boot-option for keyboard layout is ignored
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cemaxecuter
hi,
i have added DragonOS (R10) to my project (RPi-PXE-Server), that makes it possible to PXE boot (netboot) live systems to different PCs.
because i am not using English keyboardlayout i tried to add a boot option to setup the keyboardlayout automatically for DragonOS like it is possible under Ubuntu with the options:
debian-installer/locale=de_DE.UTF-8 console-setup/layoutcode=de keyboard-configuration/layoutcode=de keyboard-configuration/variant=German
this will set the language of the user-interface and the keyboard-layout in ubuntu/ubuntu-like systems, but not in DragonOS.
there only the language of the user-interface is set correctly, but the layout of the keyboard is still en-us.
here the full pxe boot menu entries:
# lpxelinux LABEL ubuntu-x64 MENU LABEL Ubuntu x64 KERNEL http://192.168.1.1/srv/nfs/dragonos-x64/casper/vmlinuz INITRD http://192.168.1.1/srv/nfs/dragonos-x64/casper/initrd.gz APPEND nfsroot=192.168.1.1:/srv/nfs/dragonos-x64 ro netboot=nfs ip=dhcp file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper -- debian-installer/locale=de_DE.UTF-8 console-setup/layoutcode=de keyboard-configuration/layoutcode=de keyboard-configuration/variant=German
or
#ipxe imgselect http://192.168.1.1/srv/nfs/dragonos-x64/casper/vmlinuz ip=dhcp nfsroot=192.168.1.1:/srv/nfs/dragonos-x64 ro netboot=nfs file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper memtest=4 rmdns -- debian-installer/locale=de_DE.UTF-8 console-setup/layoutcode=de keyboard-configuration/layoutcode=de keyboard-configuration/variant=German imgfetch http://192.168.1.1/srv/nfs/dragonos-x64/casper/initrd.gz imgexec
please, can you fix it in the next release...
thank you
First, thank you for taking the time to make this possible. I've not actually used this method of boot, but i think i have a need for a classroom. If say i have 9 PCs, I can boot them all from the one ISO on the network? Do you find it performs well running live with the SDRs running too?
Can you boot from the network then install to the hard drive?
I will research what i can to see if there is something i can fix. Do you need the non english keyboard available when it boots and is running just live from the network? It might take me time to fix this since I'm not very familiar with pxe boot.
i have to say thank you...
since there is no GNU Radio live ISO available anymore at GNU Radio, i am happy to found your ISO.
i don't know if the RPi is able to serve 9 PCs at the same time that well, this you have to test.
as minimum i would recommend a RPi4B with more than 2GB, because its networkinterface has a higher speed (1Gb/s )than all previous RPis (RPi3 (~300Mb/s), RPi2 (100Mb/s) ,,,).
but other people told they use the project on a "real PC" with tiny modifications on a standard debian or ubuntu system as pxe server.
my pxe-server project mounts the ISO media without modification on its content. while the PXE boot, the PC (client) mounts the nft as readonly and loads the squashfs, where all the data and the live-system is in.
as long the PCs have enough memory to hold the squashfs filesystem in RAM it should be possible to run DragonOS, it will behave like it is booted from an ISO (DVD) - except you do not see the boot menu from the ISO (DVD).
so you also can install DragonOS via PXE boot to the local hard dive.
the only issue i sometimes observed on pxe-boot some live-systems is, that sometimes /etc/resolve.conf
has a wrong nameserver entry... and you have to edit/create that file for properly resolving links.
or after installation on hard drive the network settings are initially set to manual and you have to switch them back to dhcp / automatic
EDIT: the "RPi-PXE-Server" can act as stand alone server for an isolated network or as proxy in co-existence of a normal network, with router where no PXE-Server exist. the RPi then is doinf the PXE-server stuff and the other traffic keeps intact.
in case of co-existence of an other router, you have to take care that not the router and pxe-server trys to fight for ip-address ranges for the clients.
EDIT2: i normally setup all the live-systems (where possible) via boot options, to boot straight into a German keyboard layout, because the wrong keyboard layout is the most annoying thing when i have only a German keyboard available. very often used characters are on a complete different place there.
reading/writing english is not that big problem, but typing bilnd - typing keys with characters and getting a different character is a big problem to me.
