From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Message-Id: <72FBB78F-2411-49C7-B425-0A2C790D5A95@cs.utwente.nl> From: Axel Belinfante To: Fans of the OS Plan 9 from Bell Labs <9fans@9fans.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v936) Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 23:59:15 +0200 Subject: [9fans] old hardware, new install: adding uartisa to pcf solves ps2 keyboard issue Topicbox-Message-UUID: 0cc423ea-ead7-11e9-9d60-3106f5b1d025 Summary: at new installation from live cd on old hardware, with pcf kernel the keyboard did not work until I added a line uartisa to the pcf kernel config and compiled a new kernel. Context: while installing plan 9 using live cd(*) on ancient hardware(**) I noticed the following: 1) with the 9pccd kernel on the live cd the ps2 keyboard works as expected (and when the kernel is starting, at some points the numlock light - the only light on on the keyboard - is switched off) 2) after installation from the live cd, when the 9pcf kernel prompts 'root is from' (the first prompt it gives) typing on the ps2 keyboard has no effect. also: numlock light remains on while the kernel starts unplugging and replugging the keyboard at that moment makes it change the lights (first: all on, then all off) and I can type again The only significant difference seems to be in the kernel config files: pccd does contain a line uartisa and pcf does not building a new kernel with a line uartisa added to (a copy of) the pcf file(**) gave me a kernel where the ps2 keyboard also worked without problems, just like the 9pccd kernel of the live cd. Searching the archive I found some posts of 2010 with subject 'kbd fail', where a call to a setleds() function is mentioned - reading that made me wonder whether my experience is related. Axel. *) obtained from the bell labs site, of 2011-08-06 I also tried 9front live cd, but it didn't work, (error) messages I recall: - somehow it thinks it could only use very little memory has 8Mb (?) - several programs crashed using a rc boot script(?) - panic after a while **) amd-k6- 333Mhz, GA-586SGM motherboard, 64Mb memory this hardware used to run plan 9 until a few years ago when I found that a disk in my kenfs had crashed. I postponed fixing, a long time. luckily my kenfs had mirrored worm disks, one of which seems to be o.k.. also the disk that holds the cache seems ok. **) also the string bootpcf.out was updated, to reflect name of copy