Ubuntu vs Debian

[littlegulch]

First off, thanks for putting this together.

It works great for me in ubuntu 15.04 but doesn't with Debian Jessie / Gnome. Any idea why that might be the case?

[XenHat]

Just to make sure; Did you confirm that the driver has been added to one of the configuration files in /etc/modprobe.d/ and added it if missing?
What happens when you try to modprobe the driver from a normal session?

[littlegulch]

Sorry -- I'm new to all this, so I'm afraid I don't know how to add it. I only saw two entries there, neither of which particularly looked anything like the keyboard driver.

The make command seems to indicate that there is no such ../build directory ; recipe for target failed, error two. Nothing to be done for default. Recipe for target install failed--

This is a fresh installation of Debian Jessie (updated). I have little understanding of linux, and am learning bit by bit. I would appreciate any help--

[XenHat]

I have little understanding of linux, and am learning bit by bit. I would appreciate any help--

The best advice I can give you is to learn about your newly installed GNU/Linux system 😄

Shortcut:
I'm not fully aware of the differences between Debian 9 and the latest version of Ubuntu, but the Ubuntu documentation usually translates well to Debian.
You can find basic information about kernel modules at the Ubuntu wiki/Loadable_Modules.

Long version:
More generally, most of the information you need to manage your new GNU/Linux system is found in the manual pages (commonly referred to as "manpages", see below) and in wiki/forums online. So reading is a must.

Unless stated otherwise, all linux distributions contains the man command and the manual pages for the programs you have installed (each application comes with their own documentation), which can be used together to learn how to use your system. Online versions (of varying accuracy) of the manual pages can be found at websites such as man7 and linux.die.net. The links points to their equivalent of man man, which should teach you how to use the manual viewer.

P.S. I'm afraid I can't give more precise information as I currently am unable to set up a Linux environment.