dave mallery wrote:
hi (newbie alert)... i just installed 2.2r5 on my miata 433a, there is no sign of my mouse: /dev/mouse do i have to repeat the install (no big deal) or can i fix it on the fly? tia dave
The short answer is you can (should?) repair it "on-the-fly". If you do a re-install without understanding where you went wrong originally, then you have a very high probability of repeating the mistake. Mouse problems are usually a result of a mistaken config input during config and NOT a result of some bug in the installer!
The /dev/mouse "device" is not a real device, but is just a symlink to one of the "real" hardware i/o devices like /dev/ttyS0 (comm1) or /dev/psaux (the PS/2 port). In one special case it is a symlink to /dev/gpmdata, which is from a software program called "GPM" that makes the mouse available in the non-gui setting. Lots of people have problems with getting GPM to work properly... especially on the Alpha. If you are NOT using X, then you probably should try to get it working. I am using it here sucessfully. The /dev/mouse symlink is NOT established until you do it... It isn't there on the install programs from a CD or from the net since Debian has no way of knowing which of the many variants a particular user will have.
Setup for the mouse in X is usually done during the X configuration series of screens. You can re-do this at any time by running the "dpkg-reconfigure <X-server>" command (wherer <X-server> is the particular X-server your video card is using, i.e. xserver-svga, etc.), or you can manually edit the /etc/X11/XF86Config file. A third alternative is to run one of X config programs like xf86config, or XF86Setup (needs a mouse <g>). Check out your mouse and make sure you know which i/o port it is using, then make sure you enter THAT in the mouse config section of the X config. If your mouse has a round "DIN" plug, it is a PS/2 type mouse, and you should use the "/dev/psaux" port during config. Use /dev/ttyS0 for comm1 serial mice, and /dev/ttyS1 for comm2 serial mice. In any case DO NOT select the /dev/mouse option unless you have previously established a symlink to the proper port for your mouse.
HTH. Cheers, -Don Spoon-