USB keyboards and Uboot - on a Sam460ex

Having some problems using keyboard with Uboot that is preventing me from... installing new uboot with better keyboard support

I am aware it's fussy about what keyboards it supports. I have some that it just fails to see at all.

But the others I have that let me press a key to get to the uboot setting or console... they work for the first keypress. Then immediately stop working again.

Do i just have to keep searching for an old keyboard that works? Or is there a trick to make these 'almost works' keyboards... work?

@NinjaCyborg
I have the exact same problem after updating to the latest Sam460ex firmware soon two months ago. Tried to buy a brand new keyboard as suggested by Acube also, but to no avail. Had some writing with Acube about it, and it ended up in me receiving an older firmware which *should* work.
But since it requires me to TFTP boot the Sam460 to start the firmware downgrade I still need a working keyboard. So that kind of blocks/contradicts itself.

So still waiting on a reply on second week on how to proceed from here. I'm stuck as you are :-/

Perhaps anyone with a working latest SAM460ex firmware with working keyboard can tell which keyboard they are using - although it is kind of a bummer to have to shell out for a new USB keyboard just because you updated the computer firmware.

Oh wow... I'm on old firmware trying to update to the latest one which I just bought..

@NinjaCyborg
Are you on one of the newer "grey background" versions?
I came from one of the old "black background" versions which worked fine for me.

@graff

it's possible to do the u-boot update/downgrade via serial terminal, connectiong a null modem cable to a PC, settings 115200 8N1.

In order to do the update from the serial terminal, under AmigaOS4.1, you need to enter before the following commands from the Shell:

nvsetenv stdin serial
nvsetenv stdout serial

and then reboot.

From this point, when back to u-boot, you can stop the boot sequence pressing 'q' key at the countdown, then enter the commands to upgrade/downgrade u-boot via TFTP.

When finished, reboot to AmigaOS4.1 and from Shell enter:

nvsetenv stdin usbkbd
nvsetenv stdout vga

to restore the original settings.

Hope this helps

@m3x
Awesome, thanks!
I'll try this out as soon as I have some spare hours for setting it up!

i tried many times to use a serial to USB cable to connect the only other machine i have but it never worked.

@NinjaCyborg

must be null modem cable, not a straight through Cable.

use putty on the PC.

to open a serial shell on AmigaOS

you can wrote the folling in shell:

newshell aux:

i have that in my user-startup, so always have a shell, I can access the computer, if the gfx has locked up.
useful for debuging.

Not sure if AmigaOS support USB2SER addapters, but my PC does.
and so I use the onboard serial port header on my AmigaONE.