# Laptop keyboard not working after reboot

## Cero

Hello, i was installing Gnome-Shell, i had a problem with compiling a package so i tried to reboot, but the problem is that, then, the keyboard is no more working: it simply does not write. I'm stuck at the terminal asking me to login...

Do you know how to help me?

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## eccerr0r

Text mode or graphical mode login?

My guess is graphical mode login.  Login via text mode (ctrl-alt-f1 if you can) else try booting in singleuser mode.  

Usually this is because the X11 drivers were recompiled but the keyboard drivers were not, try re-emerging xf86-input-keyboard and xf86-input-mouse or xf86-input-evdev if you're using that.  Usually mouse also doesn't work at the same time...

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## Cero

No, textual mode (in the console)...

That's not a X problem because i was installing Gnome Shell and before i installed X and it worked, both keyboard and touchpad.

I've tried with another installation from stage3 and still same problem, so i suppose that's a kernel related problem, but i'm still not sure because if it was so, i should have faced it from the first time i booted from that kernel, and isn't so.

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## pigeon768

please post output from: 

```
grep EE /var/log/X*
```

 9 times out of 10 this problem is caused by an ABI mismatch. It happens when you upgrade xorg-server but don't reinstall the X drivers. You'll see lots of stuff about mismatches and version numbers and server versions or something.

If this is the case, remerge all your xf86-* stuff with 'emerge @x11-module-rebuild' with >portage-2.2 or 'emerge $(qlist -IC x11-drivers/xf86*)' with portage <portage-2.2

If not, it's still helpful to see the output. If it seems that I'm not understanding your problem, please post exactly what you've done and exactly what you're seeing. Be descriptive.

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## eccerr0r

What really confuses me is that installing Gnome does not touch the kernel.  And the assumption is that it was working before you tried to install Gnome shell.

So, what *did* you update?  Why was the kernel working before and now not, despite not changing kernels?

Installing Gnome shell likely will touch X11 as dependencies...  If you're sure that X11 did not get updated during the merge of Gnome shell, then really have no idea what's going on here.  If it did get touched, then the ABI issue is likely the problem and merging the xf86-input-* drivers should solve the problem.

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## Cero

I'm not sure that the installation was the problem: i've tried now with a clean install, and same problem, even before installing X.

At the end of the handbook, after a reboot, i found myself unable to login  :Sad: 

However the kernel was working before so i don't know if it's the problem.

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## kettuz

I have this same problem with an old Fujitsu Amilo. One day I'm running updates, next day I reboot and the keyboard doesn't work either in or outside of X. And I didn't do anything to kernel, just upgraded to OpenRC. The funny thing is, the touchpad works. And if I plug in usb keyboard, that works just fine also. The keyboard in the laptop isn't broken, because it works while in grub. But after the kernel boots, even Numlock doesn't light a led.

Any ideas?

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## kettuz

Okay, found the culprit in my case. Mouseemu doesn't seem to work anymore. Stopping the daemon solved the problem for me.

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