[SOLVED] Another Linux noob question -Keyboards

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chuffedas

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Hi all,
I am pretty keen to get Linux going.
(I was going with Cinnamon Mint)

I tried before and messed something right up.
I think (well, someone suggested that it might have been my cables not on properly)
Anyway, I fresh installed windows and went to start again.

I have a drive set aside for me to play with Linux. I went to boot from disk and my keyboard stopped working.

Looked into it. I have just picked up my first MK (Corsair Strafe).
Apparently that is a no go.
Anyway, I am thinking I might build my own keyboard from cheap spares if I can. (quite fancy a 60% or 68.

Is there a work around for this, or a list of keyboards and pcbs that you can use?
Or have I read the wrong posts?
 
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No problem, glad to help. I thought it apply to Windows 7 too, if it doesn't find a tutorial that does follow instructions closely.

Again because you're coming from a Windows background I'd suggest using Linux as a guest in a Virtual Machine on Windows for a while and afterwards start by installing a distro (of your choice) as a standalone OS.

Running a Windows guest inside a Linux depends on your system resources (hardware) such as number of CPU cores or the amount of RAM to let the virtual machine use. Many Linux distros (specially lighter ones) can run smoothly with 1GB RAM but for Windows you need at least 2-4GB from Windows 7 forwards.

Good luck anyway.
D

Deleted member 14196

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Hmmmmm. That keyboard should work with Linux I don’t get it. All keyboard should work just fine
 

Satan-IR

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Keyboards are kind of universal plug and play and I can't really think of a reason why it wouldn't work.

Not sure about building your keyboard from scratch and there are most probably some guides and howtos on the internet.

As for working with Linux; one safe way of starting to learn (I'm assuming that's what you want to do) is to install a distro inside a virtual machine on your Windows machine. That way if anything goes wrong you can always restore a snapshot (image) of the virtual machine or totally remove/delete it and start from scratch.

One of the software you can use is VirtualBox from Oracle and it's freeware.
 

chuffedas

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I thought, as I had a spare drive, it would be fun to give it its own drive.
Then I would gradually make that my main drive.
I managed to mess up my windows drive somehow even though I only booted from CD.

Anyway, I shall have another go then with this keyboard.
 

Satan-IR

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You probably destroyed the Windows boot files/records or maybe the Linux installed it's own bootstrapping thingy like GRUB and messed the Windows boot up.

That's why using a virtual machine is safe. It's somehow just like openning any software inside Windows. If anythign goes wrong your host OS (Windows here) is safe and if worse comes to worst you just delete the virtual machine (containing the guest OS) which is like a single file on the drive.
 

chuffedas

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OK.
I am surprised that it happened just booting from CD.

Anyway, before, I tried to boot from disk twice and each time i couldn't because I couldn't hit enter to choose the version.
So I had to abandon. I looked it up and other people had the same issue so that is why I started this thread.
I just tried again and it allowed me to select an option and have now booted from CD.

Excellent.

I plan on making Linux my main OS, so I want it on a drive at some point right?

So I thought I would start now.
I have unplugged my other drives to make sure I don't mess that right up :)
 

Satan-IR

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No just trying to boot a 'live session' from a CD/DVD should not mess other OSs on the drives. If you try to install on same drives and the Linux tries to put it's bootloader on the system drive (mainly C: by default) that would mess things up unless the distro is a decent one and the user knows what to do.

If you want to use a Linux distro as main OS (with full access to hardware and system resources) yes I guess you want it installed on a drive at some point.

For the time being you can as I suggested use a virtual machine to familiarize yourself with the OS environment, commands and differences between Windows and Linux in general and gain some experience (without for example having to install Windows again) and then install a distro on a drive and use it.
 

chuffedas

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Well, I had a bit of a play with it before when booted from CD.
All seems pretty straight forward. Just need to follow some basic instructions which are plentifully available online.
I would like to start using it where I can and downloading software.

It was suggested that the problems I had was from not having pushed the SATA cables in 100%

Actually, while I have this thread running, can I ask this?
It is asking me if I want to "force UEFI installation?"

It is saying that it might cause problems later with a different OS.

I understand that UEFI is a more recent type of firmware than BIOS, but after that I don't understand the implications.
I am also aware that this is to do with BIOS settings.
How do I decide whether to "continue in UEFI mode" please?
Or do I "go back"?

Thank you.
 

Satan-IR

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You can use UEFI if you want to boot Windows (which is what you want to do I think) or if you want to boot from a partition/drive with a size more than 2 TB.