Last edit: beta-tester 2021-01-21
i tried the new release R12, and i just realized, that i can't change keyboard layout at all in the live environment... even not from the console.
i tried
dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration
andsetcon
Thats my fault! Sorry about that. I got so wrapped up in making all the new SDR stuff work that i forgot to address the keyboard thing. Can you think of anything i can add on my end before i make the iso that may add in other than just the english/us keyboard?
I'll start trying tonight in a live system. I suspect maybe theres a missing package that needs installed via an internet connection.
Do you think this applies or would be hopeful? Having a hard time following the discussion but sounds like what we face?
https://discourse.lubuntu.me/t/cant-change-keyboard-locale-on-logon-screen-with-lxqt-lubuntu-19-04-19-10-and-20-04/1377/17
I booted a live USB. Dropprd to terminal and created a new user with sudo rights. Logged out then back in with the new user. Under preferences lxqt and keyboard mouse it appeared as though i can add a german keyboard. I also ran the dpkg-reconfigure. Im not sure if it has done anything. I can also log out and change to lxde session upper left. Could you see if any of this works? I think maybe i need to install something else or simply save my build system, change it to german, then make an ISO. Maybe it would be a special german version? Theres got to be an easoer way.
i will test it later on real machine with real media (USB, DVD, PXE)
yesterday i run it only in VirtualBox as Live CD and PXE , maybe there it behaves different.
EDIT:
in VirtualBox the behavior was like:
booted via PXE, the list of available keyboards in the GUI was completely empty, nothing there to choose. in dpkg-reconfigure... i could choose keyboard settings but the changes were never taken effect, it told to reboot or call setupcon to see the changes, but no effect.
booted via ISO/LiveCD, the list of available keyboards in the GUI was only different English variants, no German in the list.
the behavios of dpkg-reconfigure was exact the same as of booted via PXE.
Last edit: beta-tester 2021-02-10
ok, it's my fault! sorry.
i am not that familar with LXQt and maybe used the applications in a wrong way / order.
1. i opend the "Preferences|Fcitx Configuration". but this was completely empt. nothing to select or add.
2. i opend the "System Tools|Fcitx". after the keyboard icon appeared in the bottom right corner...
3. i reopend "Preferences|Fcitx Configuration". now i could see the "English (US)" keyboard and could add my refered "German" keyboard. this keyboard layput takes effect immediately.
just compared with lubuntu lts (20.04)...
that shows the same behavior of the "Fcitx Configuration" application
(and the way i tried to use it).
but lubuntu lts (20.04) does take and set the keyboard layout from the boot-options
debian-installer/locale=de_DE.UTF-8
console-setup/layoutcode=de
keyboard-configuration/layoutcode=de
keyboard-configuration/variant=German
to boot straight into german locale and keyboard layout, what DargonOS doesn't.
There must be something I'm removing or changing when I make the ISO. If we can identify what package is missing i can add it back or prevent it from being removed when the ISO is made. Would it have something to do with "locals" being alterted? I'll have to setup my pi, make changes, netboot, and check to see if it resolves. Wish i knew exactly what to change.
i compared the
dpkg --get-selections
output of lubuntu (20.04 LTS) and DragonOS R12...maybe these are some candidated (present on lubuntu and missing in DragonOS)
is DragonOS build on lubuntu 20.04 LTS or an older version of lubuntu 18.04 LTS?
this i did not downloaded, to see its packages.
I went looking at the packages. Since I think I use a different technique to make the ISO, those packages do not apply. Then again, I coukd be wrong. I'll keep doing some research here as well.
Also, DragonOS Focal is based on Lubuntu 20.04 (i think its up to 20.04.2).
hmm...
when i boot Dragon OS Focal Public R12 from a burned DVD,
then the splash screen shows
hmm that is odd, i probably forgot to relabel something when i moved from 18.04 LTS o 20.04 Focal. It's for sure based on 20.04 though. All these times ive been hitting ctrl c and not paying attention ha!
Sorry I haven't been able to track down and fix this issue. I'll leave it open in the hopes a solution can be found.