keyboard issues...

c_olin3404 · 05-24-2005, 06:32 PM

I installed Slackware 10.1 on my box, and so far so good. While Linux is booting up, the keyboard appears to work, i can turn the numlock on and off, but as soon as I get the chance to log on, the keyboard doesn't work, and i cant turn numlock on or anything.

Is there a certain file I have to edit to get my keyboard to work? I have just a standard US keyboard, and it worked during the installation, and I have SW installed on this comp just the other day.

What file must I edit to get my keyboard working again?

Thanks!

killerbob · 05-24-2005, 07:07 PM

Is it a PS/2 keyboard, or a USB keyboard?

If it's USB, try going into your BIOS to see if you can enable USB keyboard support... on some computers this enables a BIOS driver that controls the keyboard and presents it as a PS/2 to the OS. The only downside is that the keyboard has to be plugged in to a root hub (directly to the computer), it can't be plugged into an external hub.

If it's a PS/2 keyboard, how on earth did you manage to convince Linux to ignore a PS/2? Is it possible that the keyboard lights may work, but some of the keys could be broken?

c_olin3404 · 05-24-2005, 11:49 PM

It is Ps/2

The keys are not broken. I have no idea what to do

c_olin3404 · 05-25-2005, 12:15 AM

On bootup, I can type anything in while it is logging the tasks it is performing, once it gets to 'localhost login' none of the keys work.

Any ideas??

Bluenoser · 06-22-2005, 09:49 AM

I'm having the same problem. It always worked before, but just re-installed Slack 10.1 and as soon as I get to the login, the keyboard is dead. Just a regular ps/2 keyboard. Weird

spaceballs · 06-22-2005, 10:37 AM

I had a similar problem with a laptop once. The keyboard worked fine with lilo, but once slackware loaded, it didn't work...unless, you held a key down during your boot sequence. Try that. Once you pick your boot in lilo (or whatever you use), hold down just a random key until you get to your login prompt. This may not work at all - just an idea.

Bluenoser · 06-22-2005, 07:00 PM

Update, I re-installed Slack 10.1 (bare.i) again and now the keyboard does work at login. However, when I startx and kde loads, I have no mouse or keyboard. I ran xorgconfig and selected the same options that I always do without any problems in the past. Keyboard is ps/2 and mouse is usb. I tried telinit 4 to get to the graphical login, and both of them died again.

Another update.... found a usb > ps/2 adapter and hooked up the mouse using that. Problem solved. Just not sure what I did differently, it always worked fine before.

neutral_insomniac · 07-22-2005, 04:18 PM

I have this same problem on an hp laptop. If you hold a key down, you get keyboard support just fine. I have found that if I disable /etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug, it works fine, which tells me that it is a problem in this script... If that gives anyone any ideas, PLEASE respond. Don't use the email here. Use neutral_insomniac@yahoo.com . Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated...

tuxdev · 07-22-2005, 04:57 PM

The mouse sometimes doesn't work if /dev/mouse is not linked to the actual device file. If I remember correctly, the usb mouse device is at /dev/input/mouse0.

maginotjr · 07-22-2005, 07:04 PM

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=338246

dont worry, is there a solution

neutral_insomniac · 07-22-2005, 09:25 PM

That doesn't fix our keyboard problem...

The problem arises before X even takes over. And I know for a fact that it comes from the /etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug script. When it is disabled, the keyboard works fine. And I've compared the output of lsmod with and without holding down a key at boot to get keyboard support, and they are identical... I don't know what the problem is...

gbonvehi · 07-22-2005, 09:54 PM

Maybe you're having the same problem this guy had: http://www.hussar.demon.co.uk/linux/hpze4125.htm

Quoting the relevant part:

Quote:

USB works too - this is an ALI OHCI controller, just compile in the appropriate kernel driver. (And enable PCI hotplug support in the kernel and install the "hotplug" package for easy "plug & play".) For USB floppy support, see below. Also compile in VFAT support for connecting to many USB digital cameras. See this site for more information.

* Note that if I attempt to use the boot paramters "single" or "init=/bin/sh", everything appears to boot as expected, but unfortunately I get no response from the keyboard. I've tried the boot parameter "kbd-reset" to no avail and tried mucking with my kernel options, again with no joy.... This can be a real swine if you f**k up your init scripts or "XF86Config" (excitement thanks to move to XFree86 v4.2.1-5)... As the ext3 partitions aren't mountable by my Debian Woody CD-ROM, it gets exciting...

* Solution: (Yay!

There is a bug in USB-OHCI support such that if it is loaded (in any way) this causes the keyboard not to respond. (I checked and it was that portion - USB core is fine, because I compiled the kernel with it compiled in, but not the USB-OHCI module.) So you need two kernels - one with USB support, the other "emergency" one without, for getting you out of trouble. NOTE: Compiling all of the USB support as modules doesn't help, as you're likely to be using hotplug support. This will cause the compiled USB modules to load, and thus no keyboard, just before you get the boot prompt, when used with the "single" kernel boot-parameter. Compiling USB-OHCI support (at least) as a module may work for the kernel boot-parameter "init=/bin/sh", but I wanted "single" to work too.

* A better solution emailed to me by Stefan Johnson is to disable USB Legacy support in the BIOS. I've tested this, and it seems to work, so I've ditched the "emergency" kernel that I had compiled.

You could try adding ochi_hcd to /etc/hotplug/blacklist or disabling USB Legacy support as suggested in the page.

neutral_insomniac · 07-22-2005, 10:18 PM

Thank you. I will try this tomorrow and post whether i get success or not. I appreciate your response.

maginotjr · 07-22-2005, 11:37 PM

on boot in lilo use the follow parameter: Linux (or whatever is your boot label) 1

Code:

Linux 1

you will go Single mode, them

Code:

#chmod -x /etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug
#shutdown -r now

now see if the problem get solved...

ps: You see, hotplug may cause problems, just like ieee1394 so you can disable it in the boot, after login in GUI you can try "#chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug; /etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug start" and see if all goes fine... if dont you may try keep hotplug disabled until a new version is released...

ps2: You may also update your kernel to the last stable version, this may works fine for this problem... Im guessing you're using kernel 2.4.x so try kernel 2.6.x ... is not everytime that the solution is just simples as we wanted...

neutral_insomniac · 07-23-2005, 09:24 AM

Thank you for your reply, however I've tried to disable hotplug, and I get keyboard support just fine, but I don't get the modules loaded in that I need like usb-storage and whatnot. And then when I go to run /etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug AFTER boot, my keyboard loses control again...