keyboard shortcut ctrl+alt+del highly unreliable

[ingo]

Binary package hint: gnome

On Lucid the usual shortcut to bring up the "log out menu" fails most of the time (working correctly at about 10-20%).
Thus happpend on 3 installations:

Lucid-netbook remix (just metacity)
Lucid-amd64 in a VM (Vbox 3.1.8, just metacity)
Lucid-amd64 on real hardware (compitz)

This combination is assigned (by default) under System -> Preferences -> keyboard shortcuts.

[Fabio Marconi (fabiomarconi)]

hello ingo.
can you tell me if all the installation are on the same pc ?
Thanks in advance.
:)Fabio

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

Hi Fabio,

tried today again:

Does not work on Netbook "Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2" at all
Does not work in VBox 3.2.8 at all

Does work today on my dektop-PC (ASUS M2N-E)

[Fabio Marconi (fabiomarconi)]

I cannot reproduce
Try to go on System - Preference -keyboard shortcut
and look if it is enabled (it has to be by default)

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

There are absolutely no changes here since my first post (I did try many times on all 3 machines again):

a) impossible to get up the log-out menu pop up on my netbook (Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2), no matter in which sequence or as simultanously I hit the keys) - hitting power-off button works immediately.

b) same in the VM in Vbox 3.2.8 PUEL (2 CPU's 2GB RAM) - of course Ctrl+Alt is substituted by host-key.

c) works on my PC (Athlon64-X2 + 6GB ECC-RAM with a chance of only 10 - 20%.

You marked it incomplete - so please inform what is missing.

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

I don't know whether it helps (though it should not matter):
Keyboard on my PC is PS/2 type.

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

And I checked configured shortcuts in GNOME - all 3 machines have the combination configured. If you don't believe I'll supply screen shots.

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

Additional info: about configured keyboard.

a) netbook (Lucid-netbook-remix):
    edev-controlled device, Germany no dead keys

b) PC and Lucid in VBox (Lucid from alternate CD):
    generic PC 105 keys (Intl), Germany no dead keys.

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

Sorry for typo, please correct: edev -> evdev.

Additional info for my PC:

xxxxxx:~$ cat /proc/bus/input/devices | grep -B 5 kbd
I: Bus=0019 Vendor=0000 Product=0001 Version=0000
N: Name="Power Button"
P: Phys=PNP0C0C/button/input0
S: Sysfs=/devices/LNXSYSTM:00/LNXSYBUS:00/PNP0C0C:00/input/input0
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=kbd event0
--
I: Bus=0019 Vendor=0000 Product=0001 Version=0000
N: Name="Power Button"
P: Phys=LNXPWRBN/button/input0
S: Sysfs=/devices/LNXSYSTM:00/LNXPWRBN:00/input/input1
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=kbd event1
--
I: Bus=0011 Vendor=0001 Product=0001 Version=ab41
N: Name="AT Translated Set 2 keyboard"
P: Phys=isa0060/serio0/input0
S: Sysfs=/devices/platform/i8042/serio0/input/input3
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=kbd event3
--
I: Bus=0003 Vendor=046d Product=09a4 Version=0006
N: Name="UVC Camera (046d:09a4)"
P: Phys=usb-0000:00:02.1-9/button
S: Sysfs=/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.1/usb1/1-9/1-9:1.0/input/input4
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=kbd event4
--
I: Bus=0001 Vendor=11d4 Product=198b Version=0001
N: Name="HDA Digital PCBeep"
P: Phys=card0/codec#0/beep0
S: Sysfs=/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:06.1/input/input7
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=kbd event7

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

Today's morning "CAD" workt fine on my PC (tested several times), but now (8 hrs. later) no reaction when "CAD" is hit. I rebooted - no reaction either.

That's what I politely described as unreliable.

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

can be reproduced here on at least 3 computers.

[Fabio Marconi (fabiomarconi)]

Incomplete status means that I'm waiting for a reply
PS/2 keyboard have to be connected before booting
Sorry if it seem stupid but with Del are you meaning Entf ?
In System - Preference - Keyboard - Layout, clicking on the largest button 'keyboard model:' you can select vendor and model, can you try to set this?
Can you follow the instructions on this link:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKeyboardDetection
For the CAD problem please open another bug report.
For some question ask here.
Fabio

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

Let me add some additional information. I am right now only talking about my PC with PS/2 keyboard.
The netboock keyboard of course is proprietary and cannot be selected in the keyboard list. Additionally hitting the power-button brings up the logout-menu immediately.

