Great idea, Telengard! I had it installed for other reasons on my computer but never thought to use it to break free of the incorrect status of the modifier keys.
T3rm1nvt0r, the contents of the kdmrc file are pasted below. I hadn't modified it, but perhaps somehow it became corrupt? I had upgraded to Kubuntu 10.04 first from Kubuntu 8.04 (which is not officially a LTS edition) to the beta of Kubuntu 10.04 that came out in March, and then it self-upgraded to the official release, so I don't know if the file got corrupted somehow.
"ohsix" from the #ubuntu IRC channel also suggested that maybe it was because I was using the remote desktop viewer, KRDC (KDE's answer to VNCviewer). Apparently software like this can trap Ctrl/Alt/Shift keypresses, so if it goes wayward it might cause problems. I don't recall whether this software had been running when the problem appeared, but I'll keep an eye out for it.
Telengard, you said sometimes you encountered this problem, too. Have you also been using KRDC or another remote desktop viewer?
Code:
# KDM master configuration file
#
# Please note: Settings in this file are sometimes ignored (overridden).
# The default KDM startup script /etc/init.d/kdm looks in /etc/default/kdm.d
# for theme-related settings which, if found, take precedence. The possibly
# overridden settings are: UseBackground, BackgroundCfg, UseTheme, Theme.
# See /usr/share/doc/kdm/README.Debian for details
#
# Definition: the greeter is the login dialog, i.e., the part of KDM
# which the user sees.
#
# You can configure every X-display individually.
# Every display has a display name, which consists of a host name
# (which is empty for local displays specified in {Static|Reserve}Servers),
# a colon, and a display number. Additionally, a display belongs to a
# display class (which can be ignored in most cases; the control center
# does not support this feature at all).
# Sections with display-specific settings have the formal syntax
# "[X-" host [":" number [ "_" class ]] "-" sub-section "]"
# You can use the "*" wildcard for host, number, and class. You may omit
# trailing components; they are assumed to be "*" then.
# The host part may be a domain specification like ".inf.tu-dresden.de".
# It may also be "+", which means non-empty, i.e. remote displays only.
# From which section a setting is actually taken is determined by these
# rules:
# - an exact match takes precedence over a partial match (for the host part),
# which in turn takes precedence over a wildcard ("+" taking precedence
# over "*")
# - precedence decreases from left to right for equally exact matches
# Example: display name "myhost:0", class "dpy".
# [X-myhost:0_dpy] precedes
# [X-myhost:0_*] (same as [X-myhost:0]) precedes
# [X-myhost:*_dpy] precedes
# [X-myhost:*_*] (same as [X-myhost]) precedes
# [X-+:0_dpy] precedes
# [X-*:0_dpy] precedes
# [X-*:0_*] (same as [X-*:0]) precedes
# [X-*:*_*] (same as [X-*])
# These sections do NOT match this display:
# [X-hishost], [X-myhost:0_dec], [X-*:1], [X-:*]
# If a setting is not found in any matching section, the default is used.
#
# Every comment applies to the following section or key. Note that all
# comments will be lost if you change this file with the kcontrol frontend.
# The defaults refer to KDM's built-in values, not anything set in this file.
#
# Special characters need to be backslash-escaped (leading and trailing
# spaces (\s), tab (\t), linefeed (\n), carriage return (\r) and the
# backslash itself (\\)).
# In lists, fields are separated with commas without whitespace in between.
# Some command strings are subject to simplified sh-style word splitting:
# single quotes (') and double quotes (") have the usual meaning; the backslash
# quotes everything (not only special characters). Note that the backslashes
# need to be doubled because of the two levels of quoting.
[General]
