Arch Linux

thorjelly

Member

Registered: 2009-02-15

Posts: 52

Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

I don't know if this is an xorg bug, a virtualbox bug, or a kde bug or what. It happens exclusively when I run VirtualBox, but it persists even after I exit VirtualBox until I log off and back on. I am using an up-to-date Arch 64 and kdemod (4.2.x) from the repositories. I am using the Sun proprietary version of VirtualBox 2.1.4 running a WinXP guest with guest additions installed.

When I use VirtualBox for any extended period of time, this bug will randomly happen: my keyboard will suddenly stop responding unless I hold a key down for 1 or 2 seconds. So if I wanted to type a word, I'd have to press and hold the first letter for a couple seconds, then the next for a couple seconds, etc. At first I thought my keyboard would completely freeze. By chance discovered I needed to actually hold down the keys (which isn't much better; taking five full seconds to type 'the' is no fun). There is no telling when this will start to happen while using VirtualBox, but it will persist after VirtualBox closes, leading me to believe it is an xorg/kde issue.

This is my xorg.conf, for your viewing pleasure:

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Xorg Configured"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "PS/2 Mouse" "CorePointer"
# Serial Mouse not detected
# USB Mouse not detected
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
    #Option "AllowMouseOpenFail"  "true"
    #Option "AutoAddDevices" "False"
    
EndSection

Section "Files"
    ModulePath   "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/misc:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/PEX"
# Additional fonts: Locale, Gimp, TTF...
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/cyrillic"
#    FontPath     "/usr/share/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/75dpi"
#    FontPath     "/usr/share/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/100dpi"
# True type and type1 fonts are also handled via xftlib, see /etc/X11/XftConfig!
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/ttf/western"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/ttf/decoratives"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/truetype"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/openoffice"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf-bitstream-vera"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/latex-ttf-fonts"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/defoma/CID"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/defoma/TrueType"
EndSection

Section "Module"
        Load  "ddc"  # ddc probing of monitor
    Load  "dbe"
    Load  "dri"
    Load  "extmod"
    Load  "glx"
        Load  "bitmap" # bitmap-fonts
    Load  "type1"
    Load  "freetype"
    Load  "record"
    #   Load  "synaptics"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Keyboard0"
    Driver      "kbd"
        Option      "CoreKeyboard"
    Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
    Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
    Option "XkbLayout" "us"
    #Option "XkbVariant" ""
    Option "XkbOptions" "compose:ralt"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Serial Mouse"
    Driver      "mouse"
    Option      "Protocol" "Microsoft"
    Option      "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
    Option      "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
    Option      "Emulate3Timeout" "70"
    Option        "SendCoreEvents"  "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "PS/2 Mouse"
    Driver      "mouse"
    Option      "Protocol" "auto"
    Option          "ZAxisMapping"          "4 5"
    Option      "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option      "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
    Option      "Emulate3Timeout" "70"
    Option        "SendCoreEvents"  "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "USB Mouse"
        Driver          "mouse"
        Option          "Device"                "/dev/input/mice"
    Option        "SendCoreEvents"    "true"
        Option          "Protocol"              "IMPS/2"
        Option          "ZAxisMapping"          "4 5"
        Option          "Buttons"               "5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    HorizSync       28.0 - 33.0
    VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    Option         "NoLogo"  "true"
    Option         "Coolbits" "1"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option         "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

Thank you! I hope this gets resolved soon. I will also make a similar post on the VirtualBox forums.

Last edited by thorjelly (2009-04-09 14:28:56)

stevesutt89

Member

From: Newcastle Australia

Registered: 2007-10-30

Posts: 46

Website

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

I think i may be experienceing a similar problem.  For me, both my keyboard and mouse lock up after kde has auto-logged in.  I'll keep investigating and post my findings here if i have any....

Here's my xorg.conf if its needed...

# nvidia-settings: X configuration file generated by nvidia-settings
# nvidia-settings:  version 1.0  (buildmeister@builder62)  Tue Jan  6 09:44:34 PST 2009


Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load           "dbe"
    Load           "extmod"
    Load           "type1"
    Load           "freetype"
    Load           "glx"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option         "Xinerama" "0"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "DELL 1900FP"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 80.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 76.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor1"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Gateway VX700"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 86.0
    VertRefresh     50.0 - 130.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce 9600 GT"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce 9600 GT"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen          1
EndSection

Section "Screen"

