USB mouse problem

[zlim]

I had a wired PS/2 mouse with ball hooked onto my notebook - I think probably because of linux.I've switched back to the cordless USB mini optical mouse. PCLos hangs I get the pinwheel but nothing happens in the loading bar.Can I make this mouse work or do I need to search for an impossible to find PS/2 mouse?I also put on a USB to PS/2 adapter and now it will load. This isn't a good solution because the combined two items sticking out of the USB port will probably be so heavy it will loosen and want to fall out.Can I edit something to get the USB mouse detected and working?If not, the touchpad works so I can enable that and use that when I travel with the nb.Forget that. I thought the mouse worked with the PS/2 adapter. PCLos loads fully but the mouse doesn't work. I needed to enable the touchpad to get the cursor to move.

[Bruno]

Forget that. I thought the mouse worked with the PS/2 adapter. PCLos loads fully but the mouse doesn't work. I needed to enable the touchpad to get the cursor to move.

LOL . . this is probably because you confused it with the mouse on the USB . . . here is what you can do to fix it:Plug in the USB to PS2 and use that for the mouse . . then boot and once booted press Alt+F2, this will give you a "run-box", type "konsole" and hit <Enter>, now you have a terminal where you can "su" and next type "mousedrake" . . . . in the mousedrake window change the focus to the OK with the Tab-key and confirm the settings . . . this will restart, reconfigure the mouse settings and after that it should be okay.If not change from "any USB/PS2 mouse" to the section "PS2" --> "PS2 wheel mouse" and focus the OK again. After that I am pretty sure it indeed will work ( you only have to do this once . . the settings will stay on reboot ) Bruno

[zlim]

1. Plugged mouse in PS/2 port using adapter (made sure touchpad was off)2. Fired up PCLos3. Opened konsole, logged in as root, typed in mousedrake4. Mousedrake opened and it appeared that under Universal "any USB/PS/2 mouse was selected, used the tab key to get to okay and pressed enterProblem 1: couldn't figure out how to close konsole with keyboard (Is there a key combo?) I finally just clicked the button to enable the touchpad so I could close the konsole and turn off the computer.Removed adapter and put mouse back in the USB portProblem 2: fired up the computer and PCLos won't load.It only appears to load when something is in the PS/2 port but I have no movement with this mouse in that port. I have to enable the touchpad.If I move the mouse to the USB port, PCLos won't load.I'm going to try a wired mouse and see what happens. Maybe I can't use a wireless mouse.It won't load with a wired USB mouse...so now I try some other settings in mousedrake.

Edited September 24, 2006 by zlim

[Bruno]

Hi LizFirst: you can close the konsole with "Ctrl+D" ( twice if you are "su" )Also: you can close any window using the Alt+F4 combination ;)And: You can reboot by pressing Atl+F2 and typing "reboot" in the run-box that will pop up :)But: It is better to keep using the PS2 adapter . . . . and changing the mouse from "Universal" --> "any USB/PS/2 mouse" to the "PS2" --> "Generic PS2 Wheel-mouse" just above the "Universal" and "USB" sections ( you can do this with the arrow keys ) . . . that is the setting that sure will work.So please boot the computer with the PS2 adapter+mouse and change mousedrake to use "PS2" --> "Wheel-mouse" . . and only then press the OK button ( using Tab and Enter ) . . after that your mouse should work and you can use it to close the Konsole. BrunoPS: In mousedrake the "Universal" --> "any USB/PS/2 mouse" works most of the time . . . but the "PS2" --> "Generic PS2 Wheel-mouse" setting has a far better protocol that is more stable.

[zlim]

