I've almost given up! I can't seem to get either mouse to work with KDE on my Slackware 8.1 install. I have a USB mouse (Logitech MouseMan) and a standard PS/2 mouse pad on my wireless keyboard (fully Microsoft PS/2 compatible). Only ONCE was I able to get the PS/2 mouse to work with KDE but like an idiot I reinstalled a different distro (to a freshly repartitioned hard drive) and lost any configuration that may have worked. I've even tried to install Debian 2.2 and FreeBSD 5.0 but get the same results -- crazy mouse when running KDE. With Slackware 8.1, I've tried installing fresh several times (repartitoning and reformatting) each time using either the bare.i kernel version OR the usb.i kernel version -- I still don't know how to compile a more custom kernel so whatever is available and applyable to the hardware is what I use (which is usually whatever the "standard" kernel is). I can get either mouse to work just fine in the standard desktop, but when I fire up KDE (type in startx) I am reduced to using the keyboard since the mouse pointer goes nuts and flys all over the place when I move it. Occasionally, the right-button menu, like when you right-click on an empty portion of the desktop, pops up when I move the mouse a lot. The point is that neither mouse works like it's supposed to when KDE is involved (I assume that's a XWindows related problem and not "really" KDE itself).

So far, I have tried running mouseconfig as well as edit several config files (mostly in the /etc directory) according to some of the older documentation I have. I have even tried installing Slackware, Debian and FreeBSD on two completely different machines with different mice, keyboards and everything and all of them seem to do the same thing when I launch KDE (or Gnome for that matter) -- the mouse goes nuts and usually ends up in the top left corner of the screen. What's really confusing is that when I install Red Hat, Mandrake, or Caldera the mouse works fine! Therefore, I am convinced it's something simple like a config script or a utility that I need to run but I don't know what that could be. Perhaps someone here knows the answer??? I won't even go into the sound card problems (yet ).

Pick a mouse, let's say the USB and edit your /etc/X11/XF86Config file. Go down to where you see the mouse options and driver and change it to IMPS/2 and make sure that the device is /dev/mouse. Save and try kde again. Someone will correct me if i goofed yuh up! lol

Hi i was wondering what i have done wrong, or have overlooked. but i installed my usb card, and went and eddited rc.modules to accept the usb card. it got reconized, ok so i went to edit rc.gpm and saved, that. this being said i have taken out the rem marks off to enable HID, and mouse drivers in rc.modules. mouse still doenst work. i tried editing the XF86Config file as mentioned and i wasn't even able to boot into KDE, please tell me what i can do get my mouse working thanks

In XF86Config (located in /etc/X11) there is a section (in REM of course) called Core Pointer's InputDevice Section. The Identifier and driver are as follows:

Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Microsoft"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"

Somehow this allows a mouse pointer to be used, but it really can't! All other options are commented out (REM'd out if you're like me and "think" in terms of ancient BASIC -- that's a octothorpe or "pound sign" that is used instead of "REM" by the way). It would seem that the driver I am using is not compatible (although it's unlikely), or needs some additional arguments that I am unaware of if it's a driver problem at all. I believe the PSAUX driver should be used but where is that done? Would I need to change kernel's if I change from a PS/2 mouse to a USB or can I continue to use the usb.i kernel? If I do need to change kernels then HOW is it done short of reinstalling (I assume I'll have to decompress/extract one from the install CD, but put it where? and edit what?)? I would really like to have BOTH mice working like it does with MS Windows and the Free BSD desktop (non-GUI -- sorry, "desktop" is probably the wrong term tro use here), but it seems that I must choose one or the other; if so, then I prefer the USB mouse. The system is a K6II 350MHz CPU (socket-7) with an Intel 430TX chipset, all ATAPI (IDE) drives (except the 1.44 floppy of course) -- CDROM is master on secondary controller while hard is master on primary controller, a Matrox Milennium II (4meg VRAM and no expansion boards) video card, an Opti Audio 16 (OPT0931) sound card, and a SVGA monitor that can handle 1280x1024 at 60Hz refresh (possibly more -- its a Toshiba Tekbright 500V) monitor. Everything works just fine under Widnows 98 and there are no IRQ or address conflicts (no hardware conflicts). There is a minor problem with the BIOS power management when enabled under Windows but forcing it in Windows to APM 1.0 or disabling it in the BIOS seems to work (I disable it with ALL Linux distros). The hard drives are in transports so completely partitioning a hard drive will NOT affect my Windows (it's on a completely different hard drive) and I have several older hard drives of 4 Gig or less that I can "experiment" with. I have been messing with Microsoft OS's since the days ot DOS 3.3 but never UNIX/Linux until recently. Yes, I consider myself a "newbie" since I've only been "playing" with Linux off and on for about 8 months, but I do know more than the average "newbie" when it comes to hardware. Any more help is much appreciated (hopefully I haven't forgot any important details)...

