VMware Communities: Message List - VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

GreggaryPeccary — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:29:31 GMT

Same happening on me for quite long time with ubuntu since hm 6 (dapper?)

And I always could fix it by changing the keyboard mapping in KDE 3.5 by a few clicks:

in control panel enable keyboard layouts (I use IT and USA) and the indicator in the tray

when the bug comes out (firefox crash or wrong chars trying to write a command in KDE with Alt+F2) I simply click the tray icon to change the layout, wait a few seconds then revert back to the usual layout

hth

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

JohnBaxendale — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:25:20 GMT

I'm also seeing this issue with a Windows XP host on the following;

X.Org X Server 1.6.1.901 (1.6.2 RC 1)
Release Date: 2009-5-8
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
Build Operating System: Linux 2.6.18-128.1.6.el5 i686
Current Operating System: Linux johnbaxendale.zenpriam.net 2.6.29.5-191.fc11.i586 #1 SMP Tue Jun 16 23:11:39 EDT 2009 i686
Kernel command line: ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_johnbaxendale-lv_root rhgb quiet
Build Date: 18 May 2009 02:47:59PM
Build ID: xorg-x11-server 1.6.1.901-1.fc11

Easiest fix seems to be to as others have mentioned - swap keyboards in System -> Preferences -> Keyboard to something else and then back again.

Highly irritating - can't see the exact cause, but it's happened twice today already and so it's something fairly common. Only seems to happen after having switched to VMWare and back out again, I'm not using full-screen mode so I don't think it's related to full-screen mode in my case.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

mpg187 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:33:42 GMT

how do i stop this annoying crap from happening

this is worse than a virus

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues and other distros...

akstunt600 — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:00:26 GMT

I have this same problem under fc9 and fc10 key mappings change. I set my my mod4 to windows key, in my keymap and under vmware now my down arrow key is my windows key, WTF.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

Bjorsell — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:56:40 GMT

Old thread but...

Everyone talks about trouble with Ubuntu (or other dists) but i have the same problem in my Vista host and my VMWare 6.5 with XP guest.

Easy solution in windows for me, although annoying, is to quickchange language in my Vista host: Left ALT + Shift to some other language (in my case english) and Left ALT + Shift back to my standard language swedish. It takes 1 sek but it is still a stupid bug.

You can easy change key combination if you want to. I think it can be done in the same way in Ubuntu if you dont want to make some workaround script i have seen around.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

VMbuseck — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:09:38 GMT

Is there any reasonable solution about that issue ??? My distro (Dapper LTS) worked fine before I upgraded to Hardy LTS.

___________

DELL D510 with kubuntu hardy LTS * 2 FSC Multitainer 800 MHz with debian etch * all system with VMware server 1.0.6/1.0.8

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

unclecameron — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:41:42 GMT

Intrepid Xorg 7.4 WS 6.5 running XP guest. Keyboard worked fine before the upgrade to intrepid/ws6.5, ctrl, arrow keys, del key map to strange things in all guests, Win, Linux, Solaris, etc. Since Esc won't work, I can't reload OS'es for the software testing I need. Looking at temp hacks to get my keys back, just thought I'd report it doesn't work on Intrepid, though it worked fine in Hardy/WS6.0.x.

edit: the hack here http://nthrbldyblg.blogspot.com/2008/06/vmware-and-fubar-keyboard-effect.html (Solution 2) works, you have to create ~/.vmware/config and put the contents listed in it, then logout of X and log back in. If your keys are still mapped strangely, edit that file and change the wacked key after you find out its code by running xev.

HP Pavilion DV9000 AMD64 duo-core 2GHz 3G RAM laptop

Cameron
Selma, OR

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

jfk — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:25:39 GMT

Thanks for that script - at least I have a workaround now. Nothing else worked to date apart from restarting X.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

mbeierl — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:23:29 GMT

Interesting... I've had this problem with vmware since... forever. I just got used to it. In fact now I have a cron job that runs every minute (ya, overkill, I know) that does the following:

#!/bin/bash
export DISPLAY=:0.0
xmodmap - << EOF
clear shift
add shift = Shift_L Shift_R
clear lock
add lock = Caps_Lock
clear control
add control = Control_L Control_R
clear mod1
add mod1 = Alt_L Alt_R
clear mod2
add mod2 = Num_Lock
clear mod3
clear mod4
add mod4 = Super_L Super_R
clear mod5
add mod5 = Scroll_Lock
EOF
xset r on
xset m 3.5 4
xset b off
xset s off

This effectively resets the keyboard when it goes awry. YMMV.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

msamuels — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:59:31 GMT

I've also been having this problem for quite some time and would like to see it fixed. Running setxkbmap resolves the issue temporarily but this still renders vmware fairly unusable.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

bambooyip — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:47:43 GMT

Hello, I'm one of those frustrating folks. Here is my 'solution': System -> Preferences -> Keyboard -> Layout (tab) -> Keyboard model ~~I chose IBM Thnikpad 560Z/600/600E/A22E Intl -- I'm using Thinkpad R60~~ Initially, it seems solving the problem. After awhile, cap lock had problem. Then System -> Preferences -> Keyboard -> Layout (tab) -> Layout options -> CAPSLOCK key behavior -> CapsLock just lock the shift modifier

So far, the problem did not come back (having run my VM for 1 hour with switching to full screen of my vm many many times).

