i ran the slack installation and it ran rather smoothly, but when i boot to linux and get to the login prompt, when i try to type anything it comes up in weird characters. (ie., i push 'Print Screen' and the output is two lowercase E's. i push 'A' and its the same as hitting the 'enter' key twice. (yes, every key i push outputs something twice (one on key push, one on key release.)))

now, i chose the default keyboard map (us) the first time i installed, and it didn't work.
the next time, i manually chose qwerty/us.map in the keyboard map selection (right when you boot from the cd.) it still didn't work.

what i'm wondering is, if its the special buttons on my keyboard used to control certain utilities in *cough* windows. for instance, the cd player, volume control, and the buttons to open certain programs in windows. (these buttons are all located above the F-keys, go to http://store5.yimg.com/I/pctekonline_1690_751875 to see what i mean.)

if you can help out, email me or just reply.

thanks in advance
-nick

What you need is linux easy access keyboard support, AKA LinEAK.

seeing as how i cannot even login to the box, i wouldn't be able to install lineak...

my question to you is; does your saying to get lineak qualify as a 'yes' to my keyboard being incapable of operating slackware without lineak?

LinEAK is only for the special buttons, you'll have to get your keyboard working first. Have you got a link to some more info on it? A picture dosn't tell us much about it.

i'm sure if i could find out some information about my keyboard myself, i may be able to remedy this situation.

all i know is it has a GE (general electric) insignia on it, but its really a turbo-media (embroidered on the back) and the model is a KB-9801R+

if you find anything, let me know. i've been trying all night...

May I ask how your keyboard interfaces with the computer? (PS/2 or USB connector)

The reason why I ask is that you stated that the Slack install ran OK. So I assume by that statement, the keyboard was working. At least, I would have a hard time installing Slack without the keyboard working properly.

If you boot the install CD again, does the keyboard work properly again? I think that kernel uses the bare.i kernel. If it does work, what kernel did you use to install on the system?

If your keyboard is USB, I recall there being a usb.i kernel on the install CD in the kernels directory. But I do not know what the configuration actually is that would be different in that kernel or when it would be needed. Perhaps there are others that might would know more detail if you require it.

i have a ps2 keyboard.

i chose bare.i as my installation AND system kernel, although the 'setup' program runs in vmlinuz or something like that.

it all worked great and slackware was installed in about 15 minutes. the only problem i had was this one at the login screen.

Can you boot the install Cd and know that the keyboard works again?

yes. when i boot the cd, the keyboard works fine, but i'd rather not boot from the cd each time i want to boot to linux :P

I wasn't suggesting that you always boot the CD. It would appear though that the installed system is having a problem with drivers though. You stated that you installed the bare.i kernel for the installed system. I think that is the same kernel that the install CD boots. So I would think it would elliminate a kernel issue and it also elliminates a keyboard compatiblity issue. It also means that there should be a way to repair the problem.

So then, it appears the problem is after the kernel loads and before the login prompt appears. I can't think of anything in the scripts that would interfere with a keyboard. But possibly a module may be loading. You said the keyboard was a PS/2, would it by any chance have a second cable that connects to a USB port and it is connected? Probably to control the other multimedia buttons you mentioned. I think Microsoft makes such a keyboard, with both connectors. If present disconnect the USB cable. I reviewed the rc.modules file and it appears that all USB modules are remarked out to start with. But if that solves the problem then we need to look to see what might be enabled for some reason.

I also reviewed the startup scripts and located something called a keymap script. It would be located in /etc/rc.d/rc.keymap. The only way you can check for it is to boot the install CD. Login as root like you did for the install. Then type the following using YOUR install partition for hdxx, like hda1 or hda2, etc.

mount /dev/hdxx /mnt
ls -l /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc.keymap

If the output from above is positive that it exists then;
chmod 000 /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc.keymap

I do not know if the gpm driver would cause a problem or not but in any case you could also try the following while you are there.

ls -l /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc.gpm

Again if it is positive then;
chmod 000 /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc.gpm

Then to unmount the partition use:
umount /mnt

Reboot as desired from that point.

Perhaps some of the above will isolate where your problem is. I have never seen a keyboard issue like you described myself on any of the installs I have done. I think all the problems I have seen were bad keyboards to begin with, or a stuck key. Perhaps others here might have some suggestions as well in this area.

Please let us know and good luck.