USB mouse blocks touchpad

[Mike Oliver <mike_lists@verizon.net>]

I have a Compaq laptop running sarge, with a USB mouse and a touchpad.  I
know they can both work at once, because they *do* both work at once if
I do the following awkward workaround:  Unplug the USB mouse, boot, wait
until the little blue light turns on above the touchpad (but before X starts)
and then plug in the USB mouse.  If I let X start, I have to plug in
the USB mouse and restart X.

If I let it go through the boot sequence with the USB mouse plugged in, the
little blue light never comes on and the touchpad is unusable.

Any hints?