Controller not working without linux-headers package

Bojahdok · 2019-07-23 08:32:21

Hi everyone,

I'm posting here because I was wondering if the linux-headers package should be incorporated automaticly in the packages that are pre-installed.

Because when we had that kernel update (we recently had one right ? I'm not mad ?) I was wondering why my Xbox one controller didn't work and after some digging i found out that the linux-headers package was missing, and that's why my controller didn't work.

This package seems very important to linux right ? I just thought it would be good if it came along with the kernel update.

Maybe I'm wrong and I'm not understanding something, I just wanted to discuss about that.

(I'm pretty new to Arch and Linux in general)

Thanks !

Last edited by Bojahdok (2019-07-23 13:03:14)

schard · 2019-07-23 08:49:09

1) There are no packages pre-installed in Arch Linux.
2) If you use a DKMS built driver for the controllers, it's your responsibility to install the necessary packages.
3) The package is not necessarily required by arbitrary users, no. I for one do not have it installed on my current machine.
4) If you have the kernel header package installed and run a full system upgrade (partial upgrades are not supported), it will also update the header package if an update is available.

Bojahdok · 2019-07-23 08:58:52

I'm using the xpad kernel module for my controllers.

It just couldn't work before i installed the linux-headers.

And yeah my mistake, it wouldn't be good to "pre-install" the package in Arch, I didn't notice that I didn't have it before I wanted to make my controller work.

Thanks for the quick answer.

Trilby · 2019-07-23 12:29:35

First, please edit your title to relfect your question or problem.

Bojahdok wrote:

Because when we had that kernel update (we recently had one right ? I'm not mad ?) I was wondering why my Xbox one controller didn't work and after some digging i found out that the linux-headers package was missing, and that's why my controller didn't work.

I doubt that. If you are using the xpad module provived by the 'linux' package, there's no need for the headers. If you are using some other dkms version of xpad, then linux-headers should be a dependency of *that* package.

I'd guess this may have nothing to do with headers, but rather you updated the kernel and you couldn't load the xpad module until after a reboot: headers are a red herring.

schard · 2019-07-23 12:44:24

Trilby wrote:

If you are using some other dkms version of xpad, then linux-headers should be a dependency of *that* package.

Nope. I tripped over that myself by assuming this.
But the *-dkms packages don't know whether you're running linux, linux-lts or whatnot.
So they don't know which headers are required and there is no linux-headers meta-package (provides=…) available.

Last edited by schard (2019-07-23 13:03:10)

Bojahdok · 2019-07-23 12:49:15

Well, I don't have any problem and I just wanted to talk about linux headers so I see what I could put in the title.

I rebooted multiple times after the 'linux' package update but it still didn't work.
I installed the xborxdrv package from the AUR but it neverworked so I removed it, then after some digging I found about the xpad module and installed the linux-headers the controller started working without any reboot but I had to reboot to be able to launch my games.

Trilby · 2019-07-23 12:56:51

schard wrote:

But the *-dkms packages don't know whether you're running linux, linux-lts or whatnot.
So they don't know which headers are required and there is no linux-headers meta-package (provides=…) available.

Sorry, I should have said optional dependency, but they are clearly listed and described in the optional deps field. But it sounds like this isn't relevant to the current thread.

Bojahdok wrote:

Well, I don't have any problem and I just wanted to talk about linux headers...

You do have a problem: your xpad wasn't working. And you think it wasn't working because the headers weren't present. And even if you are correct, you don't want to just make free-wheeling small-talk about a package: you have inferred that it should be a dependency of something or that something needs to change in some way.

EDIT: thanks, this is a very good title. I'm still skeptical that the absence of the headers are the true cause of the problem - but this is a clear problem statement.

Last edited by Trilby (2019-07-23 14:02:54)

Bojahdok · 2019-07-23 13:02:50

My bad, it was already solved when I posted this so I didn't consider it relevant to be posted as the problem, I'll edit it.

Edit : Should I post my hardware ? I don't know if it would be usefull or not

Last edited by Bojahdok (2019-07-23 13:04:22)

seth · 2019-07-23 13:20:21

Please post your complete pacman log.

Bojahdok · 2019-07-23 13:25:58

I'll post it as soon as I get home, it's located in /var/log/pacman.log right ?

(I'll edit this message with the log)

Last edited by Bojahdok (2019-07-23 13:27:27)

ewaller · 2019-07-23 14:10:30

Bojahdok wrote:

I'll post it as soon as I get home, it's located in /var/log/pacman.log right ?

That depends on how you start Xorg.

If you don't run Xorg as root, the log will be in ~/.local/share/xorg/
Some configuration ( *cough* gdm *cough*) actually put the log in the Journal.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xorg#General

seth · 2019-07-23 14:13:29

*cough* … "pacman log" … *cough* ;-)

Bojahdok · 2019-07-23 15:41:27

Hum well... don't laugh at me please, I still am a linux newbie, how can I copy all this text from vim to this little forum box ?

seth · 2019-07-23 15:43:07

You don't: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pastebin
(That's btw. not linux related ;-)

Bojahdok · 2019-07-23 15:58:26

Yeah sorry I'm associating vim with linux because I first used it on linux haha

Here's the github link : https://gist.github.com/Bojahdok/e52ed6 … 833f8b6b98

Thanks for your patience

Last edited by Bojahdok (2019-07-23 15:58:36)

seth · 2019-07-23 20:17:59

So for some reason you installed the steamos-xpad-dkms package from the AUR, that package blacklists the xpad module shipped w/ the kernel but since you had no headers it failed to compile the steamos-xpad kernel module via dkms.
So you had no module to drive the xbox controller and it stopped working. Then you did a lot of nonsense and ultimately installed the kernel headers which triggered the dkms hooks, build the steamos-xpad module that's it.

Comments #4, #5 & #7 are spot on.

Bojahdok · 2019-07-24 06:07:56

It didn't work even before I downloaded that package, and now it still works even after totally deleting the package.

seth · 2019-07-24 06:10:50

Which "package"?

Bojahdok · 2019-07-24 06:24:08

steamos-xpad-dkms, so it's probably not the blacklist of xpad module that stopped it from working, since it wouldn't work even before steamos-xpad-dkms got on my computer

seth · 2019-07-24 06:32:14

Idk about the situation ante, but the moment you installed that package, it became the problem and that was solved by installing the headers.
Removing the package will not necessarily have removed the kernel module, certainly not a loaded one before a reboot and also of course you might now just be using the regular xpad module which works for reasons™.
This is NOT related the the header package. The headers solved the problem you introduced by installing the dkms package.

Bojahdok · 2019-07-24 06:37:12

Well, at least it works, but I guess that the reason for why the xpad module didn't work out of the box will stay a mystery
Thanks for your patience and your help ! :-)

Trilby · 2019-07-24 12:12:26

I'd speculate that you had updated the kernel and not rebooted when you initially tried to use xpad. That would explain why the built in module wouldn't initially load. Then you installed that AUR package which prevented it from working from then on. And only now with a on-disk kernel and running kernel matching and no aur package interfering, the built in module can load and work.

But yes, it's not really possible to know for sure what happened.

Bojahdok · 2019-07-24 12:48:17

I don't think that it's what hapenned, because I'm sure I rebooted multiple times between my kernel update and the installation of the AUR package, just because I was too lazy to try to make it work before I was forced to do it (some games are made for gamepads sadly)

Arch Linux

#1 2019-07-23 08:32:21

Controller not working without linux-headers package

#2 2019-07-23 08:49:09

Re: Controller not working without linux-headers package

#3 2019-07-23 08:58:52

Re: Controller not working without linux-headers package

#4 2019-07-23 12:29:35

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#5 2019-07-23 12:44:24

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#6 2019-07-23 12:49:15

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#7 2019-07-23 12:56:51

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#8 2019-07-23 13:02:50

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#9 2019-07-23 13:20:21

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#10 2019-07-23 13:25:58

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#11 2019-07-23 14:10:30

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#12 2019-07-23 14:13:29

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#13 2019-07-23 15:41:27

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#17 2019-07-24 06:07:56

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#19 2019-07-24 06:24:08

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#22 2019-07-24 12:12:26

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#23 2019-07-24 12:48:17

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