Hi there
I was considering installing Zorin OS Education on my laptop
I chose the trying option to give it a go but when I press a key it then keeps printing the first key I pressed indefinitely
pressing any other key doesn't work
I restarted and tried again but the same issue, it would keep printing the same initial key pressed
Please help, thanks
Welcome to the forum!
Just out of curiosity, were you having any problems with the keyboard before trying out Zorin? I assume not, but I just want to make sure.
If you're able to still navigate around the system with the cursor, what you could try for now (to hopefully get you able to type):
Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Typing -> Repeat Keys (turn this off)
I'm just curious if that would stop the key from constantly repeating. I'm just curious if this could be a temporary fix in the meantime, as being able to type in the OS is kind of important lol.
Does this also happen if you try to connect a usb keyboard to the laptop?
There's no issue with the main Keyboard when I go back to Windows and it works fine (even after trying Zorin)
The repeating stops when I turn off 'Repeat Keys' but it still doesn't register any keys after the first key I press
I just tried a bluetooth keyboard and that seems to be working fine before and after using the main keyboard, no issues with repeating keys and bluetooth keyboard works after first key press
On-screen keyboard also works fine
The laptop is an Alienware 15 R2 for more info
There seems to be a lot of "versions" of this laptop. Do you have any more specific specs? You could go to Settings in Zorin to see some more information or just if you know them offhand/through windows. I'm trying to avoid terminal commands since your keyboard doesn't seem to want to work by default.
What I would possible throw out as an option, is to try another distro with a newer kernel (such as pop os or mx linux "ahs version") so that we could see if this is a kernel thing. If it turns out to be, there could be a couple solutions from there (such as installing and updating would also update the kernel a bit, leading to a possible fix, or installing a custom kernel).
Welcome to the Forum!
Does it matter what Key You press for the Repeating Issue or is it only one specific Key?
Is Your System running in Wayland or Xorg? Please check that in Settings>About and look if there stands Wayland or X11. If there should stands Wayland, You could try it with switching to X11/Xorg.
To do that, go to the Login Screen (not the Lock Screen). Simply reboot for that. On the Login Screen click on Your Profile so that the Password Field appears. It has to be appeared. when it is appeared, You should see in the bottom right Corner a Gear Icon. Click on it and choose the Option ''Zorin Desktop on Xorg'' and then log in and test if it works.
This is the specs
The wireless keyboard works so we could try Terminal?
I'm also going try Pop OS and see how that goes
It's any key press
According to the About Window it's running on X11
I'm unable to try login screen method since I'm currently testing it on "Try Zorin", the same keyboard issue occurs of I try to go through the installation
Ok so I assume you have an nvidia gpu in this as well? If you aren't sure you could run a check with
sudo lshw -C video
In the terminal and we can see from there. How are you booting from the usb? With the open source drivers or the nvidia drivers?
Yes it's an Nvidia GPU GTX 970m
Booted under Safe Graphics
Booted under modern NVIDIA drivers:
I have tried all three options listed here:
So I just tried Pop OS and I'm having the same issue, the Main Keyboard does not work but the Wireless Keyboard does.. so what now? 
I assume popOS has 6.12 kernel, so should cover latest hardware. ref:
All I can think of: Is your BIOS up-to-date?
Okay, Hmm ... Maybe this is only because You run it on the USB Stick. It could behave right when it is installed. I could, but don't have to. The Problem is:
So, You can't set up Your Username and Password, right?
Is the keyboard layout set correctly in the and language as well? I've heard sometimes there are issues with the Nvidia driver and occasionally inputs (such as keyboard and mouse). But the problem is without going through the installation it would be harder to diagnose.
The last BIOS update for this laptop was in 2021 so it should be the latest
I can try with the wireless keyboard but I don't really want to complete an installation and not have the inbuilt keyboard not working at all
Go to extentions → Dash to dock → Settings → Appearance tab → Disable Show overview on start up. Check if this will fix your issue.
