RON@PSUVM.BITNET (09/08/88)
I am using Minix 1.2 on a Z-183 laptop but am having some problems with the keyboard. Once in a while it gets confused and thinks the shift key is press (not the cap lock) and you get ! instead of 1, | instead of \ and : instead of ; Pressing the shift key sometimes (but not always) clears this up. My guess is maybe I'm losing some interupts (getting the one when shift is pressed but missing the one when it is released) The bigger problem is that my arrow keys don't work. When in MINED if I press the down arrow it sometimes works but none of the others do. I get 2 digit numbers or ]; and that sort of thing. The Z-183 has an abbreviated keyboard and it does some wierd things to get around this. Has anyone else had these problems with a zenith laptop and if so where do i start looking to fix it? thanks Ron McCarty Penn State Erie Erie PA 16563
jwb@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Jack Buchanan) (09/27/88)
little of it. A major caveat is that I am not running minix and have no minix experience. My experience is with trying to get DEC's WPS+PC working on it. There is a description of the Z183 keyboard modes on page 3-5 (hard- ware operation) in the "Z-180 PC Series Computers Owner's Manual" which came with my Z-183. After discussing the way the keypad mapped to the alphanu- meric keyboard is turned on and off they say: "The computer has two other special modes: the smart keyboard mode and the straight keyboard mode. These affect the way some software packages interact with the keyboard, but not the codes generated." Basicly there are two modes one, "Smart keyboard mode" is the default and is also obtained by pressing FN-1 (FN is like an additional control or alt key which is on the laptops). "This mode causes all functions of the keyboard to function as labeled. The four cursor control keys generate a prefix code in addition to their normal code. The Monitor program then checks the keyboard mode and, if software allows, generates the appropriate codes to execute the intended cursor movement. However, this action can cause the keyboard to drop out of sync with any onscreen mode indicators." [Comment: It can also do things like cause WPS+ (a word processor) to go to the end of the file rather than down one line when the down cursor is pressed]. ..."Straight keyboard mode--When you press FN-2, the computer enters the straight keyboard mode. This mode does not check the keyboard mode before it generates the code for the key pressed. You could call this a dumb mode since the computer ignores the mode-checking operation of the smart keyboard mode. In this mode, the four cursor control keys can produce incorrect results when you toggle the keyboard from one mode to another. Therefore, do not toggle the other keyboard modes while the straight keyboard mode is active." I interpret this last part to mean to not use the keypad keys when in this mode. This didn't help me, since my WP package uses the keypad. However, for minix, you can probably live without the keypad. Putting all this more briefly, try pressing FN-2 after minix boots, knowing that this will screw up keypad mode. (For non Z-180 series people, the Z-180(3) has the numeric keypad mapped to some of the alphanumeric keys, enabled by the FN key, while the cursor arrows are separate and can by pushing the FN key along with them produce the pgup, pgdn, home and end.) I have found that this latter feature works even in straight keyboard mode. I am sorry for posting such a long message about a specific machine to the entire group. (It's my first inappropriate posting this year :-). Jack Buchanan Medicine and Biomedical Engineering UNC-CH buchanan@uncbme.unc.edu or jwb@mcnc.org