numlock not activating

[faeychild]

I find that numlock activates during boot but switches off sometime
into the kernel messages
It stays off even when the desktop starts up

All the tips below have been applied


.............

1. In /etc/sddm.conf... ↓

[General]
InputMethod=
Numlock=on

2. In Plasma's System Settings... ↓

Hardware → Input Devices → Keyboard → NumLock on Plasma Startup


3. Optionally, still in System Settings:Keyboard, click the
"Advanced" tab and click the "+" next to "Compatibility Options".
Tick the box next to "Numeric keypad always enters digits (like in
macOS".

[William Unruh]

On your keyboard is a key labeled "NumLock". Push it.
While that may not be quite what you want, it does the job.

Post by faeychild
I find that numlock activates during boot but switches off sometime
into the kernel messages
It stays off even when the desktop starts up
All the tips below have been applied
.............
1. In /etc/sddm.conf... ↓
[General]
InputMethod=
Numlock=on
2. In Plasma's System Settings... ↓
Hardware → Input Devices → Keyboard → NumLock on Plasma Startup
3. Optionally, still in System Settings:Keyboard, click the
"Advanced" tab and click the "+" next to "Compatibility Options".
Tick the box next to "Numeric keypad always enters digits (like in
macOS".

[TJ]

Post by William Unruh
On your keyboard is a key labeled "NumLock". Push it.
While that may not be quite what you want, it does the job.

Yeah, it works - but it's a huge pain in the butt to have to do that
every time you boot up. I know *I* wouldn't put up with it for very long.

TJ

[faeychild]

Post by William Unruh
On your keyboard is a key labeled "NumLock". Push it.
While that may not be quite what you want, it does the job.

True!!

This is more of an aesthetic gripe.

[TJ]

 I find that numlock activates during boot but switches off sometime
into the kernel messages
It stays off even when the desktop starts up

I have not seen this behavior, on any of my systems. Being in the U.S.
all of my desktops use Logitech wireless ANSI 104-key US keyboards. The
keyboard on my Probook laptop is also 104 keys, but the one on my
ancient 32-bit Dell Inspiron is only 86 keys. Every BIOS that has a
numlock setting is set to be "on" at boot.

The Inspiron's GPU can't support Plasma, so it uses Xfce and doesn't
apply here, anyway.

All the tips below have been applied
.............
 1. In /etc/sddm.conf... ↓
         [General]
         InputMethod=
         Numlock=on

My sddm.conf uses Input Method for something else:

InputMethod=
# Set the Qt input method for the greeter. Tablet users with Qt Virtual
Keyboard installed can set this to "qtvirtualkeyboard"
# for the on-screen keyboard. Other known values are "ibus" for the
Intelligent Input Bus, or "compose" for dead keys support.
# Leave this empty if unsure.


Numlock is addressed elsewhere:

#Numlock=
# Change numlock state when sddm-greeter starts. Valid values are on,
off or none. If property is set to none, numlock won't be changed.
# Currently ignored if autologin is enabled. Default value is "none".


As you can see, mine isn't even being used, so "none" is in effect. And
even if it was set to something else it would be ignored, since I
commonly use auto-login.

  2. In Plasma's System Settings... ↓
         Hardware → Input Devices → Keyboard → NumLock on Plasma Startup

This is where I have Numlock set to always be on at startup on my Plasma
systems.

  3. Optionally, still in System Settings:Keyboard, click the
     "Advanced" tab and click the "+" next to "Compatibility Options".
     Tick the box next to "Numeric keypad always enters digits (like in
     macOS".

I have all the options in this tab disabled.

TJ

[Bobbie Sellers]

 I find that numlock activates during boot but switches off sometime
into the kernel messages
It stays off even when the desktop starts up
All the tips below have been applied
.............
 1. In /etc/sddm.conf... ↓
         [General]
         InputMethod=
         Numlock=on
  2. In Plasma's System Settings... ↓
         Hardware → Input Devices → Keyboard → NumLock on Plasma Startup
  3. Optionally, still in System Settings:Keyboard, click the
     "Advanced" tab and click the "+" next to "Compatibility Options".
     Tick the box next to "Numeric keypad always enters digits (like in
     macOS".

I have a similar problem, Have you tried looking in your BIOS?

bliss

[faeychild]

    I have a similar problem,  Have you tried looking in your BIOS?
    bliss

The bios switches it on.
It is switched off during the boot up
And Plasma doesn't switch in on again

This is a new development because it was working and there has been a
few updates recently, so I suspect!!

[Aragorn]

Post by faeychild

    I have a similar problem,  Have you tried looking in your BIOS?
    bliss

The bios switches it on.
It is switched off during the boot up
And Plasma doesn't switch in on again
This is a new development because it was working and there has been a
few updates recently, so I suspect!!

