Mouse problems - how to specify a PS/2 mouse?
I had a disaster yesterday with my Win2k system, as a consequence I needed to get my Linux system displaying its X desktop directly as opposed to using the Win2k system's X server (cygwin). I had to run xf86config as I'd never set up X on the system before, it actually went quite smoothly without any serious problems and I had my xfce desktop up and running very easily - apart from a non-working mouse. My problem then was that I didn't know what the entries in the XF86Config file were for different mouse types. The HOWTOs tell you which lines to change for different types of mice etc. but they don't tell you what are the possible valid entries. Where can one find this information? I simply couldn't get a PS/2 mouse set up to work and ended up finding a serial mouse and using that. Does one need to change the link from /dev/mouse to /dev/ttyS0 if using a PS/2 mouse? I worked out that the Protocol setting needed to be PS/2 but still couldn't get it working. -- Chris Green (chris@areti.co.uk)
On 2004-03-08 11:46:26 +0000 Chris Green <chris@areti.co.uk> wrote:
Does one need to change the link from /dev/mouse to /dev/ttyS0 if using a PS/2 mouse? I worked out that the Protocol setting needed to be PS/2 but still couldn't get it working.
I think PS/2 mice normally appear on /dev/psaux and USB mice on /dev/input/mice. Protocol ImPS/2 (wheel-mouse) is quite common now too. -- MJR/slef My Opinion Only and possibly not of any group I know. Please http://remember.to/edit_messages on lists to be sure I read http://mjr.towers.org.uk/ gopher://g.towers.org.uk/ slef@jabber.at Creative copyleft computing services via http://www.ttllp.co.uk/
On Mon, Mar 08, 2004 at 11:59:02AM +0000, MJ Ray wrote:
On 2004-03-08 11:46:26 +0000 Chris Green <chris@areti.co.uk> wrote:
Does one need to change the link from /dev/mouse to /dev/ttyS0 if using a PS/2 mouse? I worked out that the Protocol setting needed to be PS/2 but still couldn't get it working.
I think PS/2 mice normally appear on /dev/psaux and USB mice on /dev/input/mice. Protocol ImPS/2 (wheel-mouse) is quite common now too.
Thanks, so for a PS/2 mouse I need to 'ln -s /dev/psaux /dev/mouse'? -- Chris Green (chris@areti.co.uk)
On 2004-03-08 12:25:32 +0000 Chris Green <chris@areti.co.uk> wrote:
Thanks, so for a PS/2 mouse I need to 'ln -s /dev/psaux /dev/mouse'?
No need, but you may find it easier than configuring everything to use /dev/psaux directly. You may need to remove the old /dev/mouse symlink first.
On Mon, Mar 08, 2004 at 01:01:06PM +0000, MJ Ray wrote:
On 2004-03-08 12:25:32 +0000 Chris Green <chris@areti.co.uk> wrote:
Thanks, so for a PS/2 mouse I need to 'ln -s /dev/psaux /dev/mouse'?
No need, but you may find it easier than configuring everything to use /dev/psaux directly. You may need to remove the old /dev/mouse symlink first.
Well, yes, I did of course mean I would replace the symlink from /dev/mouse to /dev/ttyS0 with one from /dev/mouse to /dev/psaux. -- Chris Green (chris@areti.co.uk)
On 08-Mar-04 MJ Ray wrote:
On 2004-03-08 11:46:26 +0000 Chris Green <chris@areti.co.uk> wrote:
Does one need to change the link from /dev/mouse to /dev/ttyS0 if using a PS/2 mouse? I worked out that the Protocol setting needed to be PS/2 but still couldn't get it working.
I think PS/2 mice normally appear on /dev/psaux and USB mice on /dev/input/mice. Protocol ImPS/2 (wheel-mouse) is quite common now too.
Indeed ... and I'd like to find out how to set X up for one. a) What's the /dev/link for a wheel mouse? b) What's the protocol spec for XF86Config? (I wanted to use a wheel mouse on my laptop whose touchpad works fine on /dev/psaux with protocol "PS/2", but when I tried attaching an external wheelmouse its behaviour was totally erratic.) Thanks, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 167 1972 Date: 08-Mar-04 Time: 16:56:01 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
Indeed ... and I'd like to find out how to set X up for one. a) What's the /dev/link for a wheel mouse? b) What's the protocol spec for XF86Config?