Hopefully, my 'solution' helps to release some frustration.;\

Bamboo

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

jra_vm — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:10:34 GMT

$ cat ~/.vmware/config
xkeymap.keycode.62 = 0x36 # Shift_R
xkeymap.keycode.50 = 0x2a # Shift_L
xkeymap.keycode.66 = 0x3a # Caps_Lock
xkeymap.keycode.37 = 0x1d # Control_L
xkeymap.keycode.64 = 0x38 # Alt_L
xkeymap.keycode.113 = 0x138 # Alt_R
xkeymap.keycode.109 = 0x11d # Control_R

On my Thinkpad T42... the behavior is still the same :/
(I tried to restart the vmware process, the vmware service, the virtual machine, but no changes).

I grabbed the keycodes using xev.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

lp20122 — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:15:54 GMT

I tried the trick, and works for me ... thanks!!

Ubuntu hardy + VMWware 6.5 beta

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

jra_vm — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:07:58 GMT

Ok, I tried this "trick". No change for me.

Anyway, the v-scancodes are available here: http://www.vmware.com/support/ws55/doc/ws_devices_keymap_vscan.html
(v-scancodes are the hexadecimal numbers on the right)

For further explanations: http://www.vmware.com/support/ws55/doc/ws_devices_keymap_linux_longer.html

On my Thinkpad, I still have the same result: the modifier keys aren't mapped anymore as soon as I enter VMware in fullscreen or use the alt/shift/control key into the console, etc.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

BassKozz — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:25:46 GMT

Possible Solution, Althou I haven't tried it myself: http://nthrbldyblg.blogspot.com/2008/06/vmware-and-fubar-keyboard-effect.html

Please leave feedback if the above has helped remedy your situation... I will report back as well.
Thanks,
-BassKozz

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

ager-wick — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:42:25 GMT

This is a crosspost with comment 127 and 128 here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/195982

I did this crosspost because I have discovered very specific steps on how to reproduce the issue that might be important for debugging. I will also be able to test patches or provide more information to interested parties.

Yet another report, but I can reproduce it and have some interesting observations.

HP Compaq nx6325 running Kubuntu Hardy (8.04) running KDE3
uname -a:
Linux 2.6.24-18-generic #1 SMP Wed May 28 19:28:38 UTC 2008 x86_64 GNU/Linux
VMware Server 1.0.6 build-91891
xserver-xorg 1:7.3+10ubuntu10
xserver-xorg-core 2:1.4.1~git20080131-1ub
(by the way, you can get the above from the command "dpkg -l")
graphics card: ATI Radeon
driver: ati

Interestingly I also had the issue on this machine running Dapper and VMware server a year ago, which I guess rules out xserver 7.3. It disappeared when I stopped using VMWare. At that time I though it was triggered by excessive memory usage, as I only had 1GB but now I have 3GB and only using just over 2.
I believe my old setup was VMware-server-1.0.5-80187 and Kubuntu Dapper (6.06?) i386 (not AMD64). The old setup compiled perfectly, both vmware host and tools.
On my current setup I had to apply vmware-any-any-update117 to get the VMware host to compile, and open-vm-tools-2008.04.14-87182 to get the VMware tools to compile. I had the issue both before and after I got VMware tools properly installed.

I also have the annoying keyboard auto-repeat issue (while typing in the VM, sometimes (or, quite often actually) your keystrokes will be repeated).

steps to reproduce:
NOTE: I have put a lot of time into reproducing exactly the steps needed. The following is the bare minimum of what I need to do to reproduce it. Anything else is irrelevant (in my case). For example, it works fine if I switch to full screen without first clicking inside the VM.

have a vm running
switch to vmware
move the mouse into and click inside the vm
press ctrl-alt-enter to make it full screen
press ctrl-alt to revert back to windowed mode

now the problem is there:
ctrl and caps/num/scroll lock does not work
the alt key, including alt-tab works, but when pressing alt-tab it does not release the alt key, meaning i have to press any other key, or tab without alt, to actually switch to another program. It's like I am till holding the alt key.
I do not however have the unstability issue. I can continue running anything I want, so it's easy for me to test various proposed solutions.
Note: I can not reproduce it by holding the ctrl key while moving the mouse from the guest to the host

both of these methods can be used as workaround, reverting the effect of the issue:

running setxkbmap
running System Settings - Regional & Language - then selecting Enable keyboard layouts and applying the changes (or if it's already enabled, disable it - apply - then enable and apply)