sorry as well as changing the protocol to "IMPS/2" change the device to /dev/input/mice assuming of course the usb support and all is in your kernel

Okay, since you have a Logitech MouseMan, is it a Logitech MouseMan+? Your /etc/XF86Config for your PS2 mouse should look more like:

Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"

For your USB Logitech MouseMan (I'm thinking it's a mouseman+ as it's USB), you should setup your /etc/XF86Config to look more like this:

Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/usbmouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
#Option "Buttons 5"

You can also try uncommenting (removing the #) the last line if it doesn't work as is. I've never set up my box to work with 2 different mice, but I would assume that you would set up Mouse1 and Mouse2 respectively. Additionally, did you install the usb.i kernel or the bare.i kernel?

Hope this helps.

Okay, firstly, what is your distro? Secondly, what kind of mouse do you have? When you say you couldn't boot into KDE, what errors did you get? Type cat /var/log/XFree86.0.log in your command line to get an output of what your X server was doing when you tried to startx. It will also give us a better idea of what went wrong.

OK. The distro is Slackware 8.1 and it is dated June 2002 AND it was store-bought meaning it was NOT downloaded & burned. There are two mice on the system. One mouse is a Logitech Mouseman Plus (model: M-BE58) and is connected to the USB port (this Logitech usb mouse even has a scroll wheel). The other mouse is permanently on the wireless keyboard and is supposibly 100% "PS/2" compatible (and as I recall, Windows 98 even installed it as a "Microsoft Mouse" so I would assume it's even Microsoft "compatible"). The "PS/2" mouse is permanently attached to the keyboard which is an Inland "Pro Keyboard/Mouse Wireless" model KB-9820. The PS/2 or wireless mouse can be disconnected if necessary by simply not plugging in the PS/2 plug on the I/R transmitter (there are 2 PS/2 plugs on the transmitter; one for the keyboard and one for the mouse). So there you have it -- 2 mice (one PS/2 and one USB).

If I must choose one mouse over the other then I prefer to use the USB mouse since it's more "natural", can track faster, and has a scroll wheel (more on that in a minute). However, I can't see why BOTH mice can't be used. After all, every version of MS Windows from 95 on allow multiple pointing devices (and this setup even works with Windows 98) so I can't see why any distro of Linux can't do it. Anyway, after several reinstallations of Slackware 8.1, I finally was able to get the USB mouse to work with KDE but NOT have the PS/2 (wireless) mouse available and NOT have the scroll wheel work on the USB mouse working (I REALLY want my scroll wheel to work too!). The lines in my XF86Config related to my mouse NOW read:

Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"

You might think that the PS/2 mouse would work, but the USB mouse is the one that works! That may be because I installed the "usb.i" kernel instead of the "bare.i" kernel (as I recall, those were the only "real" choices even though there were others). I did try your suggestions and tried to use the IMPS/2 protocol, but the system crashes and returns me to the console/shell (and there were a couple of error's too but I forgot what they were -- sorry). I've tried several variations of those suggestions too, but am stuck with a scroll-less USB mouse. One bright note though; I CAN change mice if I run the "mouseconfig" utility (which didn't work before I reinstalled), but that's not saying much since I'm only allowed to configure for one mouse (enable one mouse and the other get's knocked out, in other words). I have noticed that there are a few other mouse configurations that have been commented out. The one that looks promising is the "Mouse2" which uses the "MouseMan" protocol and is pointing to "/dev/mouse2". I'll give it a shot and try to report back. In the meantime, is there anyting ELSE I can try? I also think there may be something real simple that I am forgetting to do or don't know about (that seems to be my karma -- forgetting the simple stuff). Anyway, Thanks!!! Even though this hasn't worked (so far), I HAVE learned a few things so it's not like a complete waste of time...

