Re: Linux and PS/2
Brendan O'Brien wrote:
> Phil--
>
> Thanks for the note. Indeed I did try your suggestion and received the
> error message:
>
> "can't locate module psaux"
>
> If indeed the PS/2 port is not enabled how do I go about doing this? Also,
> how does one determine which kernel of Debian I'm using? When the computer
> boots up it gives me SYSLINUX 1.42.
You're not using a "kernel of Debian"; you're using a kernel of Linux. Debian and
Redhat and Mandrake, etc are "distributions" composed of the Linux kernel (of
whatever version) and supporting apps/structures, such as the "standard" unix
commands and packaging schemes such as apt-get or RPM. The distros have different
versions, and these versions are often based on different versions of the kernel; for
example, Debian 2.0 was based on the Linux kernel 2.0.36, and I believe Debian 2.1 is
likely to be based on the Linux kernel 2.4, but I don't keep up with that so I'm not
for sure. Redhat is up to version 6.1 now I think but it's based on a Linux kernel in
the range of 2.2 or so, I believe.
But to answer the question of which Linux kernel you are running, try "uname -a".
If you're running a default kernel, I don't know how to determine if support for the
psaux module is built in. However, if you've ever compiled a kernel, search in the
file /usr/src/linux/.config (or wherever the .config file is in your kernel source
tree) for "psmouse"; you should find a line like "CONFIG_PSMOUSE=y" if the psaux
support is available. If you don't find that line, or if all this sounds greek, let
the list know and maybe someone else can tell you how to determine if you have psaux
support.
Alternatively, you can download the kernel source and recompile your kernel, making
sure you have support for psaux. This is something that every linux user should do
anyway, if for no other reason than for the experience. It's overwhelming at first,
but after doing it a few times you realize, "Hey, this is tons and gobs easier than
reinstalling Windows, again!"
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