Interesting things from /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "gb"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

When it's working fine, I get this output from xmodmap:
xmodmap: up to 2 keys per modifier, (keycodes in parentheses):

shift Shift_L (0x32), Shift_R (0x3e)
lock Caps_Lock (0x42)
control Control_L (0x25), Control_R (0x6d)
mod1 Alt_L (0x40), Meta_L (0x9c)
mod2 Num_Lock (0x4d)
mod3
mod4 Super_L (0x7f), Hyper_L (0x80)
mod5 Mode_switch (0x5d), ISO_Level3_Shift (0x7c)

When it's buggy, I get this output:
xmodmap: up to 1 keys per modifier, (keycodes in parentheses):

shift
lock
control
mod1
mod2
mod3
mod4
mod5

As I can easily reproduce it, anyone with ideas are encouraged to suggest them, and I will try it to see it if will solve the issue.

Another observation:

It can also be reproduced this way:
click inside the VM
hold any of Shift, Ctrl or Alt keys down while moving the mouse out of the VM window

Note: If I switch to the VM by simply alt-tabbing to it, then pressing Ctrl-Alt-Enter to full screen it, then Crtl-Alt to release, I do not get this problem. It only occurs when I:
1. Click inside the VM and
2. Hold any of the Ctrl, Alt and/or shift keys while releasing the keyboard/mouse to the host OS (which you obviously do when you press Crtl-Alt to revert back to windowed mode, as the cursor is then released from the VM).

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

ager-wick — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:41:21 GMT

This is a crosspost with comment 127 and 128 here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/195982

I did this crosspost because I have discovered very specific steps on how to reproduce the issue that might be important for debugging. I will also be able to test patches or provide more information to interested parties.

Yet another report, but I can reproduce it and have some interesting observations.

HP Compaq nx6325 running Kubuntu Hardy (8.04) running KDE3
uname -a:
Linux 2.6.24-18-generic #1 SMP Wed May 28 19:28:38 UTC 2008 x86_64 GNU/Linux
VMware Server 1.0.6 build-91891
xserver-xorg 1:7.3+10ubuntu10
xserver-xorg-core 2:1.4.1~git20080131-1ub
(by the way, you can get the above from the command "dpkg -l")
graphics card: ATI Radeon
driver: ati

Interestingly I also had the issue on this machine running Dapper and VMware server a year ago, which I guess rules out xserver 7.3. It disappeared when I stopped using VMWare. At that time I though it was triggered by excessive memory usage, as I only had 1GB but now I have 3GB and only using just over 2.
I believe my old setup was VMware-server-1.0.5-80187 and Kubuntu Dapper (6.06?) i386 (not AMD64). The old setup compiled perfectly, both vmware host and tools.
On my current setup I had to apply vmware-any-any-update117 to get the VMware host to compile, and open-vm-tools-2008.04.14-87182 to get the VMware tools to compile. I had the issue both before and after I got VMware tools properly installed.

I also have the annoying keyboard auto-repeat issue (while typing in the VM, sometimes (or, quite often actually) your keystrokes will be repeated).

steps to reproduce:
NOTE: I have put a lot of time into reproducing exactly the steps needed. The following is the bare minimum of what I need to do to reproduce it. Anything else is irrelevant (in my case). For example, it works fine if I switch to full screen without first clicking inside the VM.

have a vm running
switch to vmware
move the mouse into and click inside the vm
press ctrl-alt-enter to make it full screen
press ctrl-alt to revert back to windowed mode

running setxkbmap
running System Settings - Regional & Language - then selecting Enable keyboard layouts and applying the changes (or if it's already enabled, disable it - apply - then enable and apply)

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

BassKozz — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:26:24 GMT

I guess we just gotta sit and wait this one out...

Hopefully someone from VMware, Linux, or X-Org fixes this problem soon

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

RuralRob — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:20:08 GMT

I only use the quick-switch UI mode, never full screen, and I get the issue there. So far I've never seen it happen in the "normal" UI mode, but it definitely happens in quick-switch.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

BassKozz — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:08:03 GMT

RuralRob wrote:I don't think it's the VMware Tools that are causing the problem, so much as they expose the real issue, which is the automatic releasing of the mouse and keyboard when the cursor leaves the VM window. Without the tools installed, the automatic release isn't supported, so it never gets a chance to cause the problem.

