Unable to Disable Power Button | Ubuntu 14.04.2 running Xfce 4.10

Question

This is my first question here, so if I goof on a convention kindly let me know.

Configuration:

Ubuntu 14.04.2 with Xfce 4.10 using crouton on an Acer c720 Chromebook

Issue:

The default behavior of the power button (located directly above the backspace key) is to abruptly power off linux with no delay, warning, or confirmation.

Steps Taken:

1. I have already uncommented the appropriate lines in /etc/systemd/logind.conf to no effect. See the file's excerpted contents below.

2. I have also changed the appropriate lines in ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-power-manager.xml, also to no effect. See the file's contents below.

3. I attempted to locate the powerbtn.sh script discussed in other threads. This file is known to live in /etc/acpi/something-else... but I have no /etc/acpi directory. I attempted to find this script, but that yielded no results.

Referenced Files:

cat /etc/systemd/logind.conf

[Login]
#NAutoVTs=6
#ReserveVT=6
#KillUserProcesses=no
#KillOnlyUsers=
#KillExcludeUsers=root
Controllers=blkio cpu cpuacct cpuset devices freezer hugetlb memory perf_event net_cls net_prio
ResetControllers=
#InhibitDelayMaxSec=5
HandlePowerKey=ignore
HandleSuspendKey=ignore
HandleHibernateKey=ignore
HandleLidSwitch=ignore
#PowerKeyIgnoreInhibited=no
#SuspendKeyIgnoreInhibited=no
#HibernateKeyIgnoreInhibited=no
#LidSwitchIgnoreInhibited=yes
#IdleAction=ignore
#IdleActionSec=30min

cat .config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-power-manager.xml

<channel name="xfce4-power-manager" version="1.0">
  <property name="xfce4-power-manager" type="empty">
    <property name="power-button-action" type="uint" value="3"/>
    <property name="hibernate-button-action" type="uint" value="3"/>
    <property name="sleep-button-action" type="uint" value="3"/>
    <property name="critical-power-action" type="uint" value="3"/>
  </property>
</channel>

Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is quite the nuisance.

Answer 1

Alright, so I stumbled upon the answer to my own question quite by accident.

I probably should've mentioned this before, but I also tried to find out what keycode and keysym the power key was attached to through xev, but it registered nothing when the key was pressed.

Anyhow, I just recently changed over from using the Xmonad window manager to the i3 window manager (great switch btw, i3 is awesome!). As I was configuring i3, it crossed my mind to check and see if the power key would behave the same way as it had under Xfce/Xmonad. I pressed it and, nothing!

After letting out an emotionally charged cry of victory over this nuisance, I immediately started xev and discovered that (at least on this model chromebook) the power key is registered to keycode 124. I then altered my ~/.Xmodmap file to include the line:

keycode 124 = F11 F11 F11 F11

Finally, I restarted Ubuntu and lo and behold, xev now appropriately registers the "F11" key being pressed and the system doesn't abruptly shut down.

I hope that this is helpful to anyone who was suffering the same frustrations. Peace be with you!

Answer 2

In /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/inet, look for <POWR> and apply your action of choice.

Answer 3

First you could edit your keymap file to change the behavior of the power button to assign it to an other key

Edit the file : /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/inet (edit POWR key)

Then you will need to disable the power button efficiently a good method is with xinput

run xinput --list power buttons have their own entry... pick the device number then run

xinput disable devnumber something like xinput disable 8