Thin client OS suggestions

asbokid

is the usb keyboard recognised by the bios? by the grub bootloader? by the kernel?
maybe the usb root hub isn't being recognised and/or initialised properly.

p.s. hope you had a good time at glastonbury.. don't suppose you saw anyone enter the portaloo with christopher shale?

when you boot linux, can you issue a /sbin/lsusb -v ? you should see the usb root hub and the usb keyboard listed in the output, along with the manufacturer id and device id (e.g. xxxx:xxxx). lsusb should also show the usb "endpoints" of the keyboard.. 0x80, 0x81, 0x01, etc.. googling the usb devices by mid:did might shed some light on it. have you tried different keyboards?

spud17

RussJK wrote: »

Have you tried with the extra drivers pack:
http://www.xpud.org/download.en.html#tab-4

No I haven't, as I put in the thread starter, I'm fine with the basics. I think though that I can probably manage the extra drivers bit.:)

asbokid wrote: »

is the usb keyboard recognised by the bios? by the grub bootloader? by the kernel?
maybe the usb root hub isn't being recognised and/or initialised properly.

p.s. hope you had a good time at glastonbury.. don't suppose you saw anyone enter the portaloo with christopher shale?

when you boot linux, can you issue a /sbin/lsusb -v ? you should see the usb root hub and the usb keyboard listed in the output, along with the manufacturer id and device id (e.g. xxxx:xxxx). lsusb should also show the usb "endpoints" of the keyboard.. 0x80, 0x81, 0x01, etc.. googling the usb devices by mid:did might shed some light on it. have you tried different keyboards?

Keyboard is seen in BIOS, it works fine installing several OSs, e.g XP, Ubuntu 7.04.
What usually happens is the numlock light is on, I make my selection (Enter) then as the cd or usb starts loading, it takes over from the BIOS, numlock light goes out, and then stops in nomansland with me unable to make any more selections as the keyboard drivers have not loaded.
The above is my interpretation.

As for Glasto, sorry but I didn't actually go, just watched from the settee. Sorry for giving the wrong impression.

Beyonce = The Emperors new clothes?

I once worked for 6 weeks in Glastonbury town whilst the festival was on, that was bad enough traffic wise, but a great little town with friendly people.

Your last paragraph is going to take a few reads before I attempt anything. :cool:

Finally, pressure of work means I'm going to have to put this on the back burner, or at least restrict the time I put to it.

Thanks all for suggestions, so much for the recession in the construction industry.

RussJK

So how's the project going?

Owain_Moneysaver

Other people have got Puppy, Tinycore and DSL working on it.

gonzo127

so ubuntu is running in 7.04 - why not try the update route on Ubuntu and once you get it to 10.04 etc change the desktop environment to Lubuntu - its a bit of a faf i know but might be worth a try

spakkker

You can fit a lappy h/d via 44 pin ide(+cable,adapters ) and load stuff on with another pc before connecting.

spud17

Just revisited this thread, thanks for the replies.
Still pretty hectic at work, but has slackened slightly in the last week. :T

RussJK, slowly.:D I've had a couple of dabbles, see below, thinking keyboard is the problem.

Owain Moneysaver, I get most of my info from the parktowers site, and have had DSL running as a live cd. Tinycore wouldn't work for me. Good to see that someone has Puppy working. See below re. keyboard.

gonzo127, I'd already thought of that, but it takes ages (hours) just for one install, I think I read that the updates then have to be done via cd?
It's usb 1.1 btw.

spakker, I already have the 44pin cable with cf adapter and 4GB card, and have tried that with Salix OS, it works until the usb keyboard detection, and therfore makes it impossible to login.

The single problem always seems to be my usb keyboard, it's enabled in BIOS and works fine when installing XPe, XP or Win2k.
I always believed that keyboards were pretty much universal, like a mouse is plug 'n play.

So, I think I should try another keyboard, except that despite having a load of bits and pieces, I didn't have a usb keyboard and had to get the current one from Wilkinsons.:)
It's pretty good for £4.60.

Anybody else think it's an incompatible (somehow) keyboard? I'm going to have to scrounge/borrow one from somewhere.

As for lightweight distros, I have found Salix OS, this flies on a VM, and I've also installed it on another thin client, HP 5520 (800 MHz) but fixed 128MB ram, also ps/2 keyboard.
It's usable, but it needs more ram.

debitcardmayhem

Hey spud , does the k/b not work at all ? Have you tried it with say systemrescuecd ? If it is just a problem with some keys/functions we can get round that using xev and xmodmap.

debitcardmayhem

There is also matchbox keyboard - like OSK for windows ?? http://matchbox-project.org/

spud17

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

Hey spud , does the k/b not work at all ? Have you tried it with say systemrescuecd ? If it is just a problem with some keys/functions we can get round that using xev and xmodmap.

Hi dcm, good hols?

I've not tried it with that cd, certainly won't be tonight. But will try it and let you know.

Keyboard works fine in BIOS, as the distro loads, (my interpretation), the OS loading stops because the keyboard is not recognised, so it cannot proceed, and I have to turn off power.

It works fine on spare XP machine.
It just seems to be anything non Windows.