When running CentOS 7 (specifically version 7.0.1406) in Oracle VirtualBox, many users encounter keyboard mapping issues where special characters like æ, ø, å, and | don't produce the expected output. This is particularly frustrating for Norwegian keyboard users who need these characters for programming and system administration tasks.

Most online guides suggest editing /etc/sysconfig/keyboard, but in modern CentOS 7 installations, this file doesn't exist by default. The system has moved to a different configuration approach using localectl and systemd.

First, check your current keyboard configuration:

# Check current keyboard settings
localectl status

# List available keymaps
localectl list-keymaps | grep -i nor

To permanently set the Norwegian keyboard layout:

# Set Norwegian keyboard layout
sudo localectl set-keymap no

# For Norwegian with dead keys (if needed)
sudo localectl set-keymap no-dvorak

# Verify the change
localectl status

If you're using a graphical environment, you'll also need to set the X11 layout:

sudo localectl set-x11-keymap no

To test changes without rebooting, load the new keymap temporarily:

# Load Norwegian keymap for current session
loadkeys no

If the above methods don't work, you can manually create the keyboard configuration:

# Create keyboard configuration file
echo 'KEYTABLE="no"' | sudo tee /etc/vconsole.conf
echo 'XKBLAYOUT="no"' | sudo tee -a /etc/vconsole.conf

For VirtualBox users, ensure your VM settings match:

1. Shut down the VM
2. Go to Settings → System → Motherboard
3. Set Pointing Device to "PS/2 Mouse"
4. In Settings → System → Processor, enable PAE/NX if available
5. Start the VM and test keyboard

If you specifically need the pipe character (|), try these key combinations:

Norwegian layout: AltGr + 9
US International: Shift + \

After making changes, verify they persist across reboots:

# Check all keyboard-related settings
cat /etc/vconsole.conf
systemctl status systemd-localed.service

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After installing CentOS 7.0.1406 in VirtualBox with Norwegian keyboard layout selected during installation, many users encounter unexpected behavior when typing special Norwegian characters (æ, ø, å) and the pipe character (|). This differs from Ubuntu where the layout works correctly.

The root cause lies in how CentOS 7 handles keyboard configuration differently from other distributions. The traditional /etc/sysconfig/keyboard file doesn't exist in CentOS 7, which causes confusion when following older guides.

First, verify your current keyboard settings:

localectl status

To permanently change to Norwegian layout:

sudo localectl set-keymap no
sudo localectl set-x11-keymap no

If you need immediate changes in your X session:

setxkbmap -layout no

For testing pipe character location in Norwegian layout:

xev | grep keysym
# Then press the key where pipe should be

For systems without localectl (older versions):

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf

Add these contents:

Section "InputClass"
    Identifier "system-keyboard"
    MatchIsKeyboard "on"
    Option "XkbLayout" "no"
    Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
    Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
EndSection

When running in VirtualBox, ensure:

# Check if VirtualBox Guest Additions are installed
lsmod | grep vboxguest
# If not, install them:
sudo yum install -y kernel-devel gcc make perl
sudo mount /dev/cdrom /mnt
sudo /mnt/VBoxLinuxAdditions.run