Acer USB keyboard not working

SanmayJoshi · 08-27-2019, 10:22 AM

Problem:

I have an Acer USB keyboard. It works in grub menu, but not when the OS has booted. It used to work on Windows 7.

Additional info:

1. The USB keyboard is recognized. Here is output of `lsusb` before connecting it:

Code:

    joshi@joshi-Lenovo-Z50-70:~$ lsusb
    Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. 
    Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
    Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
    Bus 002 Device 005: ID 0bda:b728 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 
    Bus 002 Device 004: ID 5986:055e Acer, Inc 
    Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0bda:0129 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5129 Card Reader Controller
    Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0461:4e54 Primax Electronics, Ltd 
    Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Output of `lsusb` after connecting it:

Code:

    joshi@joshi-Lenovo-Z50-70:~$ lsusb
    Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. 
    Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
    Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
    Bus 002 Device 005: ID 0bda:b728 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 
    Bus 002 Device 004: ID 5986:055e Acer, Inc 
    Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0bda:0129 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5129 Card Reader Controller
    Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0461:4e54 Primax Electronics, Ltd 
    Bus 002 Device 006: ID 04a5:0001 Acer Peripherals Inc. (now BenQ Corp.) Keyboard
    Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

See `Bus 002 Device 006`.

2. I have tried Pop! OS, KDE Neon, and Kubuntu with same result. I am on Kubuntu 19.04, backports PPA enabled.

3. Model no.: E511-PU | Extension no.: 41 | Serial no.: 99P108

Help is highly appreciated!

ondoho · 08-27-2019, 01:02 PM

Does the keyboard work at all?

"Acer Peripherals Inc. (now BenQ Corp.) Keyboard" sounds kindof old.

beachboy2 · 08-27-2019, 01:54 PM

SanmayJoshi,

Welcome to LQ.

Borrow a functioning USB keyboard, open Terminal (hold down Ctrl+ Alt + T) and type the following command:

Code:

sudo apt install --reinstall xserver-xorg-input-all

Press the Enter key.

Type your password and press Enter.

Wait for the process to finish.

Then try your Acer keyboard.

If there is no change you may then need to open Terminal and repeat the process using this command:

Code:

sudo apt --purge autoremove xserver-xorg-input-all && sudo apt install xserver-xorg-input-all

Please type very carefully.

An alternative to using a different keyboard is to boot from your Ubuntu live DVD and select Try Ubuntu.

The live DVD username is ubuntu.

The password is left blank (i.e. zero, nothing, totally empty).

Just press Enter. Do not type anything for the password.

Then open a Terminal using Ctrl+ Alt + T and proceed as above.

SanmayJoshi · 08-28-2019, 06:31 AM

@ondoho Yes, the keyboard is fully functional; it is just not working on current system.

@beachboy2 I had in fact tried

Code:

sudo apt install --reinstall xserver-xorg-input-all

I will give

Code:

sudo apt --purge autoremove xserver-xorg-input-all && sudo apt install xserver-xorg-input-all

a try and let you know here. Also, I am using Lenovo Z50 laptop, so I have a functional keyboard, hence can type commands. It has been my habit to use the USB keyboard, and I would really really appreciate if it works again.

I think it might very likely be a BIOS problem, I checked the USB keyboard some time ago in friend's netbook (Acer EeePC 1015CX), which has Lubuntu 18.04 LTS 32bit, and it worked quite fine. Any ideas?

beachboy2 · 08-28-2019, 07:25 AM

It would be a good idea to check the BIOS settings and make sure that USB keyboard is enabled.

NB If it is anything like installing a new network card in a Gigabyte motherboard, it is necessary to first disable the existing onboard card otherwise the new card will not be recognised.
You may well need to first disable the existing default keyboard and then enable the new one.

SanmayJoshi · 08-28-2019, 10:18 AM

Code:

sudo apt --purge autoremove xserver-xorg-input-all && sudo apt install xserver-xorg-input-all

didn't do the trick.

Will try to tweak BIOS.

SanmayJoshi · 09-01-2019, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SanmayJoshi

Code:

sudo apt --purge autoremove xserver-xorg-input-all && sudo apt install xserver-xorg-input-all

didn't do the trick.

Will try to tweak BIOS.

I was on UEFI boot mode. As the keyboard is working on Asus Eee PC 1015CX (which doesn't have UEFI mode), I thought I should try disabling UEFI and turn Legacy mode on (in BIOS) and set USB Legacy support to on. But that didn't do anything. The result is same as before, output of lsusb is same as before (for both before and after connecting the USB keyboard). I couldn't find any other options that relate to USB in BIOS.

Well, the keyboard works great in GRUB menu. So, what could cause it to stop working when the OS has booted? Driver problems? If so, are there any solutions? Please help.