What you could try is the following...:


1. Create a text file under /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/ with the name
"70-keyboard_settings.sh" — the exactness of the two-digit number
at the start of the filename is less important, but it does have to
have the ".sh" filename suffix — and with the following
contents...:


#!/bin/sh

setxkbmap -option "numpad:mac"


2. Make the file executable...:

sudo chmod 755 /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/70-keyboard_settings.sh


Log out of Plasma and log back in, or simply reboot — considering that
you're using auto-login, that might be a better test.

This solution does NOT turn on NumLock, but it will still make the
numeric keypad of your keyboard produce numbers, even without that
NumLock is active.


Notes:

1. It does only work within an X11 session, not in a character-mode
tty — see #2 below — and it also won't work in a Wayland session.

2. For automatic NumLock in character-mode ttys, there's a systemd
service that can handle that. In Arch-based distributions it's a
package called systemd-numlockontty, and it's in the AUR (Arch User
Repository), because it doesn't appear to reside in the main
repositories. I presume that Mageia may have a similarly named
package available, and if not, then you might probably find it in
the Fedora repository.

[Bit Twister]

Post by Aragorn

Post by faeychild

    I have a similar problem,  Have you tried looking in your BIOS?
    bliss

The bios switches it on.
It is switched off during the boot up
And Plasma doesn't switch in on again
This is a new development because it was working and there has been a
few updates recently, so I suspect!!

1. Create a text file under /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/ with the name
"70-keyboard_settings.sh" — the exactness of the two-digit number
at the start of the filename is less important,

Can be important. files in .d/ directories are usually executed in
the order found. You have to pick a name that is after the file with
the contents you are attempting to override.

but it does have to

Post by Aragorn
have the ".sh" filename suffix — and with the following

and the same permissions and ownership of the other files in the directory.

Post by Aragorn
#!/bin/sh

Does not have to be #!/bin/sh can be any other interpreter Ex.
#!/bin/bash or #!/bin/perl

[Aragorn]

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Aragorn

Post by faeychild

    I have a similar problem,  Have you tried looking in your BIOS?
    bliss

The bios switches it on.
It is switched off during the boot up
And Plasma doesn't switch in on again
This is a new development because it was working and there has
been a few updates recently, so I suspect!!

1. Create a text file under /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/ with the
name "70-keyboard_settings.sh" — the exactness of the two-digit
number at the start of the filename is less important,

Can be important. files in .d/ directories are usually executed in
the order found. You have to pick a name that is after the file with
the contents you are attempting to override.

Sure. I was counting on the common sense of the user to choose a
sensible number. On my system, I chose 70 to put it far to the rear in
the firing order. ;)

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Aragorn
but it does have to have the ".sh" filename suffix — and with the following

and the same permissions and ownership of the other files in the

Post by Aragorn
#!/bin/sh

Does not have to be #!/bin/sh can be any other interpreter Ex.
#!/bin/bash or #!/bin/perl

It can be, but the memory overhead of a pure POSIX implementation is
smaller, and POSIX is portable across distributions, which is why I
always write my shell scripts in strict POSIX code and use "!/bin/sh" as
the interpreter. ;)

[Bit Twister]

Post by Aragorn

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Aragorn

Post by faeychild

    I have a similar problem,  Have you tried looking in your BIOS?
    bliss

The bios switches it on.
It is switched off during the boot up
And Plasma doesn't switch in on again
This is a new development because it was working and there has
been a few updates recently, so I suspect!!

1. Create a text file under /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/ with the
name "70-keyboard_settings.sh" — the exactness of the two-digit
number at the start of the filename is less important,

Can be important. files in .d/ directories are usually executed in
the order found. You have to pick a name that is after the file with
the contents you are attempting to override.

Sure. I was counting on the common sense of the user to choose a
sensible number. On my system, I chose 70 to put it far to the rear in
the firing order. ;)

I pick a value which locates my changes executes last :)

# locate .d/xx_
/etc/X11/xinit.d/xx__x11_sound.sh
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/xx__screen.conf
/etc/conf.d/xx__wireless-chris
/etc/conf.d/xx__wireless-fios
/etc/conf.d/xx__wireless-netgear
/etc/dovecot/conf.d/xx__local_dovecot.conf
/etc/exports.d/xx__local.exports
/etc/lightdm/lightdm-gtk-greeter.conf.d/xx__greeter.conf
/etc/my.cnf.d/xx__my.cnf
/etc/profile.d/xx__local.sh
/etc/profile.d/xx__login.sh
/etc/sensors.d/xx__lm_sensor.conf
/etc/sudoers.d/xx__a_general
/etc/sudoers.d/xx__bittwister
/etc/sysctl.d/xx__sysctl.conf
/etc/systemd/logind.conf.d/xx__logind.conf
/etc/systemd/system/mysqld.service.d/xx__mysqld.conf
/etc/systemd/system/named.service.d/xx__named.conf
/etc/systemd/system/privoxy.service.d/xx__privoxy.service
/etc/systemd/system/rpcbind.socket.d/xx__ipv6_override.conf
/etc/systemd/system/sensord.service.d/xx__sensord.conf

