Keyboard non-responsive when using kernel 2.6.12 (breezy)

Can you send dmesg output please?

I have the same issue with Ubuntu 5.10 (kernel 2.6.12-10-686) on a P4 3.0 HT.

Now i'm trying to use the SMP kernel to get the full power of my P4.

I got through synaptic the kernel 2.6.12-10-686-smp but when i reboot ther's no
way to get keyboard and mouse working.

I tried booting with noapic and nolapic options in grub but it didn't solved.
I cannot go over the GDM login greeter.
Obiouvsly I can't open any terminal and I have to brute-force a reboot via the
reset button.

If i revert on the old kernel everything returns working.

i have a logitech PS/2 wireless keyboard and mouse, same thing happens with
kernel 2.6.12-9-686-smp

Hello,

I have quite the same problem but with a PS/2 keyboard on a 5.10 (kernel 2.6.12-10-686-smp installed with apt-get). Just after grub launches the selected kernel, the keyboard locks itself (impossible to enter the password, open a console or toggle numlock key). I assume that the problem occurs when the kernel loads, before the modules.

I noticed that if I toggle on/off several times the numlock key just before the kernel loads, the keyboard is not locked (strange, isn't it?). However, when I am in KDE, the arrows keys are very slow (to navigate within a document or within a file in the console - e.g. CTRL+Left/right/up/down). If I switch off the numlock key, the speed is better...

I went back to the original kernel (2.6.12-9-386) and it works well again.

I hope this will help. Keep me informed!

Cheers,

Sam

Can somebody please provide the dmesg output Ben requested?
Results from using the latest Dapper kernel would be great. You can install Dapper from the Flight 6 testing CDs.

Thank you.

Sorry for the long reply. The keyboard broke full stop and has only just been replaced. I've upgraded to dapper as of today (18/04/06) and the problem has gotten worse. When booting, the system will hang with the following lines: -

ehci_hcd 0000.00.00.03.3: EHCI Controller
ehci_hcd 0000.00.00.03.3: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 3
ehci_hcd 0000.00.00.03.3: irq 185, io mem 0xdffef00
ehci_hcd 0000.00.00.03.3: USB 2.0 started, EHCI 1.00, driver 10 Dec 2004
hub 3-0:1.0: USB hub found
hub 3-0:1.0: 6 ports detected

If I plug the receiver in after the computer has booted, the system will freeze. This also happens with a usb mouse I own, the bug report can be found here: https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bug/40015.

Allan

i have upgraded to dapper beta yesterday and i got the same problem: no keyboard nor mouse in GDM.

Tryed to boot with noapic and nolapic options in grub but it didn't helped.

So i disabled in the BIOS the hypertreading funcion an everyting gone ok.

I think ther's something in the SMP kernels that prevents the correct working of ps/2 ports if the hyperthreading function is enabled.

My wireless keyboard and mouse now work - I solved the problem by disabling usb 2.0 support in the bios. I'm currently using the 2.6.15-20-686 kernel.

Hello,

Sorry for my late reply. Here is the dmesg (see attached).

# cat /proc/version

Linux version 2.6.12-10-686-smp (buildd@terranova) (gcc version 3.4.5 20050809 (prerelease) (Ubuntu 3.4.4-6ubuntu8.1)) #1 SMP Tue Jul 18 23:03:01 UTC 2006

So I can use the 686-smp kernel, but I have to play with the numlock key during the kernel load (see above).

I keep on searching on the web and I will post the solution if I find any.

Regards,

Sam

Hi,
Not sure this is the same issue - otherwise I'll start a new report.

I've just upgraded to Edgy and my Dell wireless k/b & mouse go dead on the login screen. Mouse doesn't move. No input.

It was working with Dapper. It was working with the 6.06 installation & 6.10 kernel (which I needed for the network card etc. etc.) But doesn't work for the full installation.

However, if I boot in recovery mode and do startx and it all works (of course, I'm in single user mode).

