Weird problem I've been having in Linux. Whenever I press the down arrow, instead of doing the regular key down thing, it either deletes text or backs up in what I've been typing, I'm not totally clear on the pattern. When I'm not typing (paging down through something in nano, for example), it doesn't seem to do anything.

But when I load up my XP virtual machine and try typing in that, it goes down just like it should, so its only happening in Linux, and not as a problem with my keyboard.

I use a laptop, but the problem happens both with the laptop's keyboard and the regular wireless keyboard I use.

Rebooting doesn't fix it, and I have no idea at all on how to fix this.

It sounds like you may have the wrong keyboard mapped in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Win would have its own mapping, so if it is set up correctly, that could explain the wrong behavior in linux.

Have a look at /etc/X11.xorg.conf. It will look something like this:

The XkbModel field should match the number of keys on the keyboard. I have had to count them to make sure. Mine is full size keyboard; so 105 keys is correct for mine.

Hope this helps.

Should any of that be changed?
I counted 111 keys, including the fn key, context menu key, and windows key

If you have 111 key buttons, then yes, there this should be updated. I don't see anything there to identify the keyboard.

Since I don't have your keyboard, I can not tell you exactly what to enter as options. Note what I have... The country is identified, and the number of keys. I think that is what you will need to enter. Give it a go, after you update the file you need to restart the desktop. Ctrl + Alt + backspace does the trick on most systems. If not, log out, then back in and test it.

Tried adding those last two lines with both 105 and 111, still the same. Tried pressing down with shift, ctrl, alt, or fn makes it do nothing at all, not even the weird deleting thing.

So I have no idea whats up. It worked fine before, not sure exactly when it happened, sometime yesterday I noticed it.

I always recommend starting X without an xorg.conf, and if your keyboard works, then just go from there.

How do I do this?

And what will it affect on my system?

As root, do a 'cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup' and then do a 'rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf'. That will give you a backup of the original, and erase the original. You can always copy it back, if you still want it.

Then restart the system.

What effect, you won't know for sure until you give it a go.

1 members found this post helpful.

Or mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup which is less work and has the advantage of preserving timestamps etc.

removing xorg.conf didn't help. Any other thoughts on what the problem could be?

Some thoughts. Is this a branded keyboard, such as Logitech? If so, could you post what you know about it.

111 key keyboards are not at all common, at least not in my area of the world.

Basically, any keyboard generates scan codes as the keys are pressed. The scan codes are passed to the Xserver, or terminal, and converted there to a character, or action.

I did some googling, and found this. -->http://www.linuxscrew.com/2008/09/15...-key-in-linux/

It shows you how to disable, or remap a key in linux. There is a man page for xmodmap, the command for remapping keys.

Since the keys work in XP, then there is a correct map for this keyboard. It is possible you do not have the correct map installed in linux. ( Slackware ? ) If this is an international keyboard, then you might have a look for a package(s) for international keyboard. Not sure there, but it would be worth a look.

I also found this link -->https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...cific_Keyboard

It shows you how to configure a keyboard form scratch. It shows you how to find the scan code for each button. I would not go this way, unless all else fails.

Hope this helps.

If changing the layout won't help, try this:

Launch "xev" from a terminal, and make sure the window that appears is focused. Then press the down key and write down the keycode (shown in the terminal).

Then, add this line to your ~/.Xmodmap file (create one of you don't have it), and replace "###" with the keycode you noted:

Finally, add this line to your ~/.xinitrc

I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WILL WORK IF YOU USE A LOGIN MANAGER, JUST A SUGGESTION.

The key was 116, and when I opened xmodmap, that key was set to rightwin, for some reason (keyboard doesn't even have a right window key). But changing it from that to Down fixed it! Thank you so much

Good!

Now you can mark the thread as solved.