[arch-general] PS/2 Hand Scanner Problems
Hey everybody! I'm dealing with what I believe is a kernel issue, but I'm still learning so please bear with me. I've used Arch for the better part of 2+ years, and it's taught me more about Linux and the way it works more than any other distro to date. That being said, I'm not a complete n00b, but please deal with me as I'll probably have moments that'll need clarification. The goal: To get a number of our aging HP t5730 terminals, used as POS terminals, relevant again using our existing hardware to extend their usability. So far tentative testing has shown this a feasible option so long as I can get all hardware working as expected. The problem: I have a PS/2 hand scanner that works perfectly as a HID in Windows, verified working on the untouched terminals still using the "old system", but under Arch it's acting as if it's detected but it doesn't give it's scanned data to any apps. The USB CC reader is working fine, as is the receipt printer. The symptoms: dmesg -t | grep '^i8042' ...returns the following output: i8042: PNP: PS/2 Controller [PNP0303:PS2K] at 0x60,0x64 irq 1 i8042: PNP: PS/2 appears to have AUX port disabled, if this is incorrect please boot with i8042.nopnp The hand scanner is "working" in the sense that I can push the button, the scanner lights up, and * beeps * when I scan a barcode. However, that's all it does. It does not pass that data onto to any simple applications such as mousepad, or even the terminal. What I've tried: 1. Yes, I've read this, but as the controller appears to be detected, this doesn't appear as relevant detail to me. Please correct me if I'm wrong. <https://www.archlinux.org/news/linux-313-warning-ps2-keyboard-support-is-now-modular/> [1] 2. I found this post, and I attempted the user's Grub entries, but those didn't help. I've undone those changes and I'm currently back at "square one". I know how to work with Grub, so I know I didn't make simple mistakes here; when applied, these entries caused the grep command to inform me that PNP was disabled, still made no positive impact. <https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=176497>[2] Other Observations: I've tried a number of live- distros, and the surprising thing is that other, older distros (Such as DSL, kernel 2.x) work just fine without any tinkering at all. Further reading online suggests that this is because of the kernel version. It seems that one of the 3.x kernel updates seems to have dropped some PS/2 support. This also proves to me that this *should* be able to work, I just can't figure out the proper ways of troubleshooting this problem based on this observation. I'm at work all day dealing with this project, so I'll be online most of the day. Thank you so much ahead of time for any help that you can give me! :)
Op 7 aug. 2015 16:40 schreef "Sean Snell" <snellsg@neopcs.net>:
Hey everybody!
I'm dealing with what I believe is a kernel issue, but I'm still learning so please bear with me.
The problem: I have a PS/2 hand scanner that works perfectly as a HID in Windows, verified working on the untouched terminals still using the "old system", but under Arch it's acting as if it's detected but it doesn't give it's scanned data to any apps. The USB CC reader is working fine, as is
[...] the
receipt printer.
A bit of a guess, but do you also have a ps/2 keyboard connected? I've had exactly the same problem on a Windows pc (also a t5730), scanner appeared to work, but only once. After I connected a ps/2 keyboard (and a reboot, the scanner worked. I wouldn't be surprised if Linux acted the same here. Mvg, Guus
Excellent suggestion, however it appears that I do not have any PS/2 keyboards in my stock, so I'll have to grab one from my personal stash when I go home tonight. I'll report back tomorrow! Thanks, Sean On Fri, Aug 7, 2015 at 12:30 PM, Guus Snijders <gsnijders@gmail.com> wrote:
Op 7 aug. 2015 16:40 schreef "Sean Snell" <snellsg@neopcs.net>:
Hey everybody!
I'm dealing with what I believe is a kernel issue, but I'm still learning so please bear with me.
The problem: I have a PS/2 hand scanner that works perfectly as a HID in Windows, verified working on the untouched terminals still using the "old system", but under Arch it's acting as if it's detected but it doesn't give it's scanned data to any apps. The USB CC reader is working fine, as is
[...] the
receipt printer.
A bit of a guess, but do you also have a ps/2 keyboard connected?
I've had exactly the same problem on a Windows pc (also a t5730), scanner appeared to work, but only once. After I connected a ps/2 keyboard (and a reboot, the scanner worked.
I wouldn't be surprised if Linux acted the same here.
Mvg, Guus
-- Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks, Sean Snell NEO PC Solutions (440) 290-0108 www.neopcs.net
Op 7 aug. 2015 22:41 schreef "Sean Snell" <snellsg@neopcs.net>:
Excellent suggestion, however it appears that I do not have any PS/2 keyboards in my stock, so I'll have to grab one from my personal stash
when
I go home tonight.
I'll report back tomorrow!
Any results? Mvg, Guus
Sorry for not reporting back sooner... You were correct, plugging in a PS/2 keyboard "through" the barcode scanner fixed the issue, and all is working now. Thanks again for the pointer! Sean On Mon, Aug 10, 2015 at 8:01 PM, Guus Snijders <gsnijders@gmail.com> wrote:
Op 7 aug. 2015 22:41 schreef "Sean Snell" <snellsg@neopcs.net>:
Excellent suggestion, however it appears that I do not have any PS/2 keyboards in my stock, so I'll have to grab one from my personal stash
when
I go home tonight.
I'll report back tomorrow!
Any results?
Mvg, Guus
-- Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks, Sean Snell NEO PC Solutions (440) 290-0108 www.neopcs.net
participants (2)
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Guus Snijders
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Sean Snell