Keyboard in a keyboardless mini

Have a mini running 10.7 and Vine Server v4. When I installed it, I set it up from the console (with keyboard and mouse) but then removed those input devices. Everything worked fine until I rebooted. I can ssh into the machine but when I try to connect using chicken of vnc or tightvncviewer (in a ubuntu box) I am shown the Mac’s login screen but I am not able to type on it. Keyboard works fine.

Is there a way I can configure the vine server (ideally from command line) not to look for the input devices physically attached to the computer?

I am experiencing the same behavior on my iMac running Mac OS X Mountain Lion, but I have the keyboard and mouse connected to my Mac. When I try to connect remotely via Chicken of the VNC to my iMac, mouse and keyboard actions only work if I leave myself logged into my iMac, and don’t lock it’s screen. If I have the screen locked or have to log in to my account, my local mouse and keyboard don’t work at all.