Yubico Forum

I bought a Yubikey Neo to be used in C/R mode with a passwordsafe database. Started configuring today and can't get anything to work. Can someone help me diagnose and fix this?

1. Yubikey in USB slot; messages in syslog show that it's identified:

Everything else works. Yubikey light is not flashing.

2. Take key out, start the Personalization tool (Version 3.1.23, library version 1.17.2, obtained from the Linux Mint 18 repo).

Everything else works OK.

3. Put Yubikey in and start Pers Tool: key is identified by the tool but the desktop freezes: can't change to other windows, selecting different menu items on the tool has no effect. Initially the desktop comes back, after about a minute, but eventually the freeze is permanent. At this point there is a continuous series of syslog messages like this:


4. After restarting the desktop, I try out "ykinfo"; it works fine, thus:

The Yubikey is generating keystrokes: I used it to register for this forum and to logon.

This is deeply depressing. Can someone help me to diagnose the fault and make some progress?

This sounds similar to an issue I had. I plugged the yubikey into an unpowerd USB hub that was plugged into a Dell monitor with built-in USB hub (I thought powered, but apparently not) which was attached via full-length USB cable to my PC. The result was that there wasn't enough power to keep the Yubikey powered fully through its startup; it flickered weirdly and would get partial adds in my syslog.

The solution there was to shorten the distance or put a powered hub in the middle. (I haven't gotten a powered hub yet, so I'm currently plugging in directly at the monitor, even though that's more awkward to reach).

If you're key isn't plugged directly into a port on your computer, try moving it there and try again.


(More technical description for those inclined: USB specifies maximum cable lengths and minimum wire gauge, because manufacturers want to make cables as cheaply as possible (thinner wires) and people want long, flexible cables for convenience, but thinner gauges and longer wires means more voltage drop in the wire (because wire acts like a resistor). In my case and others like it, the initial voltage is high enough to start the Yubikey, but as they key starts doing stuff, it draws more current. Since the total cable length was too long and my wires aren't great, the increased current load causes a high enough voltage drop that there isn't enough voltage to keep the Yubikey running, and it resets. Under reset, the current draw drops to almost nothing, allowing the voltage to increase back up to the point where the Yubikey can start up again, and the process loops).

Thank you for the suggestion but I don't think that's it, because the key is plugged into one of the slots on the side of the laptop.

Just for completeness, I have solved this problem. I used the nuclear method, namely completely rebuilding the laptop (though using precisely the same software). So something in the old installation was incompatible with the Personalization Key, and that something has--by accident--gone away in the rebuild.

No help to anyone, I know, but it's so annoying to find a thread which refers to your specific problem and then find that it just drifts off into the ether...