Nope! NO GO!! Nothing works!!! After editing and re-editing the XF86Config file for several HOURS and even rebooting (with no sucess to get both mice working) I decided to run the mouseconfig utility and change the "working" mouse that way. After running mouseconfig and rebooting, I launched KDE (typed in startx) and low and behold my USB mouse works as I pretty much knew it would (and ENabling or DISabeling "gpm" when mouseconfig asks about it doesn't seem make any difference either). No big deal so far, but here's the weird part, NOTHING IN THE XF86Config FILE WAS EVER CHANGED! By all right's, according to what everyone has said and EVEN according to the man pages (which I HAVE read), my PS/2 mouse should be the one that works cause THAT'S what the XFConfig file is set up for. But it ISN'T! The USB mouse is working despite the the PS/2 stuff STILL in the XF86Config file! That should NOT occur, right? So why is it? Something ELSE has to be at play here and I am CONVINCED the mouse is set up and/or controlled some where else. (yep, I'm now pretty frustrated).

Apparently, this has all been a big waste of time with editing the XF86Config file and the only real fix for the crazy mouse, which started this whole thing, was apparently to completely wipe out and then reinstall Slackware 8.1 (throw the baby out with the bath water, if you will). A bit extreme, but that's the only thing I can now see that ever "really" worked. The "crazy mouse" problem was fixed, but NOT by editing the XF86Config file as I once thought (and YES! I am editing the right XF86Config file in the /etc/X11 directory and don't have any other files named XF86Config in any other subdirectorues either). The ONLY other explaination I can see is lacking documentation for a new feature that I have with my VERY NEW release of Slackware 8.1 which came from Slackware Linux Inc. (as a 4-disk set of CD's dated June 2002 which is professionally made and NOT a "burned" set either). Like most distro's, the manual pages are NOT always up to date with all subjects and this appears to be no exception, particularly where XWindows and mice are concerned. Something is very wrong here and I don't know what it is. PLEASE HELP???

P.S. Sorry if this posting seems a bit too strong, but you can imagine my frustration level by now -- I hope. All the same, Thanks...

I'll be perfectly honest with you here. I have no idea what's going on. Did you ever alter your XF86Config file as suggested? If not, try it, if so, I have no idea.

I did find however, that you might want to make changes to your "mouse2" portion as follows:

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse2"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "MouseMan"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "SampleRate" "120"
EndSection

I've seen this configuration work for others that are having problems with their USB mice. I know that your USB mouse is working properly, but perhaps this will get both your PS/2 and your USB to work. If this fails, maybe you should contact the XFree86 people to see if maybe there's a suggestion they might have that will work. If you contact them, make sure you tell them everything you've tried. This way they know you've done your homework and aren't just trying to get some first level support from them. Their email address should be posted somewhere in a file. Also, have you checked /var/log/XFree86.0.log yet? There might be some errors there that aren't apparent when you "startx" as X is coming up. There might be some clues as to why your PS/2 mouse isn't working. You might also be able to find the XFree86 email address. If not, go to www.xfree86.org and I'm sure it's posted on there somewhere.

is there, by any odd chance, any /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 ??
if things are fixing and breaking without changes to XF86Config, then it's either the -4 one, or (most likely) all in the symlinks that mouseconfig uses.

YES! I have tried what you suggested. I did have to make some mofifications because "mouseconfig" keeps changing the link to /dev/mouse. In other words, the /dev/mouse is actually a link that is changed when I run mouseconfig! I now know that the actual driver (if it's even a "driver") is the /dev/psaux file when the PS/2 mouse is selected and is /dev/input/mouse0 when the USB mouse is selected. At least that's what "mouseconfig" changes the links to when I select which mouse to use by running it. Knowing that, I then made the changes in XF86Config to reflect the correct files and paths but I STILL can't use both mice. The ONLY error that was reported by XFree86.0.log stated:

(EE) Attempt to register more than one core pointer (Mouse2).

