Keyboard not working after login but also sometimes not at all

TheUnknownBone · 2024-01-25 17:31:28

I don't know how to fix this. I don't know where to start even. Recently, my system has developed an issue where once it gets to the boot screen, the keyboard stops working. Unplugging it then plugging it back in doesn't fix it and the light don't even turn on for at least 10 seconds after doing so. It doesn't matter what kind of keyboard I use, I get this issue on any keyboard. Other usb devices including the mouse work while this is happening but on screen keyboards don't work for some reason.

Previously, the keyboard would work at the login screen and stop working once I log in. Unplugging it and plugging it back several times in while pressing the num lock key would eventually make it start working again. I think I had started several forum posts around the internet but could never get this issue fixed so I ignored it since it was possible to be remedied. If I reboot and choose the arch linux fallback initramfs option at the bootloader, my pc will revert to this behavior. Sometimes, booting into the fallback initramfs and then rebooting normally fixes it for the next several reboots. Since Linux "develops" issues over time like an old car somehow, I expect this to stop working eventually the same way this issue has gotten worse over time.

Any ideas? I don't even know where to start on trying to fix this problem. I really want to avoid a format and reinstall but this is a big enough issue there's probably not another choice. I think if there was a more automated way to reinstall everything and not have to spend a week getting things back to normal i'd go for it, but for a "fresh start", I really don't want to go through all that so I'd rather put it off until the computer becomes 100% unusable and these lame fixes stop temporarily fixing it.

Last edited by TheUnknownBone (2024-01-25 17:45:36)

seth · 2024-01-25 21:48:55

Since Linux "develops" issues over time like an old car somehow

I guess you must be talking about american or maybe british cars here…

once it gets to the boot screen

Do you mean the bootloader (grub)?
Or the "login screen"?

Does the keyboard work if you only boot the multi-user.target?
Does it reliably work on live distros (eg. grml)?
Did you try a different usb slot?

Is there a parallel windows installation?

What's your metric for "doesn't work"?
Does it produce input in evtest?
If not, what tail does it produce in "dmesg -w" when plugging it in?

Are there other externale devices on the bus?
What mouse is this and do you have a $5 office-supply replacement for testing?

polm23 · 2024-01-30 02:37:05

I ran into a similar issue with a recent update - you probably have to downgrade your kernel, like in this thread:

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … 8#p2147358

seth · 2024-01-30 08:57:56

Unplugging it then plugging it back in doesn't fix it … I get this issue on any keyboard … on screen keyboards don't work … Unplugging it and plugging it back several times in while pressing the num lock key would eventually make it start working again.

The OP doesn't have a notebook and this doesn't seem to be S3 related
It would seem some older hardware or some bad HW is trashing the USB or there's a misconfiguration causing a race condition.

polm23 · 2024-01-30 13:35:35

While the OP in the linked post had a notebook, I have a desktop, but was able to fix a non-responsive keyboard by downgrading my kernel.

The linked post has nothing to with S3, I am not sure where that came from.

You are right that the OP seems to have some kind of other faulty hardware issue going on as well, but since I found this looking for a solution to my own problem, I thought it reasonable to mention my solution, given the recency of the thread.

seth · 2024-01-30 13:37:40

The linked post has nothing to with S3, I am not sure where that came from.

The OP of the linked thread wrote:

I found that my laptop's keyboard stopped working when close the lid and then open it again
the keyboard won't work after suspend

You might be facing an entirely different problem, open a new thread and post system journals for both kernels there.

Arch Linux

#1 2024-01-25 17:31:28

Keyboard not working after login but also sometimes not at all

#2 2024-01-25 21:48:55

Re: Keyboard not working after login but also sometimes not at all

#3 2024-01-30 02:37:05

Re: Keyboard not working after login but also sometimes not at all

#4 2024-01-30 08:57:56

Re: Keyboard not working after login but also sometimes not at all

#5 2024-01-30 13:35:35

Re: Keyboard not working after login but also sometimes not at all

#6 2024-01-30 13:37:40

Re: Keyboard not working after login but also sometimes not at all

Board footer