Linux Mint Forums

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..

In a terminal

That's a well known problem !

First you need to install "numlockx" using synaptic.

Then open a terminal & type :
after typing your password, a file will be opened in Gedit. Add these lines at the beginning of the file.
Edit : add these lines after the commented lines at the beginning of the file (the ones starting with #)

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..

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

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

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?

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!

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 ... /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

killer de bug wrote:...

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.

This method enable numlock during login and after login, so you have the numlock always ON in your LINUX MINT and LMDE

1) FIRST, install numlockx : sudo apt-get install numlockx

2) SECOND, go to menu and type startup application and opent it.

3) Click on +add

4) On "Name" put NUMLOCK ON

5) On "Command" put /usr/bin/numlockx on

6) Click on "+add" and "close" .


7) Go to /etc/mdm/Init/ and edit Default

Add before exit 0 these lines:

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


Just restart your computer and next time you turn on it you have Numlock On always.


Stilloving from Argentina, Buenos Aires

stilloving wrote:This method enable numlock during login and after login, so you have the numlock always ON in your LINUX MINT and LMDE

1) FIRST, install numlockx : sudo apt-get install numlockx

2) SECOND, go to menu and type startup application and opent it.

3) Click on +add

4) On "Name" put NUMLOCK ON

5) On "Command" put /usr/bin/numlockx on

6) Click on "+add" and "close" .


7) Go to /etc/mdm/Init/ and edit Default

Add before exit 0 these lines:

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


Just restart your computer and next time you turn on it you have Numlock On always.


Stilloving from Argentina, Buenos Aires

This worked for me. Thanks!

killer de bug wrote: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 #)

Thank you! This worked perfectly.

@killer de bug Thanks you.

I tried adding a startup and spent day clicking about trying to work out myself with out looking up. Thought a driver thing.
Now fixed

I solved it the easy way: System Settings/Keyboard - System Settings/Keyboard Settings/Advanced/Miscellaneous compatibility options/Numeric keypad keys always enter digits (as in Mac OS)
I don't know if this works also for password input at the login, but it should.

Hi all,

running linux mint 20 ulyana (mate).

How can I enable numlock on the mint login screen and also the decryption prompt?

i tried following some of the solutions from this topic but they all fail when i get to the text editor portion.

thanx in advance.

@sage632 - Why are you posting a question to a 5 year-old thread? Please start a thread of your own.

Hi sage632,
can you redo your request again, in an New Topic,
and also tell us, something about your machine.