Fixing FreeDOS Keyboard Layout and Codepage Mismatches
Separate keyboard scan-code mapping from display glyphs and configure COUNTRY, KEYB, MODE, and font data consistently.
If keys produce the wrong characters, diagnose two layers. The keyboard layout maps physical scan codes to characters. The active codepage and screen font decide which glyph appears. Changing only one can turn correct input into incorrect symbols.
Boot with a minimal configuration and note the current KEYB, CHCP, MODE, COUNTRY, and display-driver settings. Load the intended country information, CPI/font support, and keyboard layout in the documented order. Ensure filenames and paths exist on the installed FreeDOS edition.
Test letters, punctuation, AltGr combinations, box-drawing characters, and applications that switch video modes. Keep an emergency boot-menu option without localization drivers: a malformed startup line should not make the machine unrecoverable.
Sources: FreeDOS localization guide, FreeDOS Help