[Solved] Some Keys Stop Working after First Restart on Fresh Install

gnhs · 2021-09-22 22:32:39

Note: I am a newbie at Arch.

I recently tried installing Arch on my ThinkPad T430. I have tried a few installs at this point (both in UEFI and BIOS mode and using Standard, LTS, and Zen kernels), but have encountered the same problem as I'll document below.

I install Arch following the Installation Guide. After setting up WiFi and the partitions, I install Arch using

pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware

I generate a fstab file, set a root password, and install Grub. I then reboot. Note that the laptop keyboard is working fine during this whole process.

After rebooting, the following keys no longer work: A S D F J K L ;
Sometimes when I press "A" (but not every time), I get the following output: ;lkjaaaaaaa.....

For my most recent installation,

localectl status

has VC Keymap set as n/a. I can change it to US (and also set the locale), but the keys still do not work.
When I do

showkey --scancodes

nothing shows up when I hit those keys.

I did notice that after the reboot, the microphone button lit up. I don't recall that button lighting up in the past.

Does anyone have any tips as to what I can do to get my keyboard working again?

Last edited by gnhs (2021-09-23 19:59:28)

seth · 2021-09-23 06:30:09

A S D F J K L ;

That's a *very* specific selection…

;lkjaaaaaaa

Sounds like some key is stuck/release goes unnoticed.

It sounds more like a HW condition (temperature driven? Did you rest the system after the installation?)
Does it happen w/ the LTS kernel?
Does it help to manipulate the trackpoint (wobble it) - because the affected keys are very specific.

gnhs · 2021-09-23 19:58:49

seth wrote:

It sounds more like a HW condition (temperature driven? Did you rest the system after the installation?)
Does it happen w/ the LTS kernel?
Does it help to manipulate the trackpoint (wobble it) - because the affected keys are very specific.

I did let the system rest (overnight).
Same happened with all kernels.
Trackpoint worked fine when I installed a desktop environment.

The strangest thing is that I also installed Windows and the keyboard worked fine. Installed Ubuntu and the keyboard worked fine. Tried Arch again and had the same issue... I swapped the keyboards with a spare I had and now it's working. So there's something wrong with the keyboard, but it's Arch specific for some reason.

seth · 2021-09-23 20:03:24

Do you have an "lsmod" comparism between arch and ubuntu?

Arch Linux

#1 2021-09-22 22:32:39

[Solved] Some Keys Stop Working after First Restart on Fresh Install

#2 2021-09-23 06:30:09

Re: [Solved] Some Keys Stop Working after First Restart on Fresh Install

#3 2021-09-23 19:58:49

Re: [Solved] Some Keys Stop Working after First Restart on Fresh Install

#4 2021-09-23 20:03:24

Re: [Solved] Some Keys Stop Working after First Restart on Fresh Install

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