I recently installed Linux Mint on an HP laptop. While I'm working, the keyboard and trackpad sometimes stop responding even though the rest of the system continues running. Closing the lid and opening it again restores both devices. The issue appears intermittently, and the logs show messages mentioning an ACPI BIOS error as well as "x86/cpu: SGX disabled or unsupported by BIOS." What should I check to diagnose and fix this?
2 Answers
Closing and reopening the lid is effectively forcing the laptop’s power-management devices to wake up again. A normal reboot may also clear the issue, but if the keyboard and trackpad are completely unresponsive, you can try switching to a virtual console with Ctrl+Alt+F3 or use the system’s power button only as a last resort. Check for available kernel and firmware updates, and test whether the issue still happens when booting from a live USB.
When the problem happens, watch the system log in a terminal with `sudo dmesg -w` and then close and reopen the lid. Look for messages that appear at the exact time the keyboard and trackpad stop responding. Also record the exact HP model, since hardware-specific fixes can depend on it. Testing with a new user account, a Linux Mint live USB, or another distribution can help determine whether this is a configuration problem or a kernel/firmware compatibility issue.
The ACPI BIOS error may be related to power management, but the SGX message is usually informational and probably is not responsible for the input devices stopping. The exact model and the surrounding log lines would be more useful.
I can’t use the usual reboot menu when both input devices are frozen, so I’ll collect the logs and test with a live USB first.