[faeychild]

 I find that numlock activates during boot but switches off sometime
into the kernel messages
It stays off even when the desktop starts up
All the tips below have been applied
.............
 1. In /etc/sddm.conf... ↓
         [General]
         InputMethod=
         Numlock=on
  2. In Plasma's System Settings... ↓
         Hardware → Input Devices → Keyboard → NumLock on Plasma Startup
  3. Optionally, still in System Settings:Keyboard, click the
     "Advanced" tab and click the "+" next to "Compatibility Options".
     Tick the box next to "Numeric keypad always enters digits (like in
     macOS".

OK my fault I think?

I found this in /etc/sddm.conf.rpmnew


................

# Initial NumLock state. Can be on, off or none.
# If property is set to none, numlock won't be changed
# NOTE: Currently ignored if autologin is enabled.
Numlock=none


................

Incidentally. not sure what to do with rpmnew files?

but in this case I had bypassed password login so I boot straight into
Plasma desktop.This coincides with the time I noticed the numlock not
enabling

Although perhaps someone could explain why autologin needs to affect
numlock. Are they not independent?

More research to do

[Aragorn]

Post by faeychild
Incidentally. not sure what to do with rpmnew files?

You're supposed to merge them in with the existing configuration files
and then delete the .rpmnew version.

In Manjaro, we have .pacnew files, and various tools are available for
merging the .pacnew files into the existing configuration files.

I'd be surprised if something like that doesn't also exist for
.rpm-based distributions. If it doesn't, then there's a novel idea
for the Mageia/OpenMandriva/PCLinuxOS/openSUSE/Fedora developers. ;)

[faeychild]

On 24/1/22 17:32, faeychild wrote:


Most definitely!!
I disabled autologin and the numlock feature is restored

[Herman Viaene]

Op Sun, 23 Jan 2022 15:37:09 +1100, schreef faeychild:

I encounter another one in the same area:
boot laptop first time a day:numlock OK
do (for whatever reason) a warm restart: no numlock
shutdown the laptop completely (thus cold restart): numlock OK.

And this is not an esthetics matter if you have digits in your password.

Herman Viaene

I find that numlock activates during boot but switches off sometime into
the kernel messages It stays off even when the desktop starts up
All the tips below have been applied
.............
1. In /etc/sddm.conf... ↓
[General]
InputMethod=
Numlock=on
2. In Plasma's System Settings... ↓
Hardware → Input Devices → Keyboard → NumLock on Plasma Startup
3. Optionally, still in System Settings:Keyboard, click the
"Advanced" tab and click the "+" next to "Compatibility Options".
Tick the box next to "Numeric keypad always enters digits (like in
macOS".

[Aragorn]

Post by Herman Viaene
boot laptop first time a day:numlock OK
do (for whatever reason) a warm restart: no numlock
shutdown the laptop completely (thus cold restart): numlock OK.

If thestate of NumLock differs between cold and warm boots, then it
is a hardware/firmware issue. Perhaps updating your BIOS/UEFI would
fix that.

[William Unruh]

Post by Herman Viaene
boot laptop first time a day:numlock OK
do (for whatever reason) a warm restart: no numlock
shutdown the laptop completely (thus cold restart): numlock OK.
And this is not an esthetics matter if you have digits in your password.

Well you do have the digits along the top row of the keyboard even if
the number pad is not working.

Post by Herman Viaene
Herman Viaene

I find that numlock activates during boot but switches off sometime into
the kernel messages It stays off even when the desktop starts up
All the tips below have been applied
.............
1. In /etc/sddm.conf... ↓
[General]
InputMethod=
Numlock=on
2. In Plasma's System Settings... ↓
Hardware → Input Devices → Keyboard → NumLock on Plasma Startup
3. Optionally, still in System Settings:Keyboard, click the
"Advanced" tab and click the "+" next to "Compatibility Options".
Tick the box next to "Numeric keypad always enters digits (like in
macOS".

[Aragorn]

Post by William Unruh

Post by Herman Viaene
boot laptop first time a day:numlock OK
do (for whatever reason) a warm restart: no numlock
shutdown the laptop completely (thus cold restart): numlock OK.
And this is not an esthetics matter if you have digits in your password.

Well you do have the digits along the top row of the keyboard even if
the number pad is not working.

Which, on a Belgian keyboard, as Herman has, means you have to hold the
Shift key for typing those digits. Without the Shift key, you're
typing diacritics, ellipses, quotes, apostrophes, and other such
characters.

- with Shift : ³ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ° _
- without Shift : ² & é " ' ( § è ! ç à ) -

Typing a password you use very often is usually a matter of muscle
memory. Having to switch your method of typing is very annoying in
that regard, and you'll become prone to mistyping.