Problems with starting speakup, any chance of solving?

[Michael Whapples]

Hello,
I will try and answer your questions as best as I can.

Yes the problems started when just doing a standard upgrade in 
ArchLinux. I cannot remember the precise kernel versions before and 
after the upgrade, I think it was the last 2.6 kernel ArchLinux used 
before moving to 3.x kernels which broke speakup (IE. it was that last 
2.6 kernel where speakup was broken).

I believe now that speakup is part of the kernel, ArchLinux has speakup 
in the main kernel package and so the two are the same versions. Speakup 
is built as modules but is in the main kernel package (ArchLinux names 
it linux).

I used to be loading the modules automatically on boot, ArchLinux has a 
space in its main configuration file for modules you want to start on 
boot (main configuration file is /etc/rc.conf). Since then I have 
removed it from that configuration file (no point loading something 
which is failing to load) and just manually use modprobe. Last night I 
checked whether speakup was still broken and I just did modprobe speakup 
and that failed. I just now tried using modprobe speakup_apollo and that 
too failed. Unfortunately I cannot try the softsyn because I will not be 
starting from a clean point (IE. as the issue is the loading of the 
speakup module that will be in the odd position it seems to get into) 
and my modprobe of the synth module will just hang rather than returning.

As for the keymap, I have that set in the main ArchLinux configuration 
(/etc/rc.conf) and its set to uk for the British keyboard layout.

Does any of this help?

Michael Whapples
On -10/01/37 20:59, Kirk Reiser wrote:
> Hi Michael: I am afraid at this point I have more questions than
> answers, but if you don't mind answerring some of them maybe we can
> get closer to the problem You said you have more than one computer
> displaying the same issue? Did this problem just show up after a
> routine upgrade? are the speakup modules from the same kernel package?
> I am not familiar with how arch handles their kernel images and
> modules so that's why I'm asking.  How do you load the modules and
> typically when, IE from /etc/modules at boot or by hand later etc.
> Are you using standard keymaps for the kernel?  Do you modprobe the
> speakup_driver or speakup and then the synth module?  What happens
> when you do it the other way?
>
> Nobody I know of is seeing the exact same problem you report so it
> should be a matter of finding the difference between your
> procedure/set-up and other peoples configurations.  There may very
> well be a bug but isolating what is causing it is the only way I can
> think to hunt down where it is.
>
>   Kirk
>
> On Sat, 19 Nov 2011, Michael Whapples wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>> Some time ago I wrote a message saying that speakup fails to load on 
>> my computers. As no solution to the problem was found then, I decided 
>> to stop keep trying speakup, however recently I have been getting 
>> more and more dissatisfied with Orca for basic tasks (eg. just 
>> reading and writing email because of the bugs with thunderbird and no 
>> real alternative which will work well with orca) I feel it might be 
>> worth getting back to text based applications if I am to stick with 
>> Linux. As others have said that speakup just works fine for them, I 
>> decided to try speakup again but it still fails to load like it was 
>> before (currently my ArchLinux system is running kernel 3.1.1).
>>
>> Is there any chance of this issue being solved? I ask that as 
>> previously I had little in the way of response. I accept that it may 
>> be difficult for it to be tracked down if I am the only one 
>> encountering the issue, however I never even received help with 
>> debugging to get information which may be helpful for others to fix 
>> the problem. Previously I did post the kernel log messages associated 
>> with the problem (which seems to be in the main speakup module) but 
>> this is about the limit of my knowledge of where to find debug 
>> information from the kernel.
>>
>> Michael Whapples
>> _______________________________________________
>> Speakup mailing list
>> Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
>> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>>
>
> -- 
> Kirk Reiser                The Computer Braille Facility
> e-mail: kirk at braille.uwo.ca        University of Western Ontario
> phone: (519) 661-3061
>