Help with OS install - keyboard translation issue

[mshallop]

Hi!

I'm installing Solaris from image file - I am proceeding through the installation procedure (and everything's working as it should be - F2, [return], arrow keys, etc., all seem to work. However, when I get to the screen where it prompts me for a language and I try to press any number key, (0 for english ...) (or any key, including [return]), all that's displayed in the terminal is ansi soup:

S^@^@^@^A^@^@^T ...etc....

and the prompt again.

I'm running xVM under Windows Vista Home Premium, fully updated and patched as of this morning, and a Logitech G15 keyboard via USB 2.0. I don't really care if none of the G15 features work -- I'd just like the basic keyboard to work...

I've tried installing with the default keyboard "driver", and with the USB2.0 filter for the keyboard, but I get the same results. Also, after I kill xVM, I have to hard reset the keyboard so that Vista will see it again without a system reboot.

If anyone has any suggestions, or have successfully been able to install Solaris with G15, I'd like to hear about it, please.

Gonna try SuSE and see if my results vary.

Thanks...

--Mike

[Perryg]

Don't make or attach a filter for the keyboard in the guest settings.

[mshallop]

Yah...I've tried installing with no filters...in the vm settings panel, under USB, I have "Enable USB Controller" and "Enable USB 2.0 (EHCI) Controller" checked, but nothing else is set...

Doesn't work that way, or by clicking on the "Add Filter From Device" option and selecting the G15 from the select list.

Thanks...

--Mike

[mshallop]

In regards to the keyboard issue originally posted:

I was able to install 32-bit openSuSE 11.1 and Ubuntu 9.04 without any keyboard problems.

Thanks!

--Mike

[mshallop]

Well, I've tried every iteration I can to install Solaris 10 as a guest system under Vista Sp2 and the Logitech G15 keyboard, but no luck - the install dies about 10% into the process with keyboard translation errors regardless of whether or not there are guest USB filters active. If I do have filters active, the install fail borks up the keyboard for the host OS.

Thanks for the help.

[Perryg]

How much RAM are you assigning to the guest?
I know this sounds like a stupid question but I remembered that I had an issue with Solaris when I had the memory set too low, and I think it messed up the keyboard as well.
Anyway it may be a waste of time but try giving as much memory as you can until it is installed.

[mshallop]

I was initially assigning 2gB to the guest...I tried the reinstall with 4gB ram, 64M video, and 32gB hd...

Install abended with VT-X error....so, edit the xml in the solaris.xml file to remove that support...

Then kernal panics with PAE error:

Code: Select all

panic[cpu0]/thread=fec20360 Processor does not support PAE

PAE is physical address extension that allows more than 4gB to be of memory to be addressed in 32-bit systems....oops...4098 was wee bit to much, so back the memory down...and again...and again...and again...2946 MB seems to make it happy...we get through to the X-install window....ah-ha! This is where it abended before, except in the console window as opposed to within an X environment...

OK - so RAM was the answer but not the OS ram - inadvertently I discovered that I have to keep the ram under a 3gB ceiling...I suspect that the initial issue wasn't the os-ram, but the video ram - the 2MB default assigned simply wasn't sufficient for video services and really is a inadequate default selection.

Thank you for the suggestions....it's installing the product now....

[Perryg]

Glad you have it going. As I said I remembered that memory was the problem, but it had been so long ago I got the type wrong.