# This option exists solely for the purpose of a clean automatic upgrade.
# Do not even think about changing it!
ConfigVersion=2.4
# List of permanent displays. Displays with a hostname are foreign. A display
# class may be specified separated by an underscore.
# Default is ":0"
StaticServers=:0
# List of on-demand displays. See StaticServers for syntax.
# Default is ""
ReserveServers=:1,:2,:3
# VTs to allocate to X-servers. A negative number means that the VT will be
# used only if it is free. If all VTs in this list are used up, the next free
# one greater than the last one in this list will be allocated.
# Default is ""
ServerVTs=-7
# TTYs (without /dev/) to monitor for activity while in console mode.
# Default is ""
ConsoleTTYs=tty1,tty2,tty3,tty4,tty5,tty6
# Where KDM should store its PID (do not store if empty).
# Default is ""
PidFile=/var/run/kdm.pid
# Whether KDM should lock the PID file to prevent having multiple KDM
# instances running at once. Do not change unless you are brave.
# Default is true
#LockPidFile=false
# Where to store authorization files.
# Default is "/var/run/xauth"
#AuthDir=/tmp
# Whether KDM should automatically re-read configuration files, if it
# finds them having changed.
# Default is true
#AutoRescan=false
# Additional environment variables KDM should pass on to all programs it runs.
# LD_LIBRARY_PATH and XCURSOR_THEME are good candidates;
# otherwise, it should not be necessary very often.
# Default is ""
#ExportList=LD_LIBRARY_PATH,ANOTHER_IMPORTANT_VAR
# A character device KDM should read entropy from.
# Empty means use the system's preferred entropy device.
# Default is ""
#RandomDevice=/dev/altrandom
# Where the command sockets should be created; make it empty to disable
# them.
# Default is "/var/run/xdmctl"
#FifoDir=/tmp
# The group to which the global command socket should belong;
# can be either a name or a numerical ID.
# Default is 0
#FifoGroup=xdmctl
# The directory in which KDM should store persistent working data.
# Default is "/var/lib/kdm"
#DataDir=
# The directory in which KDM should store users' .dmrc files. This is only
# needed if the home directories are not readable before actually logging in
# (like with AFS).
# Default is ""
#DmrcDir=/nfs-shared/var/dmrcs
[Xdmcp]
# Whether KDM should listen to incoming XDMCP requests.
# Default is true
Enable=false
# The UDP port on which KDM should listen for XDMCP requests. Do not change.
# Default is 177
#Port=177
# File with the private keys of X-terminals. Required for XDM authentication.
# Default is ""
#KeyFile=/etc/kde4/kdm/kdmkeys
# XDMCP access control file in the usual XDM-Xaccess format.
# Default is "/etc/kde4/kdm/Xaccess"
#Xaccess=
# Number of seconds to wait for display to respond after the user has
# selected a host from the chooser.
# Default is 15
#ChoiceTimeout=10
# Strip domain name from remote display names if it is equal to the local
# domain.
# Default is true
#RemoveDomainname=false
# Use the numeric IP address of the incoming connection on multihomed hosts
# instead of the host name.
# Default is false
#SourceAddress=true
# The program which is invoked to dynamically generate replies to XDMCP
# DirectQuery or BroadcastQuery requests.
# If empty, no program is invoked and "Willing to manage" is sent.
# Default is ""
Willing=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xwilling
[Shutdown]
