Ok.

I started there and saw that x11-xkb-tools was not installed.
Assuming x11-xkb-tools should be there (and maybe other missing configuration files) and that an update would install whatever was needed, I exited aptitude and decided to try apt-get update.

I first checked that the /etc/apt/sources.list was this one and that everything else was remmed out:

deb http://pkgmaster.devuan.org/merged ascii main
deb http://pkgmaster.devuan.org/merged ascii-updates main
deb http://pkgmaster.devuan.org/merged ascii-security main
deb http://pkgmaster.devuan.org/merged ascii-backports main

Then I did apt-get update and got a warning about dpkg having been interrupted which got fixed with the instructions on the screen with ...

dpkg --configure -a

... and then ran apt-get update again.

It started to do its work but complained about /etc/pam.d/login having been modified and asking about which version to keep.
I guessed that that could have been the glitch that affected my kb/mouse (?) so I kept the existing script version (default option) and continued.
If that one did not work, I could try the new version which obviously was not an option if I accepted the new one from the start.

When it was done (it was a lot) I exited, rebooted and got my desktop, this time with working kb and mouse.  =^ )

Once there, I started SPM and updated everything again.
Then for safe measure, I did the same through apt.

Now, it seems everything is well again:

root@devuan:/home/groucho# apt-get dist-upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
root@devuan:/home/groucho#

root@devuan:/home/groucho# uname -a
Linux devuan 3.16.0-5-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.16.51-3+deb8u1 (2018-01-08) x86_64 GNU/Linux
root@devuan:/home/groucho# 

groucho@devuan:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Devuan
Description:	Devuan GNU/Linux 2.0 (ascii)
Release:	2.0
Codename:	ascii
groucho@devuan:~$ 

A big thank you to all of those who pitched in to help.
Really appreciated your input.

That said, it I think I have to brush up and deepen my command line skills.

Best,

A.

msi wrote:

How about reading those ASCII release notes?

I have read them.
But have not been able to identify anything specific that would help me solve this.
At least not with my level of exposure to Linux.

Perhaps you could point out anything I may have (surely) missed?

Well, you wrote that using startx, you get "the full desktop but still no Kb or mouse". This could simply be because the Xserver freezes on start-up and may have nothing to do with your keyboard and mouse at all. You need to read the section "Starting X from a console (TTY)".

Purging the packages will require downloading them again?

Usually not as they will be stored in /var/cache/apt/archives but of course if there is an update available apt will want to download that. There might be some other cases where removed packages need to be redownloaded to but generally it should just get previously installed packages from the disk cache.

I don't really know since i seldom use rescue mode. In any case you should be able to bring up the interface using "ifconfig wlan0 up" and if that isn't enough to get a connection either manually configure it or run "dhclient wlan0" to acquire an IP using DHCP if your network uses that.

I guess you could do that. You'd have to mount your disk and chroot (after mount binding /dev /proc /sys /tmp) to it to be able to use apt-get though.

Ok.

Ok.

One question ...
Purging the packages will require downloading them again?
If so, will the wireless network be up when I log into rescue mode?

Could this be done with a live Jesse or Ascii CD?

Hopefully ...   8^)

Thanks for your input.

A.

I have read them.
But have not been able to identify anything specific that would help me solve this.
At least not with my level of exposure to Linux.

Perhaps you could point out anything I may have (surely) missed?

Thanks in advance.

A.

That's one possibility that has come to mind.

The keyboard is the same I use in the same box that other OSs run in, just on different disks.
Works perfectly well.

Nope ...
My box does not have a PS2 port.  =-'

I've had a look ...
I'll post it tomorrow morning.

When I installed Devuan Jesse I had to install the non-free Nvidia drivers to make my two Nvidia cards drive the three monitors.
If I recall correctly, I tried using the same xorg.conf file I was using with PCLinuxOS which worked.

I'll check and see if that is as I remember and then post it along with the log.

Thanks a lot for your input.

A.

aptitude

Use the / key to bring up a search box and find the package x11-xkb-tools. If it has an i in front, it's installed. If that's the case, purge it (Shift+-) then re-install the package. It'll probably throw up a bunch of errors when purging, remove all packages that rely on it too (they'll be re-installed when you install the package)

HTH!

Altoid wrote:

I was able to start X, got the full desktop but still no Kb or mouse (it's plugged into the USB Kb).
So the problem persists.  =^/

Anyone?

How about reading those ASCII release notes?

Hello:

Altoid wrote:

Hello:
I was able to start X, got the full desktop but still no Kb or mouse (it's plugged into the USB Kb).
So the problem persists.  =^/

Anyone?

I tried using a different mouse directly connected to a USB port (instead of a PS2 connected to a port on the Kb) but still no dice.
Is there any way I can get out of this problem without having to do a full reinstall?

It looks like your X is having some Problem either with this USB device or with USB in general.

* can you try another USB keyboard?
* can you try a PS2 keyboard?
* can you have a close look into /var/log/Xorg.0.log ? If nothing springs to your eye make it available to us?
* do you have an /etc/X11/xorg.conf or other config files as referenced from /var/log/Xorg.0.log ? If yes make it/them available, too...

Hello:

Altoid wrote:

Hello:
I was able to start X, got the full desktop but still no Kb or mouse (it's plugged into the USB Kb).
So the problem persists.  =^/

Anyone?

Sorry, i am pretty much at loss here as i've never seen something like this before. The only thing i can recommend is checking Xorg.log for anything suspicious in relation the input devices. Maybe the "paused" message i mentioned earlier or if there is any indication of failure to detect the mouse/keyboard. Another thing that comes to mind is if you maybe have an actual X config that might be broken (outdated?) for some reason? This seemingly being related to X in general makes me think it has be somehow fixable by adjusting the config.

Anyone?

I tried using a different mouse directly connected to a USB port (instead of a PS2 connected to a port on the Kb) but still no dice.
Is there any way I can get out of this problem without having to do a full reinstall?
That's the MS way out...

I was wondering about using a live Jese/Ascii *.iso to boot and do an update to see if that fixes anything or change repos to Jesse and then do an update to see if I can get to where I started from ie: a healthy and perfectly working Jesse installtion 8^/.

Or try to do the same things from the terminal, but I'd need some instructions.

Thanks in advance.

A.

I'll have a look - never had to use it before.

Too late ...   8^D LoL

I was able to start X, got the full desktop but still no Kb or mouse (it's plugged into the USB Kb).
So the problem persists.  =^/

Thanks for your input.

A.

I did as you suggested.
I was able to start the X server and got my full desktop across the three monitors (so it would seem that it is not a Nvidia non-free driver issue) but the Kb was as unresponsive as before.

I have a gut feeling (?) that this is something related to Xorg.conf.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks for your input.

A.

OK.
Thanks a lot.  8^)

Normally, you would have an entry for booting into runlevel 1 in your GRUB boot menu as well. But from your description it seemed like it's not there on your system.

It's actually called "single-user mode". Ubuntu calls it "recovery mode"... (mea culpa)

I would have suggested the same. However, you might want to do yourself the favor of reading the section on "Starting X from a console (TTY)" in the ASCII release notes before you use startx to start X.

Beyond that it might be an idea to try narrowing the problem down. I'd try disabling slim (i guess this should work: update-rc.d slim disable) and see if your keyboard works after a normal boot. If it does try startx. If it still works clearly slim is the culprit.