Module Issues with Keyboard/Network

[streak]

I've been struggling with my Gentoo install. I know the drivers for all my equipment exist because I run Slackware fine on both my desktop and netbook, however I am not sure what is wrong with the Gentoo installations.

On my desktop I can boot into Gentoo but when it gets into the login screen my keyboard is unresponsive. The screen cursor still flashes but it is obvious it doesn't detect the keyboard because it not only won't type to console but also the Caps Lock and other Locks don't do anything. I've tried a custom install with all drivers that I could think of being built in. Finally I gave up and used the generic 'genkernel all' and still the same issue.

On my netbook everything boots up and I can use my system but I cannot get networking to work. I have wicd and every wireless card I could think of is built into the kernel and I even got interfaces up (except wlan0 which is missing even though Slack sees it and uses it fine). Don't know what to do here.

Obviously, you'll probably need some console output so tell me what is needed. I have a hard time with screenshots or console output because I can only use the internet from my Slackware system.

Thanks a ton, this has been so time consuming.

[vaxbrat]

See if you have xf86-input-evdev emerged

[streak]

Okay, I'm emerging it, I'll get back to you as soon as it's done and I test it. Thank you

EDIT: And oh, as far as emerging on the netbook, I can't. Even when I chroot in I still have no networking ability (outside the chroot I do)...

[Hu]

Using chroot has no effect on the availability of the network. However, if your resolv.conf inside the chroot is missing or wrong, you will not have name service while in the chroot.

For the desktop problem, is it unresponsive in console mode, X11 mode, or both?

[streak]

Hu: For the desktop I'm currently only working in the console. Do you recommend somehow launching X11 before the login prompt, how would I do that?

EDIT: Thank you Hu. I got the chroot internet to work. I edited resolv.conf to the right settings. Internet in the non-chroot environment is still a no-go.

vaxbrat: I emerged it but it didn't fix it, unfortunately.

[vaxbrat]

So it doesn't work in the initial console either huh? The evdev module would have been a fix for the X desktop only assuming keyboard was already being seen. Assuming this is a usb keyboard it's possible that you had it initially in boot mode but your usb ports didn't get plumbed up with modules properly after bootup. See if you can pull it out of one port and plug it into another (preferably on another hub) to get it working. If the desktop still has a ps2 style port on it, you might try putting a keyboard on that before boot. That one should be just about guaranteed to stick around for normal operations. Then you can start looking to see whether you are getting the right usb drivers loaded (ohci, ehci, xhci or whatever)

[streak]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I tried two usb keyboards on two different ports, one in the front of the desktop and one on the back. I don't have a ps2 keyboard lying around. I can use the keyboard before I boot into Gentoo, from both LILO and Grub if that helps. When I compiled the kernel with 'genkernel all' I think it should've installed basically every module. I also manually configured the kernel with all modules I could think of that might be useful built in with the same problem.

EDIT: Do you think there's a grub option I am missing here? It boots but with the keyboard issue. I have:
title Gentoo Linux 3.8.13
root (hd0,11)
kernel /boot/kernel-genkernel-x86_64-3.8.13-gentoo root=/dev/sda12 rw vga=normal

[Hu]

We need to get your console working before we examine X11. There are certain well known ways to have X11 not handle your keyboard, so we needed to determine whether you had hit one of those or if you have a more fundamental problem. Since the keyboard does not work in console, we have a more fundamental problem. As vaxbrat suggested, it sounds like you have a configuration where your USB devices are not recognized. Please pastebin a comment-stripped form of your kernel configuration and the output of lsmod ; lsusb as run when the console ignores your keyboard. If you have a USB mouse that emits a light to track its position, please connect that and check whether the light appears. That will indicate whether the USB port is powered.

Since the keyboard works while using GRUB, I do not think it is a GRUB issue. That also confirms that your hardware is functional.

[vaxbrat]

If you have network set up and can ssh into the box, at least you can do some probing that way

[streak]

I figured out that it is the Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd device, and that both my keyboards are from that manufacturer. I see that the Chicony USB devices are enabled as a module.

[Hu]

Your lsmod output confirms that usbhid is loaded, so you did not enable HIDBP. This is good. You say you tried loading it as a module. I recommend against that. For the freeze problem, please provide more information. We cannot tell what is wrong from the limited description so far.

[streak]

I think the reason why it appears in lsmod is because I am using my Slackware system to run lsmod... I can't use the keyboard or boot up gentoo so I have to run these commands/probes from Slackware...

The kernel never used to hang. I've tried with both the modules file edited and not edited and under the current, old, and new gentoo kernels. The current and new were both compiled with 'genkernel all' and both hang at

[streak]

One thing I notice is that my Slackware installation has a much fuller /lib/udev listing. I don't know if gentoo's is by design supposed to be simpler.

Slackware:

[Hu]

[streak]

I am unsure how to SSH into Gentoo if networking isn't up yet. It sounds complicated, like somehow during boot forcing the machine to start up networking, log-in to the network, and enable ssh. I've never done it before. Do you have a pointer as to how I'd start? Is there an article that you remember explaining the process? Thanks a lot.

[Hu]

Once you get your kernel configured so that it does not panic on boot, Gentoo should bring up the network automatically. You can optionally configure the init system to start sshd by default, using rc-update add. I suggest we focus on getting a bootable kernel before dealing with the lack of keyboard support.