Baslinux mailing list

[baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org]

On Tue, 29 Apr 2008, baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:
ECS 2002 computer:

> With this one, in DOS the PS/2 keyboard works fine, but in linux (ramdisk,
> loop, ext2, various 2.2 and 2.4 kernels): Timeout:  AT keyboard not
> present? or simply timeout and the keyboard simply refuses to work (I
> cannot log in).  I tried three keyboards that work elsewhere.

USB keyboard worked in DOS (with BIOS set for that) except CTL-ALT-DEL 
does not work at all.  SO I tried a USB keyboard in linux.

Booting with 1-floppy syslinux USB (David Moberg), the USB keyboard also 
works in linux.  Ctrl-Alt-Del and Alt-F2 do not work.  David loaded 
usbcore, usb-uhci, keybdev and hid modules in his initfs.gz and I was 
considering doing something similar.

But I decided to compile a new usb keyboard kernel instead.  Booting from 
DOS, BL with that kernel still did not work with the USB keyboard.

I then made a lilo boot floppy for that computer (having booted with 
1-floppy USB linux and USB keyboard) by copying boot.b and my usual 2.4.31 
kernel to my DOS BL2 partition.  First I mounted hda1 on /hd and then 
edited /etc/lilo.conf, changing /boot to /hd/bl2.  This boot floppy worked 
(with the BL3 lilo and not a later lilo with lba32).  So that is the 
solution to using a large hard disk with linux past the first 1024 
sectors.

I forgot about the keyboard problem while testing lilo.
The USB keyboard worked when I lilo-booted with my non-USB kernel!
(but Ctrl-Alt-Del and Alt-F2 don't work).

The PS/2 keyboard also worked in linux after lilo boot, and Ctrl-Alt-Del 
and Alt-F2 do work.

BL3 2-floppy also booted (with lilo), and the PS/2 keyboard works.

So loadlin appears to have messed up the keyboard, and you don't need USB 
modules of any sort to use a USB keyboard in linux on this computer, 
booting from LILO, if you enable USB keyboard in BIOS.

I knew loadlin could interfere with Xvesa, but not keyboard.

I have another ECS computer without the keyboard problem.  (It has its own 
problems).  Maybe something went bad on the motherboard that only affects 
loadlin.

Sindi