Yes 'it' is right in saying it might cause problems with different OSs as UEFI brings a some disadvantages with it and no advantages in this case. I wouldn't use it if it's not absolutely necessary such as the drive you want to install the OSs on is larger than 2TB.

What is the Windows you have on the other drive? If it is either Windows 7,8 or 10 here is a tutorial as how to install.
 

chuffedas

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Ah, OK, brilliant, thanks.
That looks like a much more thorough guide than the one I found.
My other OS is Win 7.
That guide doesn't state Win 7. Is it sill relevant?
As I know there are some BIOS options that I have had to switch off for Win 7.

I don't have any drives bigger than 500GB and I dobt that I would get anything bigger than 1TB for quite a while.

My plan was to have Linux on one drive and use that as much as possible, but I understand that I am likely to come across some things that I might struggle with in the first instance and so would then reboot back to my windows drive when necessary.
(Probably make a VM for windows while in Linux once I understand what that is and if those are the right words.)

Thank you again for your help.
I am going in.
 

Satan-IR

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No problem, glad to help. I thought it apply to Windows 7 too, if it doesn't find a tutorial that does follow instructions closely.

Again because you're coming from a Windows background I'd suggest using Linux as a guest in a Virtual Machine on Windows for a while and afterwards start by installing a distro (of your choice) as a standalone OS.

Running a Windows guest inside a Linux depends on your system resources (hardware) such as number of CPU cores or the amount of RAM to let the virtual machine use. Many Linux distros (specially lighter ones) can run smoothly with 1GB RAM but for Windows you need at least 2-4GB from Windows 7 forwards.

Good luck anyway.
 
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chuffedas

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I appreciate your input.
I shall look further into the option of running Windows on a VM later.
Although sounds like it might be a goer. I have four cores and 8GB RAM (Although I wouldn't mind an excuse to upgrade to some more RAM)

I feel like I am skipping over the virtual machine advice.
I don't mean to ignore your advice.
Can I just check that my understanding is correct?
The advantage of using a Virtual Machine is really to get the hang of using it before deciding whether you want to load it on permanently.
My thinking is that by having it on a separate drive, I am doing the same thing.
I can use it permanently until I come across something I can't do and then Reboot to Windows for whatever that thing might be.
Am I missing something?


I still seem to be having trouble.
The install froze at the same point for over an hour.
I decided that it shouldn't have done that and also my keyboard stopped working.

So I went to reboot again from disc and again the keyboard did not function right at the start so I couldn't even choose the version and carry on.
I rebooted again and the keyboard is functioning again this time.

Intermittent issues generally mean something is wrong somewhere?
 

chuffedas

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Short version.
It worked.

It took four attempts to install though.


It appeared to be every other time I tried to boot from disk it froze my keyboard.
But reboot again and the keyboard was fine.
It booted from the CD fine and all seemed well. I could use Linux fine.
But when I tried to install, the whole thing froze after a little while. The install and the keyboard would stop. Mouse still moved but the spinning icon stopped spinning. I read that hitting alt and a function key would show something up if it hasn't frozen.
I reboot, keyboard doesn't work, reboot, keyboard works until the installation freezes.
This happened three times. In different places.

I was wondering if I was doing something wrong, then the fourth time, everything just ran smoothly, I did nothing different.

Phew.
 

chuffedas

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It is Interesting.
When I boot to windows, then boot back to Linux, my Keyboard doesn't work.
But it is fine if I just reboot Linux to Linux.
I wasn't booting to windows before. In fact I had unplugged the windows drive.

Well, it works, so all is well.

It is all pretty straight forward all of this Linux malarky so far.
I am impressed.
I love the terminal. I expected it to be more daunting, but it is great. Just follow directions. Brilliant.

Somehow it even makes my music sound better.
(Yes, I know, probably my imagination)
But I am really enjoying it.
 

chuffedas

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Well, it isn't without its teething troubles is it?
So, Mint kept freezing.
So, that might be why I had trouble with the intial install.
At one point I thought it might just be a visual thing, but it wasn't.
Well it might have been sometimes as, one time it froze, a youtube audio kept running.
But last night it froze and i had something running so I left it to see and it wasn't just a visual, the whole thing had crashed.

So, I changed the gpu driver. That seems to have at least eased that one for now.

The keyboard thing, is not right still.
I will need to look into that.

I think there were two separate issues, the keyboard and the gpu driver.
Sopmetimes it would freeze which obviously stopped the keyboard working.
However, if I try and change the backlighting level on the keyboard, the keybooard stops working entirely.