# The command (subject to word splitting) to run to halt the system.
# Default is "/sbin/halt"
#HaltCmd=
# The command (subject to word splitting) to run to reboot the system.
# Default is "/sbin/reboot"
#RebootCmd=
# Whether it is allowed to shut down the system via the global command socket.
# Default is false
#AllowFifo=true
# Whether it is allowed to abort active sessions when shutting down the
# system via the global command socket.
# Default is true
#AllowFifoNow=false
# The boot manager KDM should use for offering boot options in the
# shutdown dialog.
# "None" - no boot manager
# "Grub" - Grub boot manager
# "Lilo" - Lilo boot manager (Linux on i386 & x86-64 only)
# Default is None
#BootManager=Grub
# Rough estimations about how many seconds KDM will spend at most on
# - opening a connection to the X-server (OpenTime) if the attempt
# - times out: OpenTimeout
# - is refused: OpenRepeat * OpenDelay
# - starting a local X-server (ServerTime):
# ServerAttempts * (ServerTimeout + OpenDelay)
# - starting a display:
# - local display: ServerTime + OpenTime
# - foreign display: StartAttempts * OpenTime
# - XDMCP display: OpenTime (repeated indefinitely by client)
# Core config for all displays
[X-*-Core]
# How long to wait before retrying to connect a display.
# Default is 15
#OpenDelay=15
# How long to wait before timing out a display connection attempt.
# Default is 120
#OpenTimeout=120
# How many connection attempts to make during a start attempt. Note that
# a timeout aborts the entire start attempt.
# Default is 5
#OpenRepeat=5
# Try at most that many times to start a display. If this fails, the display
# is disabled.
# Default is 4
#StartAttempts=4
# Ping remote display every that many minutes.
# Default is 5
#PingInterval=5
# Wait for a Pong that many minutes.
# Default is 5
#PingTimeout=5
# The name of this X-server's Xauth file.
# If empty, a random name in the AuthDir directory will be used.
# Default is ""
#AuthFile=
# Specify a file with X-resources for the greeter, chooser and background.
# The KDE frontend does not use this file, so you do not need it unless you
# use another background generator than krootimage.
# Default is ""
#Resources=
# The xrdb program to use to read the above specified recources.
# Subject to word splitting.
# Default is "/usr/bin/xrdb"
#Xrdb=
# A program to run before the greeter is shown. Can be used to start an
# xconsole or an alternative background generator. Subject to word splitting.
# Default is ""
Setup=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xsetup
# A program to run before a user session starts. Subject to word splitting.
# Default is ""
Startup=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xstartup
# A program to run after a user session exits. Subject to word splitting.
# Default is ""
Reset=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xreset
# The program which is run as the user which logs in. It is supposed to
# interpret the session argument (see SessionsDirs) and start an appropriate
# session according to it. Subject to word splitting.
# Default is "/usr/bin/xterm -ls -T"
Session=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xsession
# The program to run if Session fails.
# Default is "/usr/bin/xterm"
#FailsafeClient=
# The PATH for the Session program.
# Default is "/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/games"
#UserPath=
# The PATH for Setup, Startup and Reset, etc.
# Default is "/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11"
#SystemPath=
# The default system shell.
# Default is "/bin/sh"
#SystemShell=/bin/bash
# Where to put the user's X-server authorization file if ~/.Xauthority
# cannot be created.
# Default is "/tmp"
#UserAuthDir=
# If true, UserAuthDir will be used unconditionally.
# Default is false
#ForceUserAuthDir=true
# Whether to automatically restart sessions after X-server crashes.
# Note that enabling this makes circumventing screen lockers other than
# KDE's built-in one possible!
# Default is false
#AutoReLogin=true
# Allow root logins?
# Default is true
AllowRootLogin=false
# Allow to log in, when user has set an empty password?
# Default is true
AllowNullPasswd=false
# Who is allowed to shut down the system. This applies both to the
# greeter and to the command sockets.
# "None" - no "Shutdown..." menu entry is shown at all
# "Root" - the root password must be entered to shut down
# "All" - everybody can shut down the machine
# Default is All
AllowShutdown=Root
# Who is allowed to abort active sessions when shutting down.
# "None" - no forced shutdown is allowed at all
# "Root" - the root password must be entered to shut down forcibly
# "All" - everybody can shut down the machine forcibly
# Default is All
#AllowSdForceNow=Root
# The default choice for the shutdown condition/timing.
# "Schedule" - shut down after all active sessions exit (possibly at once)
# "TryNow" - shut down, if no active sessions are open; otherwise, do nothing
# "ForceNow" - shut down unconditionally
# Default is Schedule
#DefaultSdMode=ForceNow
# How to offer shutdown scheduling options:
# "Never" - not at all
# "Optional" - as a button in the simple shutdown dialogs
# "Always" - instead of the simple shutdown dialogs
# Default is Never
#ScheduledSd=Optional
# The directories containing session type definitions in .desktop format,
# ordered by falling priority.
# Default is "/usr/share/xsessions,/var/lib/menu-xdg/xsessions,/usr/share/apps/kdm/sessions"
#SessionsDirs=/usr/share/xsessions,/var/lib/menu-xdg/xsessions,/usr/share/apps/kdm/sessions
# The file (relative to $HOME) to redirect the session output to. The
# following character pairs are replaced:
# - %d -> current display
# - %u -> current user
# - %r -> empty at first. See below.
# - %% -> a single %
# When the constructed filename cannot be used safely and the specification
# contains %<stuff>r, other names will be tried - this time expanding %<stuff>r
# to <stuff> followed by a random number.
# Default is ".xsession-errors"
ClientLogFile=.xsession-errors-%d
# Fallback when ClientLogFile cannot be used. The same expansions are
# supported. DO NOT use relative paths here.
# Default is "/tmp/xerr-%u-%d%-r"
#ClientLogFallback=/var/log/xsession-errors/%u-%d%-r
# Whether KDM's built-in utmp/wtmp/lastlog registration should be used.
# Default is false
#UseSessReg=true
# Greeter config for all displays
[X-*-Greeter]