4 things for you:

1.For a PS/2 mouse,

(/dev/mouse is often a symlink to /dev/psaux... if this symlink isn't there, and you installed gpm with slack like I did,
this is why gpm never runs at startup... edit /etc/rc.d/rc.gpm to fix,
same problem, same fix with XF86Config, or add
to rc.gpm if you want to have a /dev/mouse anyway)

2: for any mouse with a wheel, comment out anything that says Emulate3Buttons and add the following:

Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"

this will activate the scrolling up/down.
Emulate3Buttons isn't relevant, but bad anyway.

3: You have to pick a mouse device in your ServerLayout section, this is why you only have one at a time... so pick two.

Adding a second "Mousen" InputDevice is obvious; "SendCoreEvents" gives it the power alongside "Mouse1", the main mouse input.

4: personal advice: forget about karma. Jesus is the ultimate admin over reality itself!!!

OK. Perhaps a bit more explanation is needed. I hope you are aware that Slackware 8.1 now uses KDE3.0 as well as some other major upgrades/updates than what Slackware 7 uses (X11R6 and all that too which could possibly explain the problems I have with the examples). In your example, you say under Section "ServerLayout" that the Identifier is --> "XFree86 Configured" <-- but in my XF86Config file under "ServerLayout" the Identifier is --> "Simple Layout" <--. Under Screen you say to use --> 0 ":Screen0" 0 0 <-- but under Screen in my XF86Config it simply says --> "Screen 1" <-- (with a space even). There are other inconsistencies too. Therefore, the following is the complete section from my XF86Config file where that info is found, and it WORKS (of course, I DON'T have use of 2 mice and my scroll wheel still doesn't work):

# *******************
# ServerLayout sections.
# *******************

# Any number of ServerLayout ... (bla bla for 6 remark lines)...
#
#
#
#
#

Section "ServerLayout"

# The Identifier line must be present
Identifier "Simple Layout"

#Each Screen line ... (bla bla bla for 4 more remark lines)...
#
#
#
Screen "Screen 1"

# Each InputDevice... (bla, bla, bla for 4 more remark lines)...
#
#
#

InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

That's ALL of it but I have NOT provided the complete remark lines in case you wanted them. I'm NOT a programer and I don't know the syntax that should be used so I really have very little idea how this all fits together (I do have a LITTLE experience with ancient line-BASIC and DOS batch files, but that's really about IT -- pun intended :-) ). It would seem that there are some inconsistencies particularly since I can't use the IMPS/2 protocol or even the psaux driver (even with just one mouse) as you have previously suggested. If I do use them then my Xwindows crashes and returns me to a command prompt. You might also like to know that the "mouseman" driver loads or at least doesn't cause problems as a secondary device (I unremarked the lines I said I would try) but if I change the Identifier of the section by even one character then xwindows and KDE never run -- same thing where I'm back at a command prompt with an error notification. I WILL try your suggestions, but I have a bad feeling about this... If you can think of anything else, please let me know. And as ALWAYS -- THANKS!!!

P.S. I'll try to keep religion (sp?) out of this. My comments about "karma" may have been misinturputed and for that I am very sorry (I'm also NOT a "guru" either in case that comes up too). Unfortunately, my beliefs about Jesus are NOT the same and even if they were I find even subtle remarks about ANY religion or religious icon to be offensive particularly in an area and subject where they don't apply. Religion is a PERSONAL thing and doesn't belong here (then again, you might ask our moderator). I'll stop at that and end this by saying I'M VERY SORRY if even THIS remark upsets anyone.

Okay, here's what you'll need to do: start over by reconfiguring X entirely. It sounds like you haven't done this yet.

su -
password:

cd /etc/X11
cp XF86Config XF86Config.OLD

This should create a copy of your XF86Config in case anything should go wrong when you next type in xf86config.

This will bring you to the configurator for X. KNOW YOUR HARDWARE. This is the major key here. Get all your monitor info (horiz and vert), mouse info (it will ask you about your mouse--this time use the info for your USB mouse--don't worry about the PS2 mouse--we can add that later), video card info, et cetera. That "screen0" 0 0 thing mentioned earlier has to do with your virtual desktop--say no to those, BTW. Say no to "emulate three buttons" for your mouse. Once it's done and asks you if you want to save it to /etc/X11/XF86Config say yes.