After seeing this, I was able to obtain an error free log by making the following changes in XF86Config in the section at the bottom (the "ServerLayout" area) to read:

InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Mouse2" "OtherInputDevice"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

I believe the second line is wrong which now reads "OtherInputDevice" but should read "CorePointer"; however, it does produce an error free log if I leave it as stated. I also seem to recall someone saying that it didn't matter what I called it, but I doubt THIS is what they were talking about. For clarity, my current XF86Config file has a section pertaining to Mouse2 and now reads as follows:

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse2"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "MouseMan"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
EndSection

I haven't put in the scroll wheel lines yet (ZAxisMapping) or the speed lines (SampleRate) since I want to keep it as simple as I can before tweaking it with "extras". I would think that this would work (as stated) but it doesn't! To finish this up and for more clarity the Mouse1 section now reads as follows:


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

Section "InputDevice"

# Identifier and driver

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

EndSection

The ONLY change I made was in the line Option line which used to point to the /dev/mouse but now reads --> Option "Device" "/dev/psaux" <-- . It still works so no damage done.

Any more ideas? I'm about to completely toss Slackware in the trash can in favor of FreeBSD since simple stuff like 2 mice appear to be unsupported under Slackware (I know FreeBSD supports 2 mice since I've seen it work on the command/prompt desktop). I'd REALLY like to hear if ANYONE else has been able to do this with Slackware 8.1 and if so HOW! I really like Slackware, all things considered even, and I'll probably keep it around for other projects but the mice ARE pretty important to me (and cost more) so I need an OS to support them as well (and it WON'T be MS Windows either!). As always, Thanks...

you're close!!! the problem isn't Slackware, it's XFree86's business. and the error is because the ServerLayout has 2 InputDevices with the "CorePointer" option. there can only be one "CorePointer", or "CoreKeyboard" for that matter. any others have to be "SendCoreEvents" to make a NON-core pointer work simultaneously with the core one.

InputDevice "Mouse2" "SendCoreEvents"

that ought to do it... it's strange that you had a XF...-4, since I never got one. X is supposed to use the -4 file if it exists, and otherwise use the old name. doesn't matter... inside, it's the same.

don't toss slack... it'll come through

OK! Now we're getting somewhere! That suggestion to use "SendCoreEvents" at least woke up the USB mouse AND I have the PS/2 mouse working too (first time THAT'S happened!). However, the USB mouse is exhibiting the "crazy mouse" syndrome (flys all over the screen and ends up in the top left corner). I guess now, I'll have to go back through this "book" of postings and see what else I can try. If you know what it is, by all means tell me since I WILL be looking. But THANKS!!!

YAHOO! (that's NOT a plug for them). IT ALL WORKS!!! Scroll wheel and EVERYTHING! THANKYOU EVERYONE!!! FYI, I am going to post the ENTIRE SF86Config file so you can see what it now looks like:

# 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/psaux"

# 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" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "SampleRate" "120"

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 "Mouse2" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection


ME AGAIN! That's IT! And as you can see YOU were RIGHT all along! The IMPS/2 protocol for the USB mouse was correct and cleared the "crazy mouse" problem with the USB mouse. Adding the "ZAxisMapping" and "SampleRate" tweaks ALSO allows the scroll wheel to work! I KNEW it was possible. Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou! (...and sorry if I might have appeard "moody" due to the frustration). I hope this helps someone else. L8R...

Welcome to the wonderful world of Slackware! I'm glad you finally got everything working. I assume the "crazy mouse syndrome" was caused by the zaxis mapping and samplerate settings. I was thinking the same thing as Xcon when I first read your post about how you were going to get rid of Slack, but he got to the post first. FreeBSD would most likely have to go through the same troubleshooting and configs as you had to go through in Slack to get it working. Perseverance pays off, and I knew it could be done.

