Ubuntu
xserver-xorg-input-keyboard package

The Keyboard has intermittent problems

Asked by Gareth Humphreys

Recently I installed Ubuntu 12.04 on my laptop. Up until a couple of days ago it was working perfectly. I then started to have difficulty inputting letters from the keyboard at the login screen. This proved to be a minor problem as I could login by switching user. In the last couple of days the issues with the keyboard seem to be getting worse and worse. The brightness of the screen suddenly alters for no apparent reason. A random character such as "/" will start to input repeatedly, as if someone is holding down the key, without any apparent cause. Sometimes the keyboard does not work at all. I have tried booting in recovery mode, and the keyboard does not seem to have any problem, but I do not know any linux commands. An external keyboard also seems to work also. What is going wrong and how can I fix it?

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

What make and model laptop and why is this critical piece of information not in your initial question?

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Gareth Humphreys (humphreys-g) said : 		#2

It is a Dell Inspiron 5030, and why do I feel like I'm being told off?

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#3

If you run:

lsb_release -a; lsmod

What is output please?

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Gareth Humphreys (humphreys-g) said : 		#4

c, snd_hwdep , snd_pcm , snd_rawmidi , snd_seq , snd_timer , snd_seq , snd_timer , snd_seq_device
soundcore 14635 1 snd
dell_laptop 13671 0
ath 19387 3 ath9k , ath9k_common , ath9k_hw
i915 414672 0
cfg80211 178679 3 ath9k , mac80211 , ath
snd_page_alloc 14108 2 snd_hda_intel , snd_pcm
drm_kms_helper 45466 1 i915
drm 197692 2 i915 , drm_kms_helper
uvcvideo 67203 0
videodev 13199 1 uvcvideo
i2c_algo_bit 13199 1 i915
video 19068 1 i915
dcdbas 14098 1 dell_laptop
mac_hid 13077 0
psmouse 72919 0
dell_wmi 12601 0
sparse_keymap 13658 1 dell_wmi
serio_raw 13027 0
wmi 18744 1 dell_wmi
atl1c 36718 0
ums_realtek 17920 0
uas 17828 0
usb_storage 39646 1 ums_realtek

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

And the output of:

lsb_release -a; uname -a

Thanks

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Gareth Humphreys (humphreys-g) said : 		#6

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Release: 12.04
Codename: precise
Linux gareth-Inspiron-N5030 3.2.0-24-generic-pae #39-Ubuntu SMP Mon May 21 18:54:21 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#7

Try the boot option:

i8024.reset

Can help in some cases. I'll see if I can find anything

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Gareth Humphreys (humphreys-g) said : 		#8

Is this a command line?

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#9

It's a boot option. If you run:

gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub

find this line:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash quiet"

Change it to:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash quiet i8024.reset"

Save the new file and run:

sudo update-grub

Reboot to test. HTH

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Gareth Humphreys (humphreys-g) said : 		#10

When I input gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub I get the following output:

(gksudo:799): gtk-WARNING **: cannot open display

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#11

ok use:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Same deal :)

To save and exit press CTRL+X, Press Y, Press ENTER

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Gareth Humphreys (humphreys-g) said : 		#12

OK, I have the this message [Error writing /etc/default/grub: Read-only file system ]

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#13

I suggest you boot to liveCD and fsck the file system.

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