Now, you are already in /etc/X11 so you can just open up /etc/X11/XF86Config with your favorite text editor (I like vi):

vi XF86Config from here, you can scroll through to see what the mouse settings are. Post your mouse settings. I run Slack 8.1 also...here's a copy of my mouse settings:
My mouse is a 2 button serial and I have it set to emulate 3 buttons...yours will look totally different, but if you post the whole section, it will be easier for us to help you out. We will also need to add your ps2 mouse to this later as well.

You'll notice another section in the XF86Config file:

This will be useful later. Once you've gotten all your XF86Config stuff that pertains to your problem (mouse area) down (without making changes), type in :q!---notice the " : "--important. This will get you out of vi. Post what the XF86Config file says here after you've run xf86config. BTW, the capitalization is important when typing commands and file names. From there, we can see what all we need to work on to get your mice working for you.

OK. Apparently nothig short of my ENTIRE XF86Config will be necessary. So HERE IT IS!:

# File generated by xf86config.

#
# Copyright (c) 1999 by The XFree86 Project, Inc.
#
# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
#
# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
#
# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
# THE XFREE86 PROJECT BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,
# WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF
# OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
# SOFTWARE.
#
# Except as contained in this notice, the name of the XFree86 Project shall
# not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other
# dealings in this Software without prior written authorization from the
# XFree86 Project.
#

# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the XF86Config(4/5) man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

# **********************************************************************
# Module section -- this section is used to specify
# which dynamically loadable modules to load.
# **********************************************************************
#
Section "Module"

# This loads the DBE extension module.

Load "dbe" # Double buffer extension

# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables
# initialisation of the XFree86-DGA extension within that module.
SubSection "extmod"
Option "omit xfree86-dga" # don't initialise the DGA extension
EndSubSection

# This loads the Type1 and FreeType font modules
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"

# This loads the GLX module
# Load "glx"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Files section. This allows default font and rgb paths to be set
# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"

# The location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.

RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"

# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (which are concatenated together),
# as well as specifying multiple comma-separated entries in one FontPath
# command (or a combination of both methods)
#
# If you don't have a floating point coprocessor and emacs, Mosaic or other
# programs take long to start up, try moving the Type1 and Speedo directory
# to the end of this list (or comment them out).
#

FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"

# The module search path. The default path is shown here.

# ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Server flags section.
# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerFlags"

# Uncomment this to cause a core dump at the spot where a signal is
# received. This may leave the console in an unusable state, but may
# provide a better stack trace in the core dump to aid in debugging

# Option "NoTrapSignals"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Crtl><Alt><BS> server abort sequence
# This allows clients to receive this key event.

# Option "DontZap"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> mode switching
# sequences. This allows clients to receive these key events.

# Option "Dont Zoom"

# Uncomment this to disable tuning with the xvidtune client. With
# it the client can still run and fetch card and monitor attributes,
# but it will not be allowed to change them. If it tries it will
# receive a protocol error.

# Option "DisableVidModeExtension"

# Uncomment this to enable the use of a non-local xvidtune client.

# Option "AllowNonLocalXvidtune"

# Uncomment this to disable dynamically modifying the input device
# (mouse and keyboard) settings.

# Option "DisableModInDev"

# Uncomment this to enable the use of a non-local client to
# change the keyboard or mouse settings (currently only xset).

# Option "AllowNonLocalModInDev"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Input devices
# **********************************************************************

# **********************************************************************
# Core keyboard's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
# For most OSs the protocol can be omitted (it defaults to "Standard").
# When using XQUEUE (only for SVR3 and SVR4, but not Solaris),
# uncomment the following line.

# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"

Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"

# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"

# Option "LeftAlt" "Meta"
# Option "RightAlt" "ModeShift"

# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc102"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
#
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
#
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"

# These are the default XKB settings for XFree86
# Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
# Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
# Option "XkbLayout" "us"
# Option "XkbVariant" ""
# Option "XkbOptions" ""

# Option "XkbDisable"

Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"

EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# Core Pointer's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

# Identifier and driver

Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"

# When using XQUEUE, comment out the above two lines, and uncomment
# the following line.

# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"

# Baudrate and SampleRate are only for some Logitech mice. In
# almost every case these lines should be omitted.

# Option "BaudRate" "9600"
# Option "SampleRate" "150"

# Emulate3Buttons is an option for 2-button Microsoft mice
# Emulate3Timeout is the timeout in milliseconds (default is 50ms)

