i8046: unbind/bind issue with laptop system password set

[Nick Warne <nick@ukfsn.org>]

Hi all,

This is a strange one.  My laptop, a Dell Inspiron 6400 (UK model
MM061) has a BIOS option to set system password that is required on
boot/reboot/and on waking up from suspend to RAM (sleep).

This works fine, but after I enter my password during resume, I find
my keyboard has gone AWOL (no keys mapped, all keys auto repeat etc.)
and shortly mouse buttons die too... so all I can do now is hit the
power off button!

log/messages spews out lots of this stuff:
Nov 14 11:36:36 palantir kernel: [10330.783152] atkbd.c: Unknown key pressed (raw set 2, code 0x28 on isa0060/serio0).
Nov 14 11:36:36 palantir kernel: [10330.783164] atkbd.c: Use 'setkeycodes 28 <keycode>' to make it known.
Nov 14 11:36:37 palantir kernel: [10330.855664] atkbd.c: Unknown key pressed (raw set 2, code 0x128 on isa0060/serio0).
Nov 14 11:36:37 palantir kernel: [10330.855676] atkbd.c: Use 'setkeycodes 28 <keycode>' to make it known

I have invested this, and one difference I notice in log/messages
during resume activity is this:

WITHOUT system password required:
input: AT Translated Set 2 keyboard
as /devices/platform/i8042/serio0/input/input1

WITH system password required:
input: AT Raw Set 2 keyboard as /devices/platform/i8042/serio16/input/input45

Now, investigating further, I have found that I can replicate this whole issue with this script:

#!/bin/sh
echo -n "i8042" > /sys/bus/platform/drivers/i8042/unbind
sleep 5;
echo -n "i8042" > /sys/bus/platform/drivers/i8042/bind

if I hit a key during the sleep stage, the keyboard et al all goes AWOL again.

So, I am presuming here that when my laptop gets woken up, the BIOS system password screen comes, and the /etc/acpi/resume.d/ scripts are being held in stasis until I enter the password.  BUT, I have then used the keyboard before i8042 is echoed to 'bind', and this causes the issue.  Without the system password set, the scipts perhaps run fast enough before I can hit the keyboard in this keyboard state.

One reference I found with similar problem:

http://kerneltrap.org/mailarchive/linux-kernel/2008/5/13/1805874

Thanks,

Nick

-- 
Free Software Foundation Associate Member 5508