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Date:      Sat, 5 May 2001 18:08:05 -0600 (MDT)
From:      Doug Russell <drussell@saturn-tech.com>
To:        freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: no keyboard
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.21.0105051800080.95873-100000@beastie.saturn-tech.com>
In-Reply-To: <20010505121008.E18676@fw.wintelcom.net>

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On Sat, 5 May 2001, Alfred Perlstein wrote:

> > > i have never killed a keyboard with un / plugging.
> > > at linux it works.
> > Well, it works, until your keyboard does actually break :)
> 
> It can actually fry the entire motherboard.  I doubt linux can
> prevent that.
> 
> FreeBSD 4.3 allows hotswap again.

Hehe...  I've never burned a MB or keyboard in the > 1000 times I've done
it, although I've had to reboot a few because the keyboard controller
didn't wake up properly.  :)  I've had dead-ish keyboards that won't allow
a machine to boot if plugged in when booting, but work fine if plugged in
afterwards.  (I've got a nice rackmount Netframe keyboard/trackball that
does this.  What a pain.  I'd like to be able to use that keyboard!)

It could be handy sometimes to have a widget to run that would totally
re-initialize the keyboard controller.  Most often I'd find this handy to
re-enable a PS/2 mouse after inadvertantly disconnecting it.  I hate to
reboot server machines that have been up for hundreds of days because I
can't use the KB or mouse.  (Not that I often use a KB or mouse on any
server machines... but it has happened more than once.)

Besides...  It's not as bad as hot-swapping ISA cards.  When I first got
my Microsoft InPort Bus Mouse (with Windows 286) years and years ago, I
used to often move it between my BBS machine and my development machine
every few minutes when I was building some of the ANSI screens, etc.

Occasionally I had to go to DOS and re-enable the mouse driver, but it
actually worked because the card was so simple.  :)  Not recommended.

Yes, I am crazy.

Later......						<Dog>



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