We've got threads going in VMware and Unbuntu forums, but I think we also need to start one in the X-org support forum. I did a quick search in there and I don't see anything about this problem.

Not so sure about that... People have reported on Launchpad that so long as they don't display thier VM in FullScreen Mode (i.e. Keep the VM running in a window) the problem doesn't occur, even with VMware Tools installed. But as soon as one starts to display the VM in FullScreen Mode the issues arise. That seems to be leaning more towards a VMware Tools issue rather then X-org?
I could be wrong here thou...

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

RuralRob — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:55:37 GMT

I don't think it's the VMware Tools that are causing the problem, so much as they expose the real issue, which is the automatic releasing of the mouse and keyboard when the cursor leaves the VM window. Without the tools installed, the automatic release isn't supported, so it never gets a chance to cause the problem.

We've got threads going in VMware and Unbuntu forums, but I think we also need to start one in the X-org support forum. I did a quick search in there and I don't see anything about this problem.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

BassKozz — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:10:19 GMT

Thanks RuralRob,
I read the whole thing, and it seems to all come down to VMware tools as the culprit. Some people have completly disabled VMware Tools and the issue has gone away, however, I am using a Dual-Monitor setup, so it wouldn't be prudent to disable VMware tools (as I am running 2 instances of WinXP 1 on each monitor, and I switch back-and-forth by simply moving my mouse from one monitor/VM to the other).

Any idea on if/when VMware might fix this issue?

p.s. I also found this thread on the issue: http://communities.vmware.com/thread/104635?tstart=0&start=30

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

Peter_vm — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:45:39 GMT

For supported host systems you have to look at admin manuals and product release notes.
There is no single, up-to-date document on that.

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

andy.t — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:19:43 GMT

Excellent document, thanks Peter. I have been looking for a support matrix guide for ages, but in all honesty have been struggling somewhat. I find the site a little tricky to navigate and find anything. I'm also fairly frustrated with the design of the members login area, but that's another story

Do you happen to know if there is an equivalent document for the supported host systems? or is it the same?

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

Peter_vm — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:19:14 GMT

Read this doc to find out what IS supported.
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/GuestOS_guide.pdf

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

andy.t — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:41:50 GMT

i was about to dump kubuntu due to the below, which has sufficiently p'ss]d me off now. i have tried gutsy, hardy and feisty on an amd64 with both workstation6 and 6.5 but all the same thing.

can anyone confirm whether the same thing happens in ubuntu server lts or rhle5 because these distros are supposed to be 100 percent supported

Re: VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

RuralRob — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:29:40 GMT

See also this thread:

Shift key (and caps lock) stop working when using VMWare

This bug is happening on many different distros, Gnome and KDE, 32-bit and 64-bit, and various hardware configurations. The two things common to all of them are VMware (Workstation, Player, or Server) and Xorg 7.3. This seems to be some kind of bad interaction between the two, when VMware is grabbing or releasing control of the mouse and keyboard. Older distros running Xorg 7.2 don't seem to have the problem.

VMware Causing Keyboard Issues in Ubuntu

BassKozz — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:41:33 GMT

Well, this issue has been going on for a long time now, but I wasn't sure it was a VMware issue up until recently (I thought it was my KVM, then I thought it was the Keyboard, Then I thought it was Ubuntu... But nope it's a VMware issue), and I was hoping VMware or Ubuntu would've come out with a fix for this, but unfortunately I haven't seen any changes.

So the problem is that after running VMware my keyboard (at random intervals) starts demonstrating odd behavior. For Example; The "Shift", "CTRL", "ALT", "CAPS LOCK" keys stop working all together, and when I am on an Ubuntu window as soon as I type in a character the window will close itself, and the only way to (temporarily) remedy the issue is to go to Applications => Other => Keyboard Layout (in Ubuntu) and reset the keyboard layout. This will only temporarily fix the issue until it happens again. I haven't been able to pin point an exact time frame on when this occurs because it is so random. My thinking is that because I am on a Dual Monitor Display setup and the VMware tools are installed on both machines (some times I run multiple VM's at the same time and switch back and forth between them on my dual monitors), there might be a conflict there, while I am switching back and forth by gliding my mouse from one monitor to another if they are both running VM's with VMtools installed. I haven't tried uninstalling VMtools on the VM's yet, but that will be my next shot-in-the-dark, unless I can get some feedback here.

Also I have documented this on Ubuntu's Forums:
SCIM / Keyboard Layout Issues
Broken Shift & CAPS LOCK keys - SCIM
My KVM Breaks Input Devices

Any/All feedback will be greatly appreciated,
-BassKozz

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VMware Workstation v6.0.4 build-93057
Host OS: Ubuntu 8.04 64-bit