Num Lock on startup <SOLVED>

[gimme4]

Hi everyone, I'm not sure this post is in the right place but I'm sure that it will be moved if it isn't.
I am running mint 13 mate with compiz, My problem is that when i boot my laptop up the num lock light comes on ( enabled in bios ), but as soon as mint gets hold of the system the light goes off, My login password is all numbers and it is so much easier to use the number pad, is there any way to get the num lock to be enabled so that I can enter my password easily, please remember that I am a NOOB so step by step instructions would be appreciated.

Many Thanks..

[remoulder]

In a terminal

Code: Select all

apt install numlockx

[killer de bug]

That's a well known problem !

First you need to install "numlockx" using synaptic.

Then open a terminal & type :

Code: Select all

gksudo gedit /etc/mdm/Init/Default

after typing your password, a file will be opened in Gedit. Add these lines at the beginning of the file.

Code: Select all

if [ -x /usr/bin/numlockx ]; then
exec /usr/bin/numlockx on
fi


Edit : add these lines after the commented lines at the beginning of the file (the ones starting with #)

[gimme4]

Thank you very much guys, that worked a treat, the only problem was that Gedit was not my default editor for some reason, I had to install Gedit but after that all worked well, I have marked the post as solved, again many, many thanks..

[killer de bug]

Outchhhhh ! My mistake ! I didn't realize that you were using MATE. Sorry for that.

You could have replaced gedit by pluma in the command line and that would have work like a charm. Sorry for that. You can uninstall gedit now

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get remove gedit
sudo apt-get autoremove

The last command will remove all the gnome stuff that you don't need and that could have been installed with gedit.

[rosenhof]

Hi

I had the same problem as gimme4 and it seems that this is a common issue.
I have fixed this issue on Fedora17 in the past but didn't make any notes of it so I goggled to this tread

I'm just installed LinuxMint 13 Maya / Cinnamon 64-bit with updates for the back ported issues and things are starting to look nice but then I have the num lock issue before logging in.
- Added numlockx with Synaptic
- Edited the Default as killer de bug suggests, no problem

On reboot the Num Lock key lit up and I can enter the login credentials containing numbers without the need to enable Num Lock every time
BUT immediate when I have logged in it is turned off

I'd like to keep it always on since it's a keyboard with separate numerical keypad.
Any ideas?

[rosenhof]

Hi

The strange behaviour that turned off Num Lock immediate after login occurred once, the first time after I applied this (on reboot) but later on during the night it worked perfect so I guess that it was some hiccup the first time and it's not an issue any more.

Thanks for the tips!

[Webtest]

This post helped me ... I was successful in getting numlockx installed in Mint 8 but I couldn't do it through the Synaptic package manager because all of the repositories are long since dead ...

I won't go into the gory details of how I found everything, but here was the solution:

From: http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ubuntu/ubuntu/pool/main/n/numlockx/
I downloaded: numlockx_1.1-10build1_i386.deb to my USB thumb drive at /media/artwork/linux/general
"artwork" is the label of my Thumbdrive, and /linux/general is the path to my working folder.

From a Terminal session:
mint@mint ~ $ sudo -i
mint ~ # dpkg -i /media/artwork/linux/general/numlockx_1.1-10_i386.deb

This installed numlockx thus enabling the on, off, and toggle options for the numlockx command!

Blessings in abundance, all the best, & ENJOY!
Art in Carlisle, PA USA

[Jordi Sayol]

...

Code: Select all

if [ -x /usr/bin/numlockx ]; then
exec /usr/bin/numlockx on
fi


...

Is there a reason to use the "exec" command on script?

This command exits the script immediately after run "/usr/bin/numlockx on". So, if "/usr/bin/numlockx" exist, nothing else will be executed.