Bruno, I discovered by trying the USB to PS/2 adapter in windows that the mouse isn't detected. I think that the adapter doesn't make good contact because of the collar on the notebook around the PS/2 port and the plastic part on the adapter hitting this so it can't be inserted far enough. []I actually need to use a USB mouse. I have one PS/2 mouse and it is going bad. Since the PS/2 to USB adapter doesn't work, I can't depend on that. All my other mice are USB.Now my chore will see if I can beg, borrow or steal an old working PS/2 mouse to use.I will see if I can get the USB mouse detected in the meantime and of course, I'll write down all the keyboard shortcuts I didn't know.I showed my hubby the problem. He had to use his dremmel moto tool on another computer to cut away some of the metal so my keyboard and mouse connectors would fit snuggly. Now is is taking the adapter and trying to cut away some of the plastic - the adapter doesn't work as is because it doesn't make a good connection so he can't ruin anything.Searching through my computer desk, I never know what I'll find. I found an old PS/2 finger mouse. It isn't my favorite choice but it will work if nothing else does. And the finger mouse works!!!Well I just tried the adapter after he removed the plastic and now the wired USB mouse works with the adapter! YES. Last step, try the wireless USB with the adapter.It doen't like the one wireless mouse, I still have another to test. Then I change the settings from Universal any USB/PS/2 to PS/2 and see if that makes a difference.

Edited September 25, 2006 by zlim

[Bruno]

Hi LizWhat you also can try is using the "Microsoft Explorer" option in the "USB" section of Mousedrake . . and then use the USB mouse without the PS2 adapter.Anything different from the "Universal" section will give you a better chance. Bruno

[zlim]

Bruno, with the one wireless mouse, I tried every choice under PS/2 and USB in mousedrake while using the PS/2 adapter. I'd get a popup window that showed a mouse and asked me to configure it. None of the buttons on the mouse worked and I had to shut the mouse configuration window by using the keyboard tab.I suspect that PCLos doesn't like wireless mice.I should check and see if windows allows the wireless mouse when it is plugged into the PS/2 port with the adapter.I'd prefer a wireless mouse but now as long as I know I can get a wired USB to work with the adapter, I'm reasonably happy. I thought I'd have to search and get an old maybe not working exactly right PS/2 mouse from eBay.

Edited September 25, 2006 by zlim

[ross549]

This seems really odd..... do you have any othe USB devices attached? I have a wireless mouse as my primary, and have never had an issue with it in PCLos.

[zlim]

I don't have a problem mounting a USB thumb drive. I don't think it is the USB thing, I think the fact that it is wireless is the problem because it will not be recognized whether it is in a USB or a PS/2 port. I get no mouse movement at all. I have to do everything via the keyboard (actually, with the USB wifi PCLos won't load at all). I don't remember if it hung on wired USB mouse or not.When I get a chance, I'll do more testing and write down everything I tried and what happened.

[ross549]

Here's an easy way to tell if this is a PCLos problem or an issue with your configuration.I would boot from the livecd with the wireless mouse plugged in and see what happens. I can honestly say that I've had zero issues with any of my Microsoft wireless mice with any of the last three versions of PCLos. Once you get that livecd up and running where everything works, make a backup of your xorg.conf, so you can compare the difference with the installed OS.Hope this helps. ;)Adam

[zlim]

Will do - thanks. I never would have thought to do that.After quite a few freeze-ups, I finally remembered that PCLos .93 won't load on this computer. It freezes at ALSA, usually.So I grabbed my .92 live and started with that.Here are the results:1. wifi via USB, touchpad off - froze; it doesn't even go as far as press esc for verbose mode so I can't tell what is happening.2. wired via USB, touchpad off, same freeze as above3. wifi via USb touchpad on, loaded, turned off touchpad, no mouse (cursor won't move)4. wifi using USB to PS/2 adapter, touchpad off, system freezesBottom line, I'm unable to get PCLos to load if I have a wireless mouse in either USB or PS/2 ports. I'm unable to get PCLos to load if I use a wired mouse in the USB port.My only hope of getting the system to load is to have a wired PS/2 mouse or a wired USB mouse using the PS/2 port with the adapter.Clearly the look at xorg settings doesn't help in my situation because I can't get PCLos to load.

Edited September 26, 2006 by zlim

[zlim]

I'm typing this from PCLos while using my USB wireless mouse without a USB/PS/2 adapter! I decided to look in the BIOS. Of course the BIOS is before USB mice so the options are touchpad and PS/2. I had it set for "auto" which means that if the PS/2 port is used, the touchpad shuts off. It really doesn't because I also have an on/off toogle switch with a light on the touchpad so I can physically enable or disable it and tell by the light the state it is in. I decided to switch in the BIOS to "enable" meaning both are on. I booted into windows, which never had a problem whatever I used and was able to toggle the touchpad off, after it loaded. I booted into PCLos and the mouse now works. I can also toggle the touchpad on and off and that works too.