1. keyboard type:
It is definitely a definitely standard "generic PC 105 keys (Intl)". If you need precise information:
Cherry
Model RS 6000 M
Part-No. G83-6105LRNDE-2 /06
These keyboards are sold 1000 or million fold with many different language layouts for home and office use.
It is not selectable in the settings menu (only some exotic Cherry types).

2. It works perfectly since years and still performs correctly with Hardy and WinXP

3. "Ctrl+Alt+Del" is just English translation of German "Strg+Alt+Entf".
Please don't misunderstand as Ctrl+Alt+Backspace (which restarts X-server and is de-activated in Lucid).

4. I do hate those USB-keyboards, as I need the keyboard already at early boot time and a PS/2-keyboard is the one which always works on any PC.

5. I had to disable "USB legacy support" in the BIOS because:
a) I do not need it because I do not have a USB-keyboard
b) It causes problems with kernel-suspend: suspent+resume works only once, 2nd suspend fails.

The other requested information according to your link will follow in the next post.

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

$ uname -a
Linux pp 2.6.32-24-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Fri Aug 20 14:21:58 UTC 2010 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ cat /proc/version_signature
Ubuntu 2.6.32-24.42-generic 2.6.32.15+drm33.5

# lspci -vvnn > ~/lspci-vvnn
see attachment

# xprop -root | grep XKB > ~/xkb
reports nothing

# gconftool-2 -R /desktop/gnome/peripherals/keyboard/kbd > gconf
reports some German rabbish, I try to translate:
configuratrion server could not be contacted
TCP/IP for ORBit is not activated or becaus residal NFS-locks aftet a crash

I do attach it anyhow

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

Sorry, file gconf is empty, so I post the output in the x-term here:

/home/ingo/Desktop# gconftool-2 -R /desktop/gnome/peripherals/keyboard/kbd > gconf
Die Einträge in »/desktop/gnome/peripherals/keyboard/kbd« konnten nicht aufgelistet werden: Der Konfigurationsserver konnte nicht kontaktiert werden; mögliche Fehlerquellen sind, dass TCP/IP für ORBit nicht aktiviert ist oder auf Grund eines Systemabsturzes alte NFS-Sperren gesetzt sind. Unter http://projects.gnome.org/gconf/ erhalten Sie weitere Informationen (Details – 1: Verbindung zur Sitzung konnte nicht abgerufen werden: Did not receive a reply. Possible causes include: the remote application did not send a reply, the message bus security policy blocked the reply, the reply timeout expired, or the network connection was broken.)

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

And me just came up another keyboad oddity - which is not present in Hardy:

When system is supended (kernel-suspend to RAM) it was previously possible to wake up by "keyboard space-bar" as I have configured in the BIOS.

This works fine in Hardy, but no longer in Lucid.
In Lucid the keyboard is absolutely dead when system is suspended and does not react on keystrokes.

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

Last point requested in your link:

Files ~/xkb and ~/gconf do not exist on my PC.

If you need more/additional information, please let me know.

[ingo (ingo-steiner)]

Additional information:

just by try + error I found out that to bring up the "log-off menu" in Lucid you have to:

1. press Ctrl+Alt+Del simultanously and
2. release Del before releasing Ctrl+Alt.

Only upon releasing the "Del-key" the command is executed!

This beheaviour is really strange, as all other key-combinations are executed upon hitting the keys/key-combinations like:
Ctrl+Alt+L
Ctrl+Alt+T
Ctrl+Alt+ ->
Ctrl+Alt+ <-
Ctrl+Alt+F1 ... F7
...

The beheaviour of having to press Ctrl+Alt+Del simultanously for this action has been valid for decades (just in case somebody calls it a feature). The Lucid-beheaviour breaks well established compatibility, i.e.:

in a VBox VM running Lucid as guest, you are no longer able to send Ctrl+Alt+Del to the guest. The above described sequence (react on release of Del while Ctrl+Alt still pressed) of course is not emulated by VBox, neither by "Host-key+Del" nor via the menu. In fact the command/keycodes is sent as usual (simultanously) and therefore not recognized by the guest (Lucid) .

So this definitely is a bug in Lucid!