# Specify the widget style for the greeter. Empty means to use the
# built-in default which currently is "Oxygen-air".
# Default is ""
#GUIStyle=Plastique
# Specify the widget color scheme for the greeter. Empty means to use the
# built-in default which currently is "Oxygen-air".
# Default is ""
#ColorScheme=MidnightMeadow
# What should be shown in the greeter's logo are:
# "None" - nothing
# "Logo" - the image specified by LogoPixmap
# "Clock" - a neat analog clock
# Default is Clock
LogoArea=Logo
# The image to show when LogoArea=Logo.
# Default is ""
LogoPixmap=/usr/share/kde4/apps/kdm/pics/kdelogo.png
# The relative coordinates (X,Y in percent) of the center of the greeter.
# Default is "50,50"
#GreeterPos=30,40
# The screen the greeter should be displayed on in multi-headed and Xinerama
# setups. The numbering starts with 0. For Xinerama, it corresponds to the
# listing order in the active ServerLayout section of XF86Config; -1 means
# to use the upper-left screen, -2 means to use the upper-right screen.
# Default is 0
#GreeterScreen=-1
# The headline in the greeter. The following character pairs are replaced:
# - %d -> current display
# - %h -> host name, possibly with domain name
# - %n -> node name, most probably the host name without domain name
# - %s -> the operating system
# - %r -> the operating system's version
# - %m -> the machine (hardware) type
# - %% -> a single %
# Default is "Welcome to Kubuntu at %n"
#GreetString=Welcome to Kubuntu at %n
# Whether the fonts used in the greeter should be antialiased.
# Default is false
#AntiAliasing=true
# The font for the greeter headline.
# Default is "Serif,20,bold"
#GreetFont=Serif,20,5,0,50,0
# The normal font used in the greeter.
# Default is "Sans Serif,10"
#StdFont=Sans Serif,10,5,0,50,0
# The font used for the "Login Failed" message.
# Default is "Sans Serif,10,bold"
#FailFont=Sans Serif,10,5,0,75,0
# What to do with the Num Lock modifier for the time the greeter is running:
# "Off" - turn off
# "On" - turn on
# "Keep" - do not change the state
# Default is Keep
#NumLock=Off
# Language and locale to use in the greeter, encoded like $LANGUAGE.
# If empty, the settings from the environment are used.
# Default is ""
#Language=de_DE
# Enable autocompletion in the username line edit.
# Default is false
#UserCompletion=true
# Enable user list (names along with images) in the greeter.
# Default is true
#UserList=false
# User selection for UserCompletion and UserList:
# "NotHidden" - all users except those listed in HiddenUsers
# "Selected" - only the users listed in SelectedUsers
# Default is NotHidden
#ShowUsers=Selected
# For ShowUsers=Selected. @<group> means all users in that group.
# Default is ""
#SelectedUsers=root,johndoe
# For ShowUsers=NotHidden. @<group> means all users in that group.
# Default is ""
#HiddenUsers=root
# Special case of HiddenUsers: users with a non-zero UID less than this number
# will not be shown as well.
# Default is 0
MinShowUID=1000
# Complement to MinShowUID: users with a UID greater than this number will
# not be shown as well.
# Default is 65535
MaxShowUID=29999
# If false, the users are listed in the order they appear in /etc/passwd.
# If true, they are sorted alphabetically.
# Default is true
#SortUsers=false
# Specify, where the users' pictures should be taken from.
# "AdminOnly" - from <FaceDir>/$USER.face[.icon]
# "PreferAdmin" - prefer <FaceDir>, fallback on $HOME
# "PreferUser" - ... and the other way round
# "UserOnly" - from the user's $HOME/.face[.icon]
# Default is AdminOnly
#FaceSource=PreferUser
