Keyboard not working

Basic Help & Support Laptops
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Hi I’m a big fan so far of mabox… Have it on one system and it works like a dream. Just tried installing it on my daily driver laptop and when I do I get no keyboard and the caplock light is on and can’t be turned off. This is how it boots into the live usb.

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Hi @Agunit and welcome to Mabox’s forum.

What brand and model is your laptop please?

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MSI katana a15 ai b8vf

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@Agunit , welcome to mabox. What keyboard localisation settings did you choose when you installed mabox on your fully working system?

Chances are this will be correct for your laptop, but you just need a workaround to carry out the install. Do you have access to any separate USB keyboards? If so, plug it into the laptop USB port before booting the installer, and see if it works with that. If so, carry out the install, choosing the correct type and localisatiom settings for your laptop. After booting your new system, see if the laptop keyboard is working.

To dig a bit deeper, as you probably know, Mabox is based on Manjaro, which in turn is based on Arch Linux. The Arch wiki is particularly comprehensive - here is what it says about keyboards: Arch Wiki - Keyboard Settings.

1 Like
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Thanks for reaching out I really want to figure this out.
That being said I had similar ideas to yours and have already installed with a usb keyboard. Problem remains. I have also swapped drives and booted into my working mabox only to get the same issue. Once I’m In, caplock lindicator is on but keyboard is unresponsive usb keyboard works but not what I’m looking for.
Thanks for the arch info. I’m trying to dive into that now.

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Hi @Agunit ,

I would have advised the same as @alpage2 and you did.
Try usb keyboard etc.

  • Just adding one more option to try.
    Did you also try when you installed the system to install another kernel.

Came accros these links…

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Lenovo_Yoga_Slim_9_(Intel)

:bird:

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Thanks @muzqs . The manjaro post discribed my issue well. Now I just need to learn how to
add i8042.dumbkbd to the kernel parameters. I can get by with my computer knowledge but I’m faking it alot. Playing with a kernal seams advanced.

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Hi @Agunit,

Recapitulate manjaro post.

Original comment from Manjaro link: About editing Grub config

Open /etc/default/grub, and add i8042.dumbkbd to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="" like this: 
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="i8042.dumbkbd".

It may not work with just that, so also do the following:

In the same file, add i8042.dumbkbd=1 to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="" like this: 
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="i8042.dumbkbd=1".

Then run grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg and reboot.

This is how it worked for me!

Note: The Caps Lock LED will stop turning on after this.

Steps to apply changes: more readable

  1. Edit GRUB
    2.Make a backup first.
    Run the following commands:
sudo cp /etc/default/grub /etc/default/grub.bak
sudo nano /etc/default/grub
  1. Find the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT and add the following:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="i8042.dumbkbd"
  1. Find the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX and add:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="i8042.dumbkbd=1"
  1. Apply the changes by running:
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
  1. Reboot your system.

Note: The Caps Lock LED will no longer turn on after this.

:bird:

1 Like
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I was waiting a little bit for the new Mabox ISO with kernel 6.12 LTS.

MSI is, lets say… peculiar. They have several proprietary stuff on their laptops aimed exclusively to Windows and problems with those on Linux are known. In the meantime, create a Manjaro USB using this ISO, just to rule out if it works or not out of the box.

There is an AUR package that maybe could fix your issues but you will need a full Mabox/Manjaro installed before: msi-ec-git.

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I’m happy to report that installing a different kernel has fixed the issue. A big thanks to everyone that helped. @M0nst3r , @muzqs , @alpage2 .

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Good to know. :grin:

For the record (and future Maboxers with the same issue) please confirm what kernel you installed. :wink:

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6.6.65-1 or linux66.

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Hello @Agunit and welcome to the forum :slight_smile:

It’s good to see you’ve got the keyboard thing sorted out

In the last few days, I’ve been building a few isos a day - I’m working on adding Labwc. I’m treating them as pre-releases, and I’m not announcing them widely.
Anyway, Openbox looks better than ever - if you’re rushing I can build one more iso with linux612. Or maybe it’s better to wait for another stable update from Manjaro? Python 3.13 is coming…

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No rush good friend, take your time and make the stable one. :sunglasses: