--datadir=/usr/share/kbd: This puts the kbd data files (fonts, keymaps, and such) in the /usr/share/kbd directory, as the FHS suggests. rm /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/i386/qwerty/defkeymap.map.gz: We remove this file because we don't know which keymap you need to use. ln -s <path-to-keymap> defkeymap.map.gz With this command you set the default keymap that can be loaded using the loadkeys -d command.