# Option "Emulate3Buttons"
# Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"

# ChordMiddle is an option for some 3-button Logitech mice

# Option "ChordMiddle"

EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# Other input device sections
# this is optional and is required only if you
# are using extended input devices. This is for example only. Refer
# to the XF86Config man page for a description of the options.
# **********************************************************************
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "Mouse2"
# Driver "mouse"
# Option "Protocol" "MouseMan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/mouse2"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball"
# Driver "magellan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball2"
# Driver "spaceorb"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen0"
# Driver "microtouch"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "1412"
# Option "MaxX" "15184"
# Option "MinY" "15372"
# Option "MaxY" "1230"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen1"
# Driver "elo2300"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "231"
# Option "MaxX" "3868"
# Option "MinY" "3858"
# Option "MaxY" "272"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonThreshold" "17"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Monitor section
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of monitor sections may be present

Section "Monitor"

Identifier "Toshiba Tekbright 500V"

# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.
# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.

HorizSync 31.5 - 64.3

# HorizSync 30-64 # multisync
# HorizSync 31.5, 35.2 # multiple fixed sync frequencies
# HorizSync 15-25, 30-50 # multiple ranges of sync frequencies

# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.
# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.

VertRefresh 50-100

EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# Graphics device section
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of graphics device sections may be present

# Standard VGA Device:

Section "Device"
Identifier "Standard VGA"
VendorName "Unknown"
BoardName "Unknown"

# The chipset line is optional in most cases. It can be used to override
# the driver's chipset detection, and should not normally be specified.

# Chipset "generic"

# The Driver line must be present. When using run-time loadable driver
# modules, this line instructs the server to load the specified driver
# module. Even when not using loadable driver modules, this line
# indicates which driver should interpret the information in this section.

Driver "vga"
# The BusID line is used to specify which of possibly multiple devices
# this section is intended for. When this line isn't present, a device
# section can only match up with the primary video device. For PCI
# devices a line like the following could be used. This line should not
# normally be included unless there is more than one video device
# intalled.

# BusID "PCI:0:10:0"

# VideoRam 256

# Clocks 25.2 28.3

EndSection

# Device configured by xf86config:

Section "Device"
Identifier "Matrox Millennium II 4MB"
Driver "mga"
#VideoRam 4096
VideoRam 4096
# Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# Screen sections
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of screen sections may be present. Each describes
# the configuration of a single screen. A single specific screen section
# may be specified from the X server command line with the "-screen"
# option.
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "Matrox Millennium II 4MB"
Monitor "Toshiba Tekbright 500V"
DefaultDepth 24

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# ServerLayout sections.
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of ServerLayout sections may be present. Each describes
# the way multiple screens are organised. A specific ServerLayout
# section may be specified from the X server command line with the
# "-layout" option. In the absence of this, the first section is used.
# When now ServerLayout section is present, the first Screen section
# is used alone.

Section "ServerLayout"

# The Identifier line must be present
Identifier "Simple Layout"

# Each Screen line specifies a Screen section name, and optionally
# the relative position of other screens. The four names after
# primary screen name are the screens to the top, bottom, left and right
# of the primary screen. In this example, screen 2 is located to the
# right of screen 1.

Screen "Screen 1"

# Each InputDevice line specifies an InputDevice section name and
# optionally some options to specify the way the device is to be
# used. Those options include "CorePointer", "CoreKeyboard" and
# "SendCoreEvents".

InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection


ME AGAIN! In case it isn't obvious, I am RUNNING KDE 3.0 under Slackware 8.1 with a generic PS/2 mouse enabled. All is working fine EXCEPT the USB mouse isn't working with THIS XF86Config file. NOTHING has been enabled/disabled or "edited" to allow for the USB mouses and/or it's scroll wheel. I usually use my Windows box to leave messages and access the Internet (vice-versa), but it really doesn't matter since all systems are networked and have high-speed cable modem Internet access (get the Ethernet & TCP/IP working and vola "wa-la" or abracadabra :-) ).

Once again, the mouse is permanently attached to the keyboard and connects ONLY on the PS/2 serial port (it MAY be Microsoft compatible, but apparently PS/2 is ALSO a choice and probably the safer choice anyway). The Logitech MouseMan Plus mouse with scroll wheel is connected on the USB port (no other USB devices either) but is totally non-functional (with the above script). And THAT is the problem -- how do I get the Logitech USB mouse to work WITH the PS/2 mouse AND have the scroll wheel too? I CAN get one to work in favor of the other, but that's not really much of a solution (at first, even THAT was a problem so your help HAS been of some good!). As I said, Microsoft OS's do it rather easily, so I would think Linux can too. I've ALSO said that if I use the IMPS/2 protocol that I can't even launch Xwindows (I get kicked back to a console-prompt with a couple of error notices). It would seem that I have several things to try and I WILL, but just in case things get REALLY messed up I DID want to post that XF86Config script while things were working! Again, THANKS for the help!!!

me too.


let's see...
ok, right here--

identifier is "Mouse1". this only matters in the ServerLayout section, it can be called "RubberHose" if you want, so long as Serverlayout tells it to look for an InputDevice called "RubberHose"!! that's all the identifier is for.

Driver is ALWAYS "mouse".

Protocol is different for many mice, they include PS/2, BusMouse, Microsoft, USB, Logitech, and more. details at XFree86 Documentation: Mouse Driver

Device-- /dev/psaux is the PS/2 mouse port (unless it's integrated into your keyboard... but then the same chip on the mainboard is patching it through. Don't sweat it.) I wouldn't rely on /dev/mouse, since that could link to /dev/psaux *OR* to /dev/usbmouse, or whatever a USB mouse is.

For the USB mouse, have a second section like this, and it can be pretty much anywhere in the file (even at the bottom) since it's not a SubSection (like modes listed in Screen):

===

OK, the identifier again. This is only of any use to you, as far as I know, when you (or a script) call X on a command line and pass a "-layout identifier" to activate an alternate layout. that's useful in a few circumstances... but with one layout, call it what you like so long as it has a name, then forget about it.

This section is where the names go, and another mouse. If you used the second mouse section up there, down here you add

"InputDevice" "Mouse2" "SendCoreEvents"

If you made the Identifier anything other than Mouse2 up there, it has to match down here.

If you want to find out what XFree86 is doing when it blinks out instead of starting, type "X" and watch the error messages. It'll tell you if /dev/usbmouse doesn't exist, or if "auto" protocol couldn't be autodetected, and so on. That's when you go back to the InputDevice called Mouse2 and change the protocol to USB, or something else... your choices are:

Auto, Microsoft, MouseSystems, MMSeries, Logitech, MouseMan, MMHitTab, GlidePoint, IntelliMouse, ThinkingMouse, AceCad, PS/2, ImPS/2, ExplorerPS/2, ThinkingMousePS/2, MouseManPlusPS/2, GlidePointPS/2, NetMousePS/2, NetScrollPS/2, BusMouse, SysMouse, WSMouse, USB, Xqueue.

Since it's a USB mouse, PS/2 protocols probably aren't going to work. It really ought to be "USB", just try "Auto" first. If you type "X" and it works, try moving the mice around, etc. hit Ctrl+Alt+BackSpace to kill it, or switch back to the console that started it and hit Ctrl+C.

P.S. i only know because I found the manual!!

Excellent post script, Xcon. It's now bookmarked. Thanks!

Sparky,

I'd have to say that Xcon hit the nail on the head with his post. Did you back up your XF86Config file like I showed you before going any further? If not, do it in case your system is worse off than it was before. Basically, all you have to do is make your XF86Config Core Pointer's Input Devices section look similar to this:

Then, at the end, where you've got

make it look like this:

This should get you started with your 2 mice. If they both don't work once you get into X--or if you don't even get into X, open up a terminal (if you're in X that is--if not, you'll already be in command line) and type:

su -
password: <enter your root password>

cd /var/log
ls
vi XFree86.0.log

This will open your log that tells what went right as well as what went wrong with your initialization of X. If you find errors, post them here for us so we can see what went wrong. Don't forget to back up your working XF86Config file like I showed you earlier.

thanks

i forgot to mention--- if you test by typing 'X' and you see a screen with nothing but black and white zigzags, and only a squared off X for a cursor, that's --normal--. this is what happens with no session, no display manager, no window manager, etc ... but it (often)proves that X -can- launch if you -had- typed kdm or gdm or startx to begin. just in case...

also: there ARE errors that will NOT kill the server, that is-- they can be broken/incorrect settings but X still runs. thus the log