Strange keyboard behavior in X envronment.

GaryGNU · n00b Joined: 10 Apr 2002 Posts: 8 Location: Toronto ON

My systems is a fresh 1.4-rc1 using gentoo-sources kernel 2.4.19-r9, X 4.2.1, Athlon XP 1800, devfs with a Logitech iTouch cordless keyboard and cordless MouseMan mouse both are USB.
First time I've setup and used any USB devices, long story but suffice it to say I received a RMA'd mobo from ABIT with no working PS/2 ports. ;(

For the most part the mouse and keyboard are behaving correctly the
mouse in fact has presented no problems at all. So with that said here
is my problem, in X my <alt> key is not playing nice.

An example of what the behavior is, when in X, im using fluxbox, I can not alt+tab
between windows, nor can I alt+<F2>-<F4> to change desktops...However I
can <ctrl>+<alt>+<bkspc> to dump X to the console, and I can also
<ctrl>+<alt>+<F3>, to jump to vc/3 from X etc...btw I've tried with twm
also but I'm assuming the same result no matter the environment. In v/c's the <alt> key has not presented any problems.

Here is the output of dmesg | grep usb:

usb.c: registered new driver usbdevfs
usb.c: registered new driver hub
usb.c: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
usb.c: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 2
usb.c: registered new driver hid
input0,hiddev0: USB HID v1.10 Mouse [Logitech USB Receiver] on usb1:2.0
input1,hiddev0: USB HID v1.10 Keyboard [Logitech USB Receiver] on usb1:3.0
input2,hiddev0: USB HID v1.10 Pointer [Logitech USB Receiver] on usb1:3.1

If I do 'cat /dev/input/event1'
and press random keys I get 'garbage' returned to the screen.

'cat /dev/input/mouse1' returns the same result.

So those are the devices. And from what I've read are behaving correctly.

In XF86Config, I have in keyboard section:

Section "Input Device"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
# Here I've also tried "keybdev' 'auto' and 'usb'. All three locked the box at the nvidia splash screen and the box needed to be reset.

The rest of the section is pretty much standard for a 'us' 'pc104' configuration. I have also tried uncommenting

# Option "LeftAlt" "Meta"

there was no change in the behavior.

The rest of the section is,

Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc104"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"

My mouse section on the other hand is much different than a standard
PS/2 section, but I have yet to see an example of a USB keyboard section
other than the options I have already tried.

As I mentioned before this is my first go at USB devices with Linux, so far it's been fairly smooth with the exception of the above problem.

BTW, all USB HID support has been built into the kernel they are not
modules.

Thanks for your time, and any suggestions you may be able to provide, flux just isn't the same without the <alt> key.

CM

OdinsDream · Veteran Joined: 01 Jun 2002 Posts: 1057

I forget what utility it is that will capture key event IDs, it's described in the fluxbox documentation.

However, if you have xbindkeys emerged, you can run the command xbindkeys -k and then press a key, and capture the ID it returns.

Perhaps your keyboard is returning the wrong value? I'll update my post and let you know what my ALT key returns.

GaryGNU · n00b Joined: 10 Apr 2002 Posts: 8 Location: Toronto ON

Here is the output of 'xbindkeys -k' when hitting the Left ALT key

xbindkeys -k
Press combination of keys or/and click under the window.
You can use one of the two lines after "NoCommand"
in $HOME/.xbindkeysrc to bind a key.
"NoCommand"
m:0x8 + c:64
Alt + Alt_L

And from ALT+TAB combination.

xbindkeys -k
Press combination of keys or/and click under the window.
You can use one of the two lines after "NoCommand"
in $HOME/.xbindkeysrc to bind a key.
"NoCommand"
m:0x8 + c:23
Alt + Tab

And ALT+F3

xbindkeys -k
Press combination of keys or/and click under the window.
You can use one of the two lines after "NoCommand"
in $HOME/.xbindkeysrc to bind a key.
"NoCommand"
m:0x8 + c:69
Alt + F3

Just wanted to post this to compare with your results. Thanks for your time.
Off to read the man page...

Gary

OdinsDream · Veteran Joined: 01 Jun 2002 Posts: 1057

Sorry for the delay, haven't been around my box in awhile.

I'm running KDE, and here's the output of xbindkeys -k for hitting the left "ALT". I wasn't able to capture "ALT+Tab" since KDE grabs it before xbindkeys can read it.