I also want to thank you for posting your entire XF86Config file here as I'm certain that somewhere down the line, someone will have the exact same problem (or at least very similar) and they'll do a search for the answer. They now will have your posts to help them and I'm sure they'll be quite grateful. Thanks again, and I'm happy that everything got sorted out.

sweet! nothing like a fixable problem getting fixed...
sometimes you come across an OS that's like a ratchet... it only gets worse one notch at a time, one after another LOL
glad we could help.

Hi

I'm having the same problem with my mouse. It's an USB mouse and It's crazy, like Sparky's. I read whole the thread but my mouse keeps going crazy and i'm going crazy too.

PLEASE, help me. Any help is welcome.

Here is my XF86 File

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

Section "InputDevice"

# Identifier and driver

Identifier "Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "SampleRate" "120"

# 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


# 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 "Mouse" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

One thing I noticed when I got the USB-mouse to work crazy was that changing JUST the protocol seemed to make the difference (it was a minor tweak by that time). Changing the protocol from MouseMan to IMPS/2 made it go from crazy to sane. Believe it or not, having a crazy mouse tells you quite a bit and is good. Therefore, you might want to try something else OTHER than the IMPS/2 protocol. However, I would first try deleting or remarking out the ZAxisMapping and SampleRate lines just in case THAT is the real problem (simplify it as best you can for troubleshooting in other words).

On the other hand, if you are sure that IMPS/2 is the right protocol then you might want to try a different mouse driver (/dev/input/mouse1 would be one and there are about 20 of them if I recall right). I still don't know what the /dev/usb/mouse0 through /dev/usb/mouse9 drivers are for; the /dev/usb directory doesn't seem to be used for anything, but there are a few MORE mouse drivers to try too. I did notice that when I tried different mouse drivers that there were very few mouse drivers that even worked! The only good signs were that if the mouse went crazy then I knew the driver in use was at least compatible somehow. In my case the /dev/input/mice and /dev/input/mouse0 drivers were the only two drivers of about 20 I tried that worked.

All in all I think you'll have better luck changing the protocol. However, I don't know what other protocols are available to try. That is to say, I can't tell you what other protocols are available short of running the mouseconfig or xf86config utilities. Even then it has to be exactly right. Linux is case-sensative so something that says for example MoUsEmAn is NOT the same a mOuSeMaN even though they have the same english alphabet letters. I hope someone else can tell us how to find out what other protocols are available. I/we already know IMPS/2, MouseMan, and Microsoft are some choices and I'd bet this information is documented somewhere but I really hope there is something else more simple like modprobe that can be used.

Hope it helps...

P.S. After all that, at least my sound card works! :-)

I strongly believe that the problem is linked with ZAxisMapping and SampleRate. I don't know how to work with them, so could anyone help me to delete ou remark it??

put a # at the beginning of the line.

SampleRate might be an issue, if the mouse or the motherboard doesn't like a high number... ZAxisMapping should only be a problem if you don't have a wheel or any extra buttons on the mouse.

Sparky's right, the 'craziness' is-- in my experience-- always something about the protocol. it's safe to remove those 2 options until it works and see if replacing them breaks things again... but definitely try some protocols, all of them if necessary...

OK. I'm aware that my problem must bo on the protocol. I would like to know with any of you have a list of protocols thne I could try one by one . Thanx all.

I do know if you run the xf86config utility that you can see what THAT supports. You don't have to save your changes so it's relatively safe. Also, note that the "xf86config" is a utility PROGRAM whereas "XF86Config" is the SCRIPT it produces (some folks tend to overlook the "case-sensative" nature of Linux so sorry if that's getting too "basic"). Other than that, I too had hoped that someone could provide a "list" of protocols to try (there ARE a few others further down in the XF86Config script file intended for auxilary pointing devices and ALL have been remarked out, but I suspect there are more -- case in point is the "IPMS/2" protocol whcih is NOT listed anywhere and yet we know THAT is a possability...). Anyone else want to chime in with the info?

I too want to know ALL available protocols that might be tried (I also realize this MAY be burried in a text file like a "README" or something -- I just haven't found it yet).

I hope this much has helped a little anyway...