(I wanted to use a wheel mouse on my laptop whose touchpad works fine on /dev/psaux with protocol "PS/2", but when I tried attaching an external wheelmouse its behaviour was totally erratic.)
I had this problem on a Thinkpad (T23). Here is a reply from the linux-thinkpad list that may help: QUOTE >>
If IMPS/2 is used instead then the pointer becomes random and almost uncontrollable - and that is with the trackpoint as well as the mouse.
I can confirm that the trackpoint sucks with imPS/2. Mouse works fine for me with imPS/2. Is your trackpoint switched off when mouse is plugged in? If not, this would explain why it doesn't work for your mouse, either, since if the trackpoint is on, the mouse signals are passed through the trackpoint controller, which would give the same problem like with using trackpoint. << END QUOTE My solution has been to use a USB wheelmouse which allows me to use both mouse and trackpoint. Syd
Thanks, Ted.
----------------------------------------------------------------- --- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 167 1972 Date: 08-Mar-04 Time: 16:56:01 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
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On 08-Mar-04 Syd Hancock wrote:
Indeed ... and I'd like to find out how to set X up for one. a) What's the /dev/link for a wheel mouse? b) What's the protocol spec for XF86Config?
(I wanted to use a wheel mouse on my laptop whose touchpad works fine on /dev/psaux with protocol "PS/2", but when I tried attaching an external wheelmouse its behaviour was totally erratic.)
I had this problem on a Thinkpad (T23). Here is a reply from the linux-thinkpad list that may help: [..] My solution has been to use a USB wheelmouse which allows me to use both mouse and trackpoint.
Thanks for the thought, Syd! I'll try one of these sometime. (I've been using a good plain old Logitech 3-button PS2 mouse, but it's oldish now and getting "sticky" -- could try cleaning it yet again, though -- and I can't seem to find these in the shops anymore. Wheelmice abound, however!) Cheers, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 167 1972 Date: 08-Mar-04 Time: 18:01:24 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
My solution has been to use a USB wheelmouse which allows me to use both mouse and trackpoint.
Thanks for the thought, Syd! I'll try one of these sometime. (I've been using a good plain old Logitech 3-button PS2 mouse, but it's oldish now and getting "sticky" -- could try cleaning it yet again, though -- and I can't seem to find these in the shops anymore. Wheelmice abound, however!)
And most of them seem to come with a USB plug on the end and a usb->ps2 adaptor (which often seem flaky) so you'll probably have usb anyway :-) Syd
On 08-Mar-04 Syd Hancock wrote:
[...] (I've been using a good plain old Logitech 3-button PS2 mouse, but it's oldish now and getting "sticky" -- could try cleaning it yet again, though -- and I can't seem to find these in the shops anymore. Wheelmice abound, however!)
And most of them seem to come with a USB plug on the end and a usb->ps2 adaptor (which often seem flaky) so you'll probably have usb anyway :-)
Spot on, Syd! I'd overlooked that! Cheers, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 167 1972 Date: 08-Mar-04 Time: 21:31:15 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
Ted, Chris. For XFree86-4.3 use the following in the InputDevice section - Option "Device" "/dev/mouse" Option "Protocol" "Auto" Option "Emulate3Buttons" "no" Option "ZZxisMapping" "4 5" If you're unsure of the symlink for mouse, use /dev/psaux (for P/S2) or /dev/ttyS0 (Serial). The Auto option works well with XFree86-4.3, and may also work with 4.2, but I've not tried it... Regards, Paul. On Monday 08 March 2004 4:56 pm, Ted Harding wrote:
(I wanted to use a wheel mouse on my laptop whose touchpad works fine on /dev/psaux with protocol "PS/2", but when I tried attaching an external wheelmouse its behaviour was totally erratic.)
-- "To err is human...to really f*** things up requires the root password."
participants (5)
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Chris Green -
MJ Ray -
Paul -
Syd Hancock -
Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk