I just installed Mandriva 2009.1 on my Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T and am using KDE 4.
For some reason the mouse is not working properly. For example if I click on the star for the start menu it won't open up. It changes color when I hover over it but just does nothing when I click on it. A few other things work odd. If I load OpenOffice Calc and put my mouse over the cells on the spreadsheet they start scrolling from left to right and don't start even though I'm not pressing anything on the mouse of keyboard.
I don't even know if this is a KDE 4 issue because at bootup if I go over the icon where I choose desktop I also have issues getting that to open.
I tried Mandriva sometime back and thought it was a Mandriva issue but since then have tried Ubuntu using Gnome of course and OpenSUSE with KDE. Both of them had very similar issues.
I am convinced it has to be something to do with my hardware. I'm using the latest 1.10 BIOS but the 3810T has a built in multi-touch trackpad plus I am using a Logitech Trackball.
I have booted without the trackball plugged in and have the same issue. I have also booted with it plugged in and using the button on the keyboard have turned off the trackpad and still have the same problem.
I can't figure out what's going on. I got so desperate I installed Windows XP and didn't have any of these issues but also I am not able to get XP drivers for all hardware so would have to go to Vista or the upcoming Windows 7. I have done everything to get away from Windows. Unfortunately I need this computer for some upcoming projects at work so if I don't get Linux working on it will have to go back to windows.
I am wondering if it could be some type of issue with the kernel or maybe is something to do with KDE 4.2 that the next version of Mandriva or another distro with newer kernels or KDE 4.3 could fix. In a worse case I could use Windows for now and switch back to Linux in Nov. or whenever Mandriva 2010 comes out.
I am a relative newbie to Linux but have used Mandriva and Ubuntu on desktops and netbooks and never had any problems. Any idea of what is causing this? Thank you for your time.

Your mouse behaviour is controlled by what is in /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. There is a section for each mouse.

Here is what it will look like.

There should be one section for each mouse. The protocol usually is what you can change to see if that will change behaviour.

There may well be a problem if the hardware is bleeding edge. There are several things I would try.

First of all, install another desktop. You can then pick the other desktop at the login page. I have Xfce installed along with KDE4. There are other choices, Gnome for example. See if the behaviour is the same in another desktop. If it is, then you know in is not KDE4. If the problem goes away, use the other desktop until you find a fix.

I would also install a standard 3 button mouse ( two buttons and a wheel ). They are cheap enough. If that works, then there is another work around.

You can try other configurations through MCC-->Hardware-->Setup a mouse.

Hope this helps.

I think you were onto something.
I had done the original install with the Logitech trackball. I then did a reinstall with a Logitech mouse. It worked for awhile but later started having the same problem. I am now going to do a reinstall with another mouse, a small Logitech notebook mouse. I prefer using a Logitech trackball so I'm hoping if I get a good install done with a mouse that if I switch to the trackball that it'll work.
This is new hardware that came out just a month or go with an Intel CULV chip and other newer hardware so maybe that's the issue. I'm going to try to buy time and get this to work well enough until Mandriva 2010 is out. My idea is with a much newer kernel and KDE 4.3 maybe that will make a difference.
This laptop even has an on/off switch for the trackpad so I may try an install with it on, later off.
I don't think it's KDE 4 related though. I have even had problems during an install before such as at a screen when partitioning is done just before the formatting and install, when setting a timezone, etc. and I assume if there's issues at this point it would not be KDE 4 related.

I do not think KDE4 has anything to do with the problem. New hardware may be some time before hardware support is available.

You could do a google/linux search, with the exact make and model of the trackball, and see if that turns up similar problems. If it is hardware support in the drivers, then you will know, others will be having the same or similar problems.

Keep in mind, the support for the mouse is loaded from the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. What is there, depends on what is detected at install time. What gets placed there is the best fit for the mouse detected. You can edit that file as root, just make a backup before hand, just in case X won't start. You can always just copy the old one back, and restart X.

I think I may have it finally working and it seems it was caused by the internal trackpad. It's a touch style trackpad, not a standard type.
The good news is there is an on/off switch next to the trackpad and since I use a trackball 99% of the time it's not an issue.
I did an install with the trackball connected and the trackpad turned off and after many reboots, shutdowns, boot ups, etc. it's working fine. Maybe with time it will stop working.
The only thing is at bootup time I have to turn off the trackpad and it won't allow me to turn it off until KDE is just starting to boot up. If I do it earlier it won't light up meaning it's turned off. If I wait too long to turn it off I'm not sure what will happen. Since this is a laptop I do a lot of shut downs and restarts. I looked at the BIOS and it does not seem to have a way to turn it off by default but i'm hoping if that is the issue it will be corrected in Mandriva 2010.