Nice to get it narrowed down.

Luckily I don't like backlighting anyway.
It seems to have settled into only crashing when I touch that.
(I haven't dared download the corsair software as that was causing me some problems in windows as well. I didn't put any effort into looking at that as only just got the KB.)
 

Satan-IR

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I wanted to mention this earlier but since you managed to install I decided not to. Having problems during installation of an OS, like freezing/hanging at different stages while as you said "doing the same thing every time" and random freezes during OS operation could mean a problem with RAM or the storage drive.

Have you ever tested your RAM module/s with memtest? There are plenty of tutorial on the internet as how to do that.

Also run something like CrustalDiskInfo or HD Sentinel and check the drive SMART/health status.
 

chuffedas

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OK, thanks.
The driver thing seems to have sorted out the freezing during operation. I am wondering if that was what was freezing during install.

The keyboard thing does appear to be a bit of an issue having done a few searches. That is on the list.

I have had no issues before with the drives or the RAM.
I have had them for about four years although they were second hand.

The HDD is Western Digital and I did a test on that from the manufacturer when I wiped it and reformatted it. All cam up good.

I don't think that I have done a test on the RAM, like Memtest actually though, so I shall look into that as well, thank you again.
 

chuffedas

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I did the memtest. All was well.
Thanks for that though, always worth doing.

The crashing hasn't happened since i did the gpu driver. Which is nice.

Just need to have a think about the keyboard now, but that can wait.
I don't like backlit KBs anyway.
 

chuffedas

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Is this something I can ask here as well?
I don't know if this is more a specific Linux forum type question?
Or should I ask it in a fresh thread in TH? Titled Linux HP printer or something.
Would help someone find the solution if searching maybe?
Anyway, I am trying to download Linux software for my HP Officejet 4630 and there is a solution:

[URL]https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing/gethplip


But it keeps coming up with the above problem.
I think I have kind of sussed it.
I think that it is meant to open automatically, but someone says you need to run it from terminal:
https://answers.launchpad.net/hplip/+question/664498

Am I doing something blindingly obvious wrong please?
Not used the terminal a lot. Looks like I need to do a bit of basic learning somewhere.
(I was going to insert a screenshot of what I have on my terminal. It has a load of numbers after my name. Is that something I should blank out before I put online or doesn't it matter? (I tried blanking but all I a can do so far with screenshots is upload to flickr and once I have edited it on the thing I found to edit it, it saves it in a format that flickr doesn't recognise it seems.))


Actually, also, when I get that message above, that 'editor' (?) freezes. Can't cancel or anything.

But I suspect I am just getting something wrong in how I have written in the terminal.
I changed directory to downloads it says
my name etc:~/Downloads$ sh hplip-3.19.3.run
I hit enter and it says:
sh: 0: can't open hplip~3.19.3.run

Edit: ooops, sorry, I don't know how I made that text red.
 

Satan-IR

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Glad you did memtest and the RAM is OK.

Yes, it might be better to ask on forums that specifically focus on the Linux distro you are using.

Or you can start a new thread on TH Open Source forum and ask there. From my experience, people can help more if the question is asked in a manner that is a bit more summarized, chronological and to-the-point.
 

chuffedas

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Glad you did memtest and the RAM is OK.

Yes, it might be better to ask on forums that specifically focus on the Linux distro you are using.

Or you can start a new thread on TH Open Source forum and ask there. From my experience, people can help more if the question is asked in a manner that is a bit more summarized, chronological and to-the-point.
Thanks for your help. That's what I thought. this question now has nothing to do with the title and has run on a bit.
Trouble is, I started a new thread before when I thought it was a different subject and got told off. So I don't really get when to do that.

All about working out the forum etiquette.

and
Why are you going outside your distribution's package manager? That's a guaranteed way to cause problems. Linux is not Windows, do not treat it as such.
Oh, ok.
Didn't know that is what I was meant to do.
Thanks.
What does that mean?
I looked up how to print from my printer and the manufacturer has a linux software.
Is that me treating like windows?

I was just trying to work it out myself without pestering people.

What is the correct way to go about it please?
Are you saying that I already have the correct driver?
 

chuffedas

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Ah, it is OK, from your comment, I found out I was doing it wrong so went and had a look for another way of doing it.
I clearly just found the wrong advice.

Found a different bit of advice and have my printer up and running thank you.
(Much easier than the info I first found)
 
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