I know this has been asked before, and I've searched the forums here, but so far, none of the solutions I've found have worked for me..

I recently installed Gentoo on my laptop and my secondary PC and got them configured with XFree, and they're working just fine. After having luck there, I then installed Gentoo on my main computer. However, I have been having trouble getting my MS IntelliMouse Explorer mouse to work in XFree. The problem I'm having is that the pointer jumps around the screen, and XFree also seems to be receiving button click events sometimes. It's like the mouse isn't even set up correctly.

I've tried configuring my mouse both with xf86config and by hand-editing the XF86Config file per the suggestions I've found for setting up an IntelliMouse Explorer, but with no luck. My mouse doesn't appear to work correctly using the IntelliMouse Explorer settings or even the regular IMPS/2 settings. Here are the 2 versions of my mouse config that I have tried:

1)
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Buttons" "7"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"

2)
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"

As recommended by one web site, in the case of the first config, I have also tried setting up a ~/.xinitrc as follows:
xmodmap -e "pointer = 1 2 3 6 7 4 5"
imwheel -k -b "67"

and a ~/.imwheelrc as follows:
".*"
None, Up, Alt_L|Left
None, Down, Alt_L|Right

but in that situation, X would not run at all. I know people have gotten their IntelliMouse Explorer mice to work with a configuration like my #1 here, but I have not been able to so far. I also have an older IntelliMouse with just the 2 buttons and wheel, which I've been able to get to work on another system. Is there something that I'm missing for the IntelliMouse Explorer?

Eric

Try removing imwheel and xmodmap settings, you don't need them. Thats for those mice with extra buttons.

Your XFree needs to deal with your mouse so

Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Buttons" "5"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"

My mouse is one of the ones with the extra buttons - the 2 main buttons, scroll wheel (which I hear counts as 3), and 2 buttons on the left side. That's why I had it set up as 7 buttons and with imwheel and xmodmap.

I tried the settings you suggested though, but still my mouse pointer was jumping around the screen like it wasn't set up correctly..

Eric

Right so you do have a 7 button mouse, Okay, have you got gpm running, or similar setup for a mouse in the console, as this can cause this exact problem.

I'm not using gpm or any other mouse service for the console.

Eric

I'm starting to wonder if this may have something to do with my motherboard/chipset in my computer. I tried setting up my other, older IntelliMouse, which works without a problem on my other PC and my laptop (with the same Gentoo setup), and it also had the same problem, although not as bad.

My motherboard is an Abit NF7-S rev. 2.0, which uses Nvidia's nforce2 chipset, and I'm using version 2004.1 of Gentoo. Has anyone had a problem with this combination and using MS IntelliMice?

Eric

Are you using the 2.6.x kernel? I have the same problem with a logitech usb mouse, and it only happens when using 2.6.x

and ps i have the same motherboard - coincidence?

I am using the 2.6 kernel.. And, my mouse -does- work properly when I boot Gentoo with a 2.4 kernel. Funny that you say you had the same problem with Logitech mice. I finally did get my MS IntelliMouse to work properly, but only if I have it plugged into a USB port (rather than a PS/2 port with the adapter), and it's plugged in when Gentoo is booting up (I see it recognize my MS IntelliMouse explorer as it boots - maybe it does some kind of setup work for it).

Eric