[Bruno]

Well done Liz ! . . very clever ! Bruno

[BillD]

Since the moto tool cut down scheme worked, that problem was solved, but in case you or anyone else runs into this in the future, you can buy USB "A" to "A" extension cables (the normal ones are "A" to "B") that will allow you to connect bulky USB devices (like the adapter) into a USB port on a computer that has no extra room around it. The only disadvantage is the fact that the shortest extension cable of that type that I have seen is 6 feet.Bill

Edited September 28, 2006 by BillD

[zlim]

BillD, nothing worked in the USB port. I do have 6" USB extension cables - that wasn't my problem. My problem was the PS/2 portion of the adapter. The green plastic surrounding the metal was too far up so the metal could not make secure contact with the PS/2 port.

[BillD]

Oh, OK; my understanding of the problem was exactly backward!Bill

[zlim]

I should have posted the picture early in the thread, LOL.I hope anyone who has trouble with a wireless USB mouse OR trouble with getting a PS/2 adapter recognized, may find this thread helpful.

[zlim]

It must depend on the phase of the moon. Today PCLos won't load with the USB wifi mouse attached. In between my three attempts, I checked the BIOS to be sure the setting remained set to both - it is.Now for an interesting but highly illogical twist...when the wifi USB mouse works, I have sound. With the PS/2 wired in, I have no sound! I know it's weird but that is what happens.Also the scroll on my wired mouse doesn't work.I don't want to troubleshoot this today...maybe next week I'll be ready to try and figure out what is going on.

[Bruno]

Hi LizThat is pretty strange, the sound not working with the PS2 mouse . . . . . you would be forgiven to think that the 2 could not be related

I don't want to troubleshoot this today...maybe next week I'll be ready to try and figure out what is going on.

That is okay for me . . . . . just post again next week and show us the output of

$ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf

( once with the USB and once with the PS2 mouse )Have a nice weekend ! Bruno

[zlim]

I had to boot into ME, same notebook, and discovered that the scroll wheel now doesn't work in windows either! I checked in the Control panel and only have a setting for the touchpad - it doesn't know there is a PS/2 scroll mouse attached - weird. I then shut down and plugged in my wifi USB mouse, the scroll wheel works fine in windows. So, I think there are other issues besides just the weird mouse.I do want to figure out why the USB mouse works sometimes and not others AND especially want the sound to work all the time.I'll supply the cat, in a few. I feel pretty good because I finally managed thru a ZERT patch to get ME patched from the VML exploit. ZERT came up with a patch for those of us using older OSes. Thank you ZERT!!!# File generated by XFdrake.# **********************************************************************# Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of# this file.# **********************************************************************Section "Files" # Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together) # By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of # the X server to render fonts. FontPath "unix/:-1"EndSectionSection "ServerFlags" #DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort) AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse does not work #DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)EndSectionSection "Module" Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension Load "v4l" # Video for Linux Load "extmod" Load "type1" Load "freetype" Load "glx" # 3D layer Load "dri" # direct renderingEndSectionSection "InputDevice" Identifier "Keyboard1" Driver "kbd" Option "XkbModel" "pc105" Option "XkbLayout" "en_US" Option "XkbOptions" "compose:rwin"EndSectionSection "InputDevice" Identifier "Mouse1" Driver "mouse" Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2" Option "Device" "/dev/mouse" Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"EndSectionSection "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" VendorName "Generic" ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768" HorizSync 31.5-55 VertRefresh 40-70 # TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output. # 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630 # 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616EndSectionSection "Device" Identifier "device1" VendorName "Trident Microsystems" BoardName "Trident CyberBlade (generic)" Driver "trident" Option "DPMS" "false"EndSectionSection "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Device "device1" Monitor "monitor1" DefaultColorDepth 24 Subsection "Display" Depth 8 Virtual 1024 768 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 15 Virtual 1024 768 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 16 Virtual 1024 768 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 24 Virtual 1024 768 EndSubsectionEndSectionSection "ServerLayout" Identifier "layout1" InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard" InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer" Screen "screen1"EndSection[liz@localhost ~]$ Intersting enough, the scroll wheel won't scroll but it works to paste the contents of my X11 here. Oh, I tried the wifi with the adapter - again PCLos will load but the mouse doesn't work. I've no idea why some days it allows this wifi mouse to work and other days it says no. I did do some updtes. Could an update break my wifi mouse?

