Control GRUB with Gamepad?

[ReticentRobot]

This is probably crazy, but is there any possible way to select your OS on grub using a gamepad? I don't have a keyboard/mouse hooked up to my 'steam machine'.

[Air]

I haven't ever used GRUB, but the only way that would be possible is if drivers for the controller existed in it. My personal suggestion is to use a small wireless keyboard.[www.amazon.com] I've found that using one is great when using a PC on a TV.

[Balderick]

The beauty with linux is nothing is impossible (apparently)
Not sure how you would or could get grub boot manager to load kernel module (xpad) for controller.
Could make suggestions other than but are you dual booting?
What is your need for controller at grub screen?
If you are dual booting would there not be k+m connected for other OS?

SteamOS by default on a stand alone install will only show grub menu for one second and then load the SteamOS kernel automatically.
Have you reviewed or tried editing your grub config file (/etc/default/grub) to remove the need for controller to navigate grub menu?

[ReticentRobot]

Yeah I am dual booting with Windows 8 to play games that aren't supported in SteamOS. I would like to be able to select W8 at grub with a gamepad because I don't have a mouse/keyboard hooked up in the living room (I have to drag them in and unhook them from my office PC when I want to switch between linux and windows and don't really want to have to buy another set). I have windows booting into Steam and Big Picture so I don't use a k+m there either.

[siimphh]

kernel modules are too late for grub - no kernel is running. grub has it's own input drivers - writing a minimalistic one for the steam controller should be possible. what does the controller present itself as, a usb device?

[Arsoul]

Standard USB HID device I beleive.

[ReticentRobot]

Just FYI - this has been requested on the official grub mailing list and interest has been shown by at least a couple of other people. We are waiting on the devs to respond as to whether opening a 'bug report' with the feature request is the appropriate next step.

[GNUsNotUNIX]

Hmm, wouldnt this require for the bios to setup the pad as well?

[PsyBlade]

For the time being I can suggest multiple workarounds:

grub can boot a default entry, that default can be changed
you could use it to:

1) upon booting one OS set the other as default resulting in them alternateing (or cycling)

2) use a tool inside the OS to change the default (eg http://de.mcbf.net/david/grubchoosedefault/)
additionally make each OS set itself as default (just in case you sometime select on per grub+keyboard)

you could even combine both aproaches to have entries like:
-now SteamOS, then alternate
-now SteamOS, then stick to Windows
-always SteamOS
...


Btw: I don't think the bios needs to be involved (but not sure)

[ReticentRobot]

Originally posted by PsyBlade:

For the time being I can suggest multiple workarounds:

grub can boot a default entry, that default can be changed
you could use it to:

1) upon booting one OS set the other as default resulting in them alternateing (or cycling)

2) use a tool inside the OS to change the default (eg http://de.mcbf.net/david/grubchoosedefault/)
additionally make each OS set itself as default (just in case you sometime select on per grub+keyboard)

you could even combine both aproaches to have entries like:
-now SteamOS, then alternate
-now SteamOS, then stick to Windows
-always SteamOS
...


Btw: I don't think the bios needs to be involved (but not sure)

That's an interesting idea! I'll look into this.

Not sure if it would be possible, but it would be cool if BPM could somehow interact with this so that when selecting sleep/shut-down you could get something like 'reboot to windows' or 'reboot to steamOS'

[danman]

The Steam Controller will present itself as a mouse and keyboard to the system, right? Maybe there's some potential there to use the keyboard part of that to select entries in the GRUB boot menu. Like, if the D-pad was mapped to the arrow keys by default.

[PsyBlade]

Afaik it's now known yet if the hardware presents the mouse and keyboard or if it is only done in the driver.
Only the former would help. Most devices only do such things in software. (but doing it in hw is not unheard of, I had a mouse once that did muse-button+keyboard makros in hardware)

[danman]

I've heard them explain it multiple times that the pad will present itself as mouse+keyboard HID interface, so you wouldn't even need a driver for basic (read: no macros and stuff) usage.

So in that case, it'd be a matter of which keys are mapped to the controller's buttons, since it should be similar to having a USB keyboard plugged in.