# The directory containing the user images if FaceSource is not UserOnly.
# Default is "/usr/share/kde4/apps/kdm/faces"
#FaceDir=/usr/share/faces
# Specify, if/which user should be preselected for log in.
# "None" - do not preselect any user
# "Previous" - the user which successfully logged in last time
# "Default" - the user specified in the DefaultUser option
# Default is None
#PreselectUser=Previous
# If this is true, the password input line is focused automatically if
# a user is preselected.
# Default is false
#FocusPasswd=true
# If this is true, the entered password is echoed as bullets. Otherwise,
# no feedback is given at all.
# Default is true
#EchoPasswd=false
# If true, krootimage will be automatically started by KDM; otherwise, the
# Setup script should be used to setup the background.
# Default is true
#UseBackground=false
# The configuration file to be used by krootimage.
# Default is "/etc/kde4/kdm/backgroundrc"
#BackgroundCfg=
# Whether to grab keyboard and mouse while the greeter is visible. Grabs
# may improve security, but make on-screen keyboards, etc. unusable.
# "Never" - never grab
# "IfNoAuth" - grab if the display requires no X authorization
# "Always" - always grab
# Default is IfNoAuth
#GrabInput=Always
# Hold the X-server grabbed the whole time the greeter is visible. This
# may be more secure, but it will disable any background and other
# X-clients started from the Setup script.
# Default is false
#GrabServer=true
# How many seconds to wait for grab to succeed.
# Default is 3
#GrabTimeout=3
# Warn, if display has no X-authorization (local auth cannot be created,
# XDMCP display wants no auth, or display is foreign from StaticServers).
# Default is true
#AuthComplain=false
# Random seed for forging saved session types, etc. of unknown users.
# This value should be random but constant across the login domain.
# Default is 0
#ForgingSeed=0
# Specify conversation plugins for the login dialog. Each plugin can be
# specified as a base name (which expands to $kde_modulesdir/kgreet_$base)
# or as a full pathname.
# Default is "classic"
#PluginsLogin=sign
# Same as PluginsLogin, but for the shutdown dialog.
# Default is "classic"
#PluginsShutdown=modern
# A list of options of the form Key=Value. The conversation plugins can query
# these settings; it is up to them what possible keys are.
# Default is ""
#PluginOptions=SomeKey=randomvalue,Foo=bar
# Show the "Console Login" action in the greeter (if ServerTTY/ConsoleTTYs
# is configured).
# Default is true
#AllowConsole=false
# A program to run while the greeter is visible. It is supposed to preload
# as much as possible of the session that is going to be started (most
# probably).
# Default is ""
Preloader=/usr/bin/preloadkde
# Whether the greeter should be themed.
# Default is false
UseTheme=true
# The theme to use for the greeter. Can point to either a directory or an XML
# file.
# Default is ""
Theme=/usr/share/kde4/apps/kdm/themes/ethais
# Core config for local displays
[X-:*-Core]
# How often to try to run the X-server. Running includes executing it and
# waiting for it to come up.
# Default is 1
#ServerAttempts=1
# How long to wait for a local X-server to come up.
# Default is 15
#ServerTimeout=15
# The command line to start the X-server, without display number and VT spec.
# This string is subject to word splitting.
# Default is "/usr/bin/X"
ServerCmd=/usr/bin/X