Edited October 1, 2006 by zlim

[ross549]

zlim,You are having some very strange symptoms. What kind of mouse is this?Also, I really don't want to nitpick, but the mouse is not wifi. It does not use the 802.11x standard. It is a simple RF or wireless mouse. The only reason I bring this up is that it may throw someone off when they are doing a Google search. http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?...=exact&p=ol

[zlim]

This is it, in blackhttp://www.shinyshiny.tv/2004/04/benq_mouse_1.html All I know is it says wireless - I don't know what it is using, sorry.I also tried another wireless mouse I have, http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products...CONTENTID=10521this pictures makes it seem like the scroll also has the horizontal scroll. Mine doesn't but it looks like the picture in all other respects. Both mice present the same problem with PCLos live or installed...when they are attached, PCLos won't load (unless the moon is in the proper phase because one day it worked and I thought the problem was finally solved).

Edited October 2, 2006 by zlim

[Bruno]

Hi LizI really like the "Shiny Shiny" BenQ mouse !! :thumbsup:About the "tilt" feature ( horizontal scroll ) of modern Logitec mice: it will be supported soon with the introduction of "imwheelrc" that uses a config file to replace the "Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"" and "Option "ButtonMapping" "1 2 3 6 7"" in the xorg.conf. Mandriva 2007 will have it, so my guess is that PCLos will have it very soon too. Bruno

[striker]

Adam is right here, but the logitech website is mixing up things : they talk about a cordless mouse (which is right) and something below that they start talking about being the mouse wireless... Those two terms are being used in normal circumstances in different technologies, wireless for wifi (not wired network topology) and cordless for keyboards ands mice.So actually Liz it's not your fault at all, it's logitechs problem which they should pick up asap.I would say let us settle on cordless.

[zlim]

Bruno, the benq is the one I've been trying to get to work. I like it because it is very small (about 8.5cm) and the receiver fits into the mouse in the compartment in the back so it is easy to travel with - one less part to lose. But PCLos won't load (live nor installed) on various days. I wish I could figure out why because I'd love to use the mouse in linux rather than just in windows.

[ross549]

Can we assume you have it plugged in when the computer boots?The only reason I am asking is that I have had only one distro that has supported hotplugging a mouse, which just happens to be Ubuntu.Adam

[zlim]

Yes. It is always plugged in. It will boot up with a PS/2 wired mouse or just the touchpad enabled. But now since the scroll wheel no longer works in linux and windows (it worked up until a few days ago), the wired PS/2 mouse is maddening - I never realized how much I scrolled until I couldn't.I haven't tried the wired USB mouse with the PS/2 adapter again to see if that works. I'll do that tomorrow.

[ross549]

It sounds like the cordless mouse might either be dirty or dead. For what it's worth.... someone brought in a cheep USB scroll mouse that they got fram a trade show or something... and it was dead within a week. If you do decide to get a replacement.... I highly recommed either Logitech or Microsoft. I've never had a problem with either. I am actually using a corded Logitech mouse that has to be close to four years old now.

[striker]

Mmm, this story remembers me about my former keyboard, a Benq also. Had the same symptoms like your mouse Liz, one day it wouldn't show up, the other day just barely. I did send it in for service to Benq : never heard back from them, so far the keyboard. BTW: Does that mouse has the ability to select a channel on where it is transmitting its RF signal ? Once you read this and checked, you know what I mean and what to do. Just a thought...

[zlim]

ross549, the mouse is optical and it works perfect in both windows partitions, ME and 2K so it is definitely a linux problem. striker, I don't know how it communicates but I've never seen anything about a channel. I guess I'll have to dig out instructions.I attached a corded USB mouse via the adapter to be sure it works. Next I'll shut down and attach in the USB port to see if the USB port is the thing PCLos doesn't like today.Update: the wired mouse doesn't work in the USB port so I went back to the adapter. Now the scrollwheel no longer works on this second mouse!I needed some editing in my X11, I guess. I find it maddening to not have scrolling ability.

Edited October 3, 2006 by zlim