[bug #50232] No input on usb keyboard after terminal_input at_keyboard command

[sean]

URL:
  <http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?50232>

                 Summary: No input on usb keyboard after terminal_input
at_keyboard command
                 Project: GNU GRUB
            Submitted by: alpharoot
            Submitted on: Mon 06 Feb 2017 01:14:26 AM GMT
                Category: Booting
                Severity: Major
                Priority: 5 - Normal
              Item Group: None
                  Status: None
                 Privacy: Public
             Assigned to: None
         Originator Name: alpharoot
        Originator Email: 
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
                 Release: 
                 Release: other
         Reproducibility: Every Time
         Planned Release: None

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Details:

I'm using Gentoo on my desktop with the latest grub-2.02_beta3-r1. I'm trying
to set my grub (EFI) up to use a non qwerty layout so I can more easily type
in grub (and specifically use grub encryption and type in a long passphrase).
The steps to do so seem pretty straight forward :

`ckbcomp dvorak | grub2-mklayout -o /boot/grub/dvorak.gkb`
(no problem, keymap file is good)

either append to the end of grub.cfg, use one of the grub.d files (or
/etc/default/grub GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT variable) to make the following changes,
or just type in the commands manually when booted in grub, either way the
results are always the same :
`terminal_input at_keyboard`
(grub wont allow any input from the usb keyboard anymore - although
ctrl+alt+del still works)

I tried 3 different USB keyboards, across usb 2, 3, 3.1 ports on 3 different
motherboards (with different chipsets), all produced the same issue. I tried
to reproduce the issue on my laptop then - and it didn't exist! So on my
laptop I was able to use the built-in keyboard and do :
`terminal_input at_keyboard`
(didn't stop responding this time)
`insmod keylayouts`
`keymap /boot/grub/dvorak.gkb`

and it properly loaded my dvorak keymap. What was interesting though when I
plugged a USB keyboard into my laptop, it would still stop responding to input
on the usb keyboard, after issuing the `terminal_input at_keyboard` command.
However, when the usb keyboard was in a "frozen" state, the on-board laptop
keyboard was still functional.

I tried going through the BIOS on each of these systems and tried every
combination of USB keyboard settings (EHCI Handoff etc), and it didn't help. I
tried various combinations of before/after `terminal_input at_keyboard`
issuing insmod ehci/uhci/ohci and it still didn't help.

If I issue this command instead on my laptop with USB keyboard plugged in:
`terminal_input at_keyboard console`

that keeps both the on-board keyboard and usb keyboard active input wise. So
if I then try :
`insmod keylayouts`
`keymap /boot/grub/dvorak.gkb`

it only changes the keylmap of the on-board keyboard and the USB one remains
default/qwerty.

I also tried to replicate this in VMware and I couldn't. 

This bug reported to debian a few years ago seems like it may be the same
issue : 
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=741464

In there Marco said he had success with this command :
`terminal_input at_keyboard ; outb 0x64 0x60 ; outb 0x60 0x64`

However, it did not change the behaviour for me on my laptop.

I noticed Andrei's comment in a similar (but much different) bug :
https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?func=detailitem&item_id=46135

Saying : "It could also be hardware related. at_keyboard competes with BIOS
for input characters and may leave system in strange state." I'm not sure what
exactly that implies and if it's resolvable somehow. 

I'm not really sure where else to go from here. This has to be a specific bug
that only effects some people, since a lot of the world doesn't use QWERTY I
have to imagine this isn't a problem for them, or there's another way to go
about changing the keymap in grub that I couldn't find.




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