# Additional arguments for the X-servers for local sessions.
# This string is subject to word splitting.
# Default is ""
ServerArgsLocal=-nr -nolisten tcp
# Additional arguments for the X-servers for remote sessions.
# This string is subject to word splitting.
# Default is ""
#ServerArgsRemote=
# Restart instead of resetting the local X-server after session exit.
# Use it if the server leaks memory etc.
# Default is false
#TerminateServer=true
# The signal needed to reset the local X-server.
# Default is 1 (SIGHUP)
#ResetSignal=1
# The signal needed to terminate the local X-server.
# Default is 15 (SIGTERM)
#TermSignal=15
# Create X-authorizations for local displays.
# Default is true
#Authorize=false
# Which X-authorization mechanisms should be used.
# Default is "MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1"
#AuthNames=
# Need to reset the X-server to make it read initial Xauth file.
# Default is false
#ResetForAuth=true
# See above
AllowNullPasswd=true
# See above
AllowShutdown=All
# Enable password-less logins on this display. USE WITH EXTREME CARE!
# Default is false
#NoPassEnable=true
# The users that do not need to provide a password to log in. NEVER list root!
# "*" means all non-root users. @<group> means all users in that group.
# Default is ""
#NoPassUsers=fred,ethel
# Greeter config for local displays
[X-:*-Greeter]
# See above
PreselectUser=Previous
# See above
FocusPasswd=true
# Specify whether the greeter of local displays should start up in host chooser
# (remote) or login (local) mode and whether it is allowed to switch to the
# other mode.
# "LocalOnly" - only local login possible
# "DefaultLocal" - start up in local mode, but allow switching to remote mode
# "DefaultRemote" - ... and the other way round
# "RemoteOnly" - only choice of remote host possible
# Default is LocalOnly
LoginMode=DefaultLocal
# A list of hosts to be automatically added to the remote login menu. The
# special name "*" means broadcast.
# Default is "*"
#ChooserHosts=*,ugly,sky,dino,kiste.local,login.crap.com
# Show the "Restart X Server"/"Close Connection" action in the greeter.
# Default is true
AllowClose=true
# Core config for 1st local display
[X-:0-Core]
# The VT the X-server should run on; auto-assign if zero, don't assign if -1.
# Better leave it zero and use ServerVTs.
# Default is 0
#ServerVT=7
# Enable automatic login. USE WITH EXTREME CARE!
# Default is false
#AutoLoginEnable=true
# If true, auto-login after logout. If false, auto-login is performed only
# when a display session starts up.
# Default is false
#AutoLoginAgain=true
# The delay in seconds before automatic login kicks in.
# Default is 0
#AutoLoginDelay=10
# The user to log in automatically. NEVER specify root!
# Default is ""
#AutoLoginUser=fred
# The password for the user to log in automatically. This is NOT required
# unless the user is logged into a NIS or Kerberos domain. If you use this
# option, you should "chmod 600 kdmrc" for obvious reasons.
# Default is ""
#AutoLoginPass=secret!
# Immediately lock the automatically started session. This works only with
# KDE sessions.
# Default is false
#AutoLoginLocked=true
# See above
ClientLogFile=.xsession-errors
# Greeter config for 1st local display
[X-:0-Greeter]
# See above
#PreselectUser=Default
# The user to preselect if PreselectUser=Default.
# Default is ""
#DefaultUser=johndoe
|