It's a Dell Dimenstion 9200 & dell k/b & mouse.

further to my comments above.
If I do 'gdm' from recovery mode - I can login with my usual ID, all seems to work; except I get the error message "error initializing HAL" or such.

don't know if that helps.

humm, interesting.

I stuck exit 0 at the top of S25bluetooth and now my keyboard is working fine at normal bootup (non recover).

Some clash there. I'm not going to explore the above script further, as I don't really need bt... but that may help someone.

Hi Kyot,

Thanks for your information! Not sure actually that my issue is related to your problem.

Reminder:

- my mouse works fine. It is just my keyboard that does not respond when I have to login on kdm.
- I get the problem only if I select a 686-smp kernel.
- I have a Pentium IV HT 3.06 (so I assume that it should work with HyperThreading stuff).

I upgraded to Dapper Drake 6.06 and the sympthoms are similar. But the strange workaround I found works fine as well (playing with the numlock key during the kernel boot...).

# cat /proc/version

Linux version 2.6.15-27-686 (buildd@terranova) (gcc version 4.0.3 (Ubuntu 4.0.3-1ubuntu5)) #1 SMP PREEMPT Sat Sep 16 02:13:27 UTC 2006

Cheers,

Sam

Unfortunately I've found this error with Dapper and Edgy, too.

If I enable Hyper-Threading in BIOS, I can't use my keyboard and mouse. (These are simple ps2 devices.) If I plug in my usb mouse, it works... But I haven't an usb keyboard. Should I buy one? :-)

On my workplace we have an (absolutely different) other machine also with two cores. The result is the same.

The only solution if I disable H-T in BIOS and I don't use this technology.

We use a lot of computers with common processors endowed with Dapper and Edgy without any problems.

Hi nigra,

I have been googling a lot to find out the root cause of my problem but I only found some workaround. I noticed that the problem does not impact all HT pentium processors (few threads on the same subject, few solutions or workarounds) and maybe Intel delivered a serie of bugged HT processors that do not work properly with the standard 686-smp linux kernels...

Anyway we have the same problem. We have two workarounds:

a) playing with numlock key during kernel boot (not user friendly).
b) disabling the HT features in the bios (a shame).

Other hints found in the web somewhere:

1) use a wifi usb keyboard.
2) disable the ACPI feature in the bios (in my situation, I cannot toggle off this parameter in my bios, thanks to HP).

I currently run a 686 non-smp kernel because I switched off the HT feature in the bios and the performances are pretty good, but not as good as if I had a HT CPU...

If someone has a solution...

Cheers,

Sam

Hi Sam,

I thank you for sharing information.

You wrote "maybe Intel delivered a serie of bugged HT processors that do not work properly with the standard 686-smp linux kernels". I do not know, but I used these machines with SUSE and Slackware without similar simptoms correctly...

I will try playing with ACPI and NumLock key. It sounds a bit funny. :-)

Thanx again,

nigra

<i>Re: Keyboard non-responsive when using kernel 2.6.12 (breezy) from Allan at 2006-04-21 12:12:48 UTC

My wireless keyboard and mouse now work - I solved the problem by disabling usb 2.0 support in the bios. I'm currently using the 2.6.15-20-686 kernel.</i>

Allen--Thank you for the tip!

I am using a like kernel to yours: 2.6.15 for i686.

I had been having a similar but not same problem: my computer didn't recognize changes made to the keyboard input set via the Keyboard Indicator Applet nor via the System > Keyboard dialog box. I wanted to change language input from English to a foreign language.

I have a great BIOS (Phoenix) and was able to fix the problem through it as well. Instead of disabling USB 2.0, I enabled USB keyboard support (i forget what it was called--It was the disabled USB option under the first, ENabled one).
Now the machine switches languages seamlessly via the applet.

I'm posting this this in case others had encountered the same problem.

Beginning with the Hardy Heron 8.04 development cycle, all open Ubuntu kernel bugs need to be reported against the "linux" kernel package. We are automatically migrating this linux-source-2.6.15 kernel bug to the new "linux" package. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make this transition. Also, if you would be interested in testing the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release, it is available at http://www.ubuntu.com/testing . Please let us know your results. Thanks!