the device is detected, however, it is not showing up in /dev/input anywhere or how... it's just there and doesn't do anything. cat /proc/bus/input/devices shows 2 usb ports and a speaker. Yes, there are 2 usb ports, so that's normal, but it is not showing the keyboard device...

So this is where I burn out and knowledge ends. Am I supposed to be trying to load a module at this point? Do I need a driver? What would it be? They tested the same machine on Windows and they say it should just plug in and work.

I also added every boot param under the sun such as "i8042.nopnp i8042.nomux", and every different combination of these... I also played with BIOS settings for PnP... to no avail.

Any clues?

Update: I downloaded a USB live boot for FreeDOS, booted, and the ps/2 device worked fine, just like a regular keyboard. But doesn't work in Linux?...? firmware? driver?

Originally Posted by random110 Update: I downloaded a USB live boot for FreeDOS, booted, and the ps/2 device worked fine, just like a regular keyboard. But doesn't work in Linux?...? firmware? driver?

Probably the required driver either hasn't been compiled into the kernel you are using or exists as a loadable kernel module. I don't know Debian so I can't tell you how to verify that it has been compiled in, or was compiled as a module. On my Slackware system, I've a config log which allows me to see what options were selected for the kernel compliation. If your Debian distro provides the same, you can look at it to see how the kernel was built. The particular item you will be searching for is:
"CONFIG_KEYBOARD_ATKBD=y"
for it to be compiled in. If it has a 'm' rather than a 'y' it was compiled as a module. If the config line is missing, it means that the driver was not compiled in or built as a module. In that case you would need to build it.

Originally Posted by Spect73 ... The particular item you will be searching for is: "CONFIG_KEYBOARD_ATKBD=y" for it to be compiled in. If it has a 'm' rather than a 'y' it was compiled as a module. If the config line is missing, it means that the driver was not compiled in or built as a module. In that case you would need to build it.

Thanks for that! I was wondering what the 'm' was for when looking this up, and yes they do have that in Debian although I forget where at the moment.

Actually I got it working now, and in Slackware, with something along the lines of:

modprobe -r psaux
modprobe psaux (something something)

Essentially removing the PS module and reloading it with some params.

I decided to install Slack to see if Debian was the problem, but actually I think I can achieve this in Debian just as easily and the Slackware install was too big... I started with Salix and tried to hack it down. ... it's sad that it took me 3 days to figure this one simple thing out and ended up swapping systems just for testing. There were 101 different solutions for same problem all over the web.

I have to say I was having fun with Slackware though. While we're on that topic, do you think I can get a more minimal install with Slackware over Debian? The default installation seems to be huge, but I've seen people posting page-long lists of packages that can supposedly make a working install. I am trying to get a bare bones install with basic GUI under 1 Gb.

Glad you got it working. I'm not familar with Debian at all anymore, so I couldn't say which distro would allow you the smallest system. Nor am I sure just how big a Slack system would be with a minimum. Partly it will be up to you as you will be defining what minimum means. Either way, Slack and Debian are good distros and should provide what you are looking for. Then, of course, there are the 'tiny' distros such as Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux. Again though, it has been a long long time since I looked at them so I can't say anything pro or con.