keyboard and mouse freeze at install.

[huggyg71]

hi all im new to linux so please be gentle.i have a problem installing mandrake 9.1.i have a packard bell imedia pc 1.8 celeron 512 ram and 40 gig HD.usb keyboard and wheelmouse(logitec)

when i insert the disc and do a normal install i can get as far as the password and user set up screen,when attempting to type in my password the keyboard and mouse freezes.i then need to hit the off button to shut down.

i have tried F2 advanced options and tried everything. sellecting alt 1 instead of alt 0 will work ok,i get a message that this is not supported by 2.4 or words to that effect but i can click ok and do a full install .my keyboard and mouse work perfectly and all my devices are detected correctly.

after the install when i reboot alt 0 is loaded this time and at the wizard screen it freezes up again.i have to hit the off button again and when it restarts it says it was not shut down properly and a disk check starts.it then says i should run the check manually y or n? but my keyboard is still frozen.

i have the same problem with knoppix and morphix.i can get knoppix to load using failsafe though and if i set it all up manually and save my config to floppy it works.

i would like to get mandrake installed though.can anybody give me some advice please.

thank you.

[huggyg71]

and if its any help the motherboard is a gigabyte GA-8siml my chipset is an sis 650 my sound is onboard sigmatel c-major audio my graphics card is a radeon 9000.

all are detected correctly using alt1 at install.but it reverts back to alt0 again when loading up after installing.

how do i use alt1?

thanks

[mdwatts]

I'm not sure if the problem is related to the usb mouse/keyboard or not. I've seen previous posts here where it is suggested to temporarily use a ps/2 keyboard/mouse during the installation and then switch to the usb when the install is complete.

You could have a look through these G4L search results for 'mandrake usb mouse keyboard install' (http://www.google.com/linux?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=mandrake+usb+mouse+keyboard+install) to see if there is anything that might help.

I'll be right back with a link to some boot options you can try. They are for Redhat, but should work for any distro.

Here it is...

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/install-guide/ch-bootopts.html

[huggyg71]

thanks very much for the reply.i have tried a ps/2 logitec mouse and the same thing happens.

i have had a look at faqs re keyboard mouse freezing and cant seem to find a solution.will check out your other link.

seems strange that everything is detected using alt1,is this an older version?

[mdwatts]

I not familiar with Mandrake so hopefully one of our Mandrake users will be able to offer suggestions.

Have you tried Mandrake's support/knowledgebase to see if they have anything on installation problems and perhaps solutions?

The boot option url I posted earlier may help. One of the most popular is 'nodma'. Also check your bios settings to see if there is anything you can disable/enable/adjust.

Disabling PnP OS is one to start with. Linux likes it that way.

[o0zi]

If it helps, when I installed Mandrake 9.1 I had to press F2 and type in "linux noauto" to get my USB mouse and keyboard working. Are the lights on your keyboard on when it doesn't work?

[huggyg71]

thanks for all the help so far.i will keep at it. :)