loss of keyboard input

[MichaelBurns]

I am running Ubuntu Lucid Live from an external flash storage. I use two different netbooks: toshiba mini nb505 and gateway lt2805u. Lucid usually runs fine with only various minor glitches (like multiple overlapping panel icons).

I occassionally and randomly encounter a major problem: the system stops responding to keyboard input (except that the arrow keys, and a few other functional keys, will select various items in the panel). I can use the mouse (which I hate) to select things like ordinary mouse users would, but even then I cannot type anything into a browswer address bar or search field for instance. It's as if the panel hijacks the keyboard input, so that no other program that I launch can see the keystrokes. As if only the panel even knows that there is a keyboard connected.

Why does this happen?

What are some things that I can try to reclaim the keyboard?

Is there some configuration settings that I need to make to prevent this?

[marinara]

this is a dumb question, but do you hit the keys to change layout?
http://www.wikihow.com/Change-Keyboard-Layout-in-Ubuntu

[MichaelBurns]

Thank you very much for the reply, marinara.

I certainly don't reset the keyboard layout on purpose, and I don't open any menus when this happens. I haven't figured out how to recreate the problem, yet, but maybe it happens when I have a few nautilus windows open and accidently issue a strange key sequence instead of alt-tab or alt-q or alt-w or f2 or something. Or maybe I accidently issue one of these common key sequences in the wrong context and then all hell breaks loose ...

Anyway, even in a different keyboard layout, wouldn't I still be able to type text in a text field (just not the same letters)? My problem is that the keyboard seems to be completely ignored: nothing at all happens when I type on the keyboard (except for a small set of keys such as arrow, tab, and esc change selections in the upper taskbar thing). The only remedy that I've found for this situation is a hard reboot. (I can't even get the shutdown menu; I just have to hold down the power button.) This is only occassional and random, but it has happened on three different machines, using both live and installed versions. (Well, I haven't actually done an installed version on the gateway, but otherwise.)

[MichaelBurns]

Is there a way to change this thread's tag from "lubuntu" to just plain "ubuntu"? I don't use LXDE (which I'm assuming is the "l" in "lubuntu".)

[nothingspecial]

Is there a way to change this thread's tag from "lubuntu" to just plain "ubuntu"? I don't use LXDE (which I'm assuming is the "l" in "lubuntu".)

Done, and added a t too.

That said, I only saw this by chance. Use the "Report abuse" button to alert staff in future :)

[MichaelBurns]

Thank you, nothingspecial.

So, I suppose that I will just have to shutdown and restart occassionally (about once per week) ...

Could it be that I just have a knack for choosing hardware that doesn't work well with Ubuntu?