Mouse Problems On Install
I am brand new to Debian and spent the weekend trying to get it to work.
I must admit that I am incredibly impressed with the quality of the code
and general ease of install. I have preformed two installations now, the
first also had the same mouse problem that I have after the second install.
The basic system is running, several network applications are running and
X-Windows is working, albeit via keyboard keys. While the code and
installation procedures are very complete and functional, the documentation
is a little understated at the present time. At least it is for a newbie.
The problem is that the mouse does not work in X-Windows. It didn't work
during the install process either. The mouse hardware is functional. The
system that I am using was running WindowsNT Server until Saturday morning
without any hardware problems or history of problems.
The mouse is a LogiTech model with only 2 buttons. I have seen several
references to pull-down menus used to select the mouse type, but I have
failed to find any of these.
In my research I have found many references to mouse/pointer configuration
problems. One test that was suggested was to test the hardware from a
console window. A "cat /dev/ttyS0" did nothing as I moved the mouse. A "cat
/dev/psaux" echoed characters on the screen in reaction to mouse movements.
I assumed that meant the hardware was working an the correct device is
/dev/psaux.
Several people have mentioned in other helpful posts that the file
XF86Config-4 needs to be changed. Currently, the configuration is as follows:
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
# Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection
Obviously, I like others, questioned why there was two mouse entries and
how they should differ. In any case, the file defines the mouse as above. I
commented out the /dev/input/mice entry since that device does not exist.
My first installation defaulted to the KDE environment and I changed the
second installation to use Gnome. Both seem useable and I don't really care
which is used. (My reason for doing this entire exercise is to get a more
stable OpenSSL Apache server - it is available for WindowsNT but not
supported and I have experienced crashes frequently - something that Apache
generally does not do on any of our WindowsNT Servers.)
Several people have indicated that the solution for a problem like mine is
to be had via:
"make your mouse device in XF86Config-4 /dev/gpmdata, and in /etc/gpm.conf
make sure that repeat_type=raw"
This is all very well, except, I have no idea what gpm is or where to find
it. I do have gDm running and I have even created a file /etc/gdm.conf but
that does not solve my problem. There is no process called gpm running on
the system, although there is a process called gdm.
I am sure I am doing something very silly or I am being very stupid, but I
can't fathom how a complicated system as I have just installed all seems to
work mostly without flaw (at least nothing I can see) and yet a very basic
function that has been child's play on almost every Windows system since
1994 fails on this software so miserably. My mind could cope with this
working and the more complicated functions (I have been web surfing with
Mozilla - using a keyboard only - without any problems) having problems.
Please help me find my way. Two days have been lost on this.
(While I am new at Debian and Linux, I have 36 years of working computer
background that includes IBM MFT/MVS, IBM VM/CMS and UNIX III up to UNIX
Sys V (ATT) and some BSD and SUN/OS. The solution is not clear.)
Thank you in advance for your consideration and assistance.
----------
Michael Burke
Cordova Bay Entertainment Group, Inc
5159 Beckton Road 250-658-0336 - Tel
Victoria, British Columbia 250-658-0593 - Fax
Canada V8Y 2C2 www.cordovabay.com
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