# Removed Option "TwinView" "0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT-0: 1280x960 +0+0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT-0: 1280x960 +0+0, CRT-1: 1280x960_85 +1280+0; CRT-0: 1280x960 +0+0, CRT-1: 1280x960 +1280+0; CRT-0: 1280x960_85 +0+0, CRT-1: 1280x960_85 +1280+0"
# Removed Option "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" "CRT-0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT-0: 1440x900 +0+0, CRT-1: 1280x960_85 +1440+0; CRT-0: 1280x960 +0+0, CRT-1: 1280x960 +1280+0; CRT-0: NULL, CRT-1: 1280x960_85 +0+0"
# Removed Option "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" "CRT-1"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT-0: 1280x960 +1440+0, CRT-1: 1440x900 +0+0; CRT-0: 1280x960 +0+0, CRT-1: 1280x960 +1280+0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT: 1440x900 +0+0, DFP: 1280x1024 +1440+0; CRT: 1280x960 +0+0, DFP: nvidia-auto-select +1280+0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT: 1680x1050 +0+0, DFP: 1280x1024 +1680+0; CRT: 1280x960 +0+0, DFP: nvidia-auto-select +1280+0"
# Removed Option "TwinView" "1"
# Removed Option "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" "CRT-0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT: 1680x1050 +0+0, DFP: 1280x1024 +1680+0; CRT: NULL, DFP: 1280x1024 +0+0; CRT: NULL, DFP: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "TwinView" "0"
    Option         "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" "DFP-0"
    Option         "metamodes" "DFP: 1280x1024 +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen1"
    Device         "Device1"
    Monitor        "Monitor1"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "TwinView" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "CRT-1: 1280x960 +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Last edited by stevesutt89 (2009-04-10 08:43:05)

weseven

Member

Registered: 2007-07-16

Posts: 34

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

confirmed, except i use e16 and i have similar problems only in virtualbox.
sometimes they start after a couple of minutes, other times as soon as expected.
i'm downgrading virtualbox_bin to see if the problem is related only to the version of vb (never had problems with older versions).

vor_lord

Member

From: Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Registered: 2004-06-10

Posts: 52

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

Could this be relevant (from the Archwiki on VirtualBox) http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Vir … _the_guest :

If Xorg freezes mouse and keyboard you will have to disable the new hot plugging feature of Xorg 1.5 by adding in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Section "ServerLayout"
       . . .
       Option "AutoAddDevices" "False"
       . . .
EndSection

I notice you have commented out the AutoAddDevices "False" line.

Last edited by vor_lord (2009-04-10 16:57:18)

weseven

Member

Registered: 2007-07-16

Posts: 34

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

I had already disabled the new hotplugging, so i don't think it's his fault.
and older version of virtualbox all worked well without any problems.

thorjelly

Member

Registered: 2009-02-15

Posts: 52

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

No, I tried that, made no difference.

Updating to xorg 1.6.0 and virtualbox 2.2.0 to see if that fixes the problem.

thorjelly

Member

Registered: 2009-02-15

Posts: 52

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

Amazing. I turned on Slow Keys in kde4 and it, indeed, has -exactly- the same delay and everything as the bug that is occurring with KDE and VirtualBox (Slow Keys might actually be quicker, but I'd have to replicate the bug again to know). Anyway, I haven't had much of a chance to test VirtualBox 2.2.0 in KDE but I should tomorrow. If it shows up again, I'll check to see if Slow Keys has mysteriously been enabled. Meanwhile, I had installed xfce4 and had started to use that in conjunction with VirtualBox, and indeed I had not noticed the bug show its face, although I had not used it for extended amounts of time yet.

Last edited by thorjelly (2009-04-13 04:14:21)

Bestiapeluda

Member

From: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Registered: 2007-10-16

Posts: 181

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

Well, I dont have KDE. I suse XFCE and I have the exact same problem when I use Virtualbox.

weseven

Member

Registered: 2007-07-16

Posts: 34

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

sigh, as stated before, it's not a kde "bug" (slow keys actually are a feature >.<).
it's a virtualbox bug, maybe it has something to do with the X server, but it's only virtualbox.
i noticed that lower resolutions make the bug appear slightly later, but still there it is (my way of "testing" is with worms armageddon, here the bug appears very easily in every game).
downgraded to vbox 2.1.4 (i had the backups of xml config files) and all is fine, so it's not qt/kde/xorg, it's virtualbox and not anyone else.

Last edited by weseven (2009-04-15 13:00:12)

thorjelly

Member

Registered: 2009-02-15

Posts: 52

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

Actually, it now seems to be happening to me without running virtualbox at all (though much less frequently). Going into system settings > accessibility and turning Sticky Keys on and then back off again fixes the problem when it occurs.

And if virtualbox were simply triggering a KDE bug as is probably the case (otherwise, there is no reason for the bug to still occur after virtualbox is shut down while the sticky keys 'feature' is still being reported as turned off, is there?), then yes, that is still a bug in KDE.

Last edited by thorjelly (2009-04-20 22:50:57)

aviynw

Member

Registered: 2009-04-01

Posts: 26

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

Yeah.  Same thing happened to me.  First I got the aforementioned bug randomly in virtualbox, then when I restarted my computer a similar thing happened when I logged in to kde.  In kde keys would register but only after holding them down for a long time.  Turns out slow keys got enabled.  To disable it in KDE simply press shift 5 times (remember it takes a while for your shift keypress to be recognized).  I'm sure there is a command that does this as well.  It's a really weird bug.  I don't see why similar behavior in a vm should be connected to this.  Maybe it's just a weird coincidence and two separate virtualbox bugs?

insanum

Member

Registered: 2007-01-15

Posts: 26

Website

Re: Bizarre virtualbox/xorg/kde keyboard bug!

I think this is an xorg bug.  I'm using Arch as a VmWare guest and with the latest xorg packages I have all kinds of key typing problems (i.e. keys are skipped, out of order, sometime duplicated, etc).  It's unusable.  And I'm not using KDE... instead I'm using DWM.  If I rollback xorg to the previous packages all is good.