Re: Mouse Setup

[Kent West <westk@nicanor.acu.edu>]

James Rodgers wrote:

> Hi,
>
>  
>
> I am having problems getting X to start. During the XF86Config I hit 
> return so hat the default /dev/mouse is set. However looking at /dev/ 
> afterwards /dev/mouse doesn't exist; hence xstart fails with the message 
> 'mouse not found'. I have a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer with PS/2 
> lead, how do I configure it? Do I need to use MAKEDEV?
>
>  
>
> thanks for your help.
>
>  
>
> James.
>
>  
>
> p.s. please excuse my ignorance in these linux matters but I am new to 
> it all and trying feel my way round.

/dev/mouse is just a link to the real device file. You can make it 
manually like so:
	ln -s /dev/psaux /dev/mouse

It's been my experience that Debianites tend to eschew the link, and 
just use the real file name in XF86Config and gpm.conf. The same goes 
for /dev/modem vs /dev/ttyS[x]. The reasoning is that the system can 
track the file locking of the real file better than of a link, but I 
also believe that may have changed in more recent kernels. It may also 
be considered by many that using a link "hides" configuration details a 
bit, and Debianites tend to prefer clarity over fluff.

Forgive me Debianites, if I've misrepresented the general community on 
this. (I would guess the feeling for real filenames vs links is about 
60/40, but that's just a guess from past discussions on this list.)

Kent