USB keyboard dies when USB modules loaded

[Kent West <westk@cox.net>]

> I've just installed Woody.
> 
> I've got a USB keyboard and USB mouse, and am running a stock 2.4.18-686
> kernel. The only modules I'm loading from /etc/modules are:
> 	unix
> 	af_packet
> 	8139too
> 
> The keyboard is recognized both in the BIOS (where's there no options
> anything like "Legacy Keyboard support for USB" or anything like that")
> and in Woody. Everything's fine with the keyboard.
> 
> The USB mouse however doesn't work. X won't start (it complains about
> "No core pointer" - mouse is on /dev/input/mice), and gpm doesn't seem
> to work with it (also pointing to /dev/input/mice).
> 
> So I figured maybe it's a module issue, so I cd'd to /lib/modules/2.4.18
> -686/kernel/drivers/usb and looked for any interesting modules. Then I
> did a:
> 	modprobe usb-uhci
> (because lspci reported my usb bus to be of the uhci type).
> 
> Quite a bit of stuff scrolled by, registering new driver usbdevs and new
> driver hub and detecting two ports and then two new usb device connects
> assigned device numbers 2 and 3 respectively.
> 
> The lights on the USB keyboard do a bit of dancing, and then the
> keyboard goes completely dead. If I remove the two modules that actually
> get installed (usb-uhci and usbcore), the keyboard's lights all go solid
> and stay there, but the keyboard remains dead. I can then modprobe
> usb-uhci again, and the lights go off, but the keyboard remains dead.
> 
> The mouse also never becomes usable, even after restarting gpm and/or
> rerunning gpmconfig. /proc/bus/usb is empty.
> 
> Then I tried "modprobe usbmouse". That generates some more info, such as
> registering new driver usb-mouse and input0: KYE Genius USB Wheelmouse
> on usb1:2.0 and a Cypress USB Keyboard/PS/2 mouse on usb1:3.1 and etc.
> (I'd include the output of these commands, but I can't seem to capture
> the text.)
> 
> Still, /proc/bus/usb is empty.
> 
> Doing a "modprobe usbkbd" provides similar results.
> 
> Anyone have any clues as to what I'm missing or need to do?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Kent
> 
>