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mstrohm

Member

Registered: 2020-02-09

Posts: 37  

[SOLVED] keyboard variant (neo2) cannot be selected in the installer (netinst)

Hello

The installer for Devuan GNU+Linux Daedalus in the netinst image does not let me choose a keyboard layout variant in the installation process. I need this to select the neo2 "variant" of the german layout which in reality is a layout on its own (XVLCWK instead of QWERTZ). I imagine that users that use Dvorak layouts have the same issue.

I think the variant selection should be added to the installer step to select the keyboard layout again, because installing with a very different layout is a major hurdle in the installation process (think of entering passwords correctly).

Is there a way to select the keyboard variant on the console in the netinst Devuan installer for now?

Regards
mstrohm

mstrohm

Member

Registered: 2020-02-09

Posts: 37  

Re: [SOLVED] keyboard variant (neo2) cannot be selected in the installer (netinst)

The installer step "Select a keyboard layout" could be the easy solution, but it isn't working:

In the Devuan daedalus installer, it first asks about the keyboard and gives two selections: "PC-AT ..." and "keep settings" (or something like this). When I select the first entry, the installer step fails and I get the "Installation step failed" message. In the Devuan chimaera installer, the installation step fails instantly when I select it.

mstrohm

Member

Registered: 2020-02-09

Posts: 37  

Re: [SOLVED] keyboard variant (neo2) cannot be selected in the installer (netinst)

The quick solution that works for me is to use the graphical Debian GNU/Linux installer: I opened a console and used the setxkbmap program to set the variant:

setxkbmap -layout de -variant neo

After that, I continued with the installation of Debian GNU/Linux instead of Devuan GNU+Linux on that machine. Although the installer resetted the keyboard variant at some point, I was able to at least enter the wifi password more easily.

mstrohm

Member

Registered: 2020-02-09

Posts: 37  

Re: [SOLVED] keyboard variant (neo2) cannot be selected in the installer (netinst)

And my final solution for that particular computer is to use Alpine Linux: init freedom + keyboard variant support from the start.

Last edited by mstrohm (2023-09-09 13:21:39)