Keyboard Curiosity

M

MCVenner

I have an HP ProLiant ML110 G6 Server on which I've installed and configured FreeBSD v7.4-RELEASE.

Though the computer auto-boots uneventfully, I have never been able to interact with the boot loader as no keyboard action is, while it's resident, recognized.

I have tried a number of different keyboards (101-key, 102-key, 104-key; PS/2, USB; with and without interface adapters) without result.

I find that if I attempt, continuously while booting, to toggle (for example) the CapsLock key that there is a period during the boot process where the associated CapsLock LED ceases toggling in response.

The period begins at the moment the boot manager's boot-slice selection is satisfied (either via user action or timeout).

The period ends midway through the loading of the kernel; perhaps as early as status message
Code: 
   ...  kernel: kbd2 at ukbd0
but, certainly, no later than status message
Code: 
   ...  kernel: sc09: <System console> at flags 0x100 on isa0
though it's difficult to discern as the messages go by quickly.

Any suggestions as to how this might be resolved would be appreciated.
 
I have the same issue with one of my machines. USB keyboard works fine during the boot0 boot manager and once the kernel is loaded but doesn't work with the beasty menu. This seems to be BIOS related as the same USB keyboard works fine on another machine.

A PS/2 keyboard however should always work but you have to make sure it's connected before booting the machine.
 
Before opening this thread I had found half a dozen similar reports but never with the 7.4 release and always, as you suggested, with USB keyboards.

I disabled the "beastie menu" but, of course, I still see the countdown to kernel boot and remain unable to interrupt it from the keyboard.

And, though not originally reported, I have an identical problem when booting from a CD (where I do get the "beastie menu").

Finally; I'm disinclined to suspect the BIOS as it's not changing as the computer is booting and, moreover, I have an identical platform on which I'm running Ubuntu (11.10) Linux with no inability to interact with its loader.
 
MCVenner said:
Finally; I'm disinclined to suspect the BIOS as it's not changing as the computer is booting and, moreover, I have an identical platform on which I'm running Ubuntu (11.10) Linux with no inability to interact with its loader.
Click to expand...

As far as I know it's to do with the "USB Legacy" support in the BIOS. This 'fakes' a PS/2 keyboard if you have an USB keyboard. This is to support operating systems that don't support USB. Somewhere along the line this gets turned off just before the kernel loads. Once the kernel is loaded the ukbd(4) driver takes over.

It's possible Linux (and probably Windows too) leaves this on, at least until the USB keyboard driver has been loaded.
 
Greetings,
FWIW, I had the same problem on one of my servers. Turned out to be a soft socket — PS/2, bad connection. The USB keyboard attempts on this board also wouldn't permit interaction with the console, until some time into the boot process (messages).

HTH
 
Chris_H said:
Greetings,
FWIW, I had the same problem on one of my servers. Turned out to be a soft socket — PS/2, bad connection.
HTH
Click to expand...

Thanks, but that's not the source of the problem here. The keyboard works until a very specific point in the FreeBSD boot sequence, at which point it ceases working. Then, at a very specific subsequent point in the boot sequence, it resumes working. Thereafter, it does not, again, fail to work. It's been going on -- invariably -- since I installed the O/S two months ago.
 
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