LinuxQuestions.org
Latest LQ Deal: Latest LQ Deals
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie
User Name
Password
Linux - Newbie This Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question? If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 04-09-2006, 11:40 AM   #1
DiverDown
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2006
Location: Augusta, GA
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 3

Rep: Reputation: 0
USB mouse not working but touchpad does


Hi all,

I'm brand new at Linux and just installed Slackware 10.2 on a Dell Inspiron 5100.

I've got a list of things I want to do and first on the list is to get my USB Logitech mouse to work. The touchpad works fine.

After searching the forums I see a lot of references to xf86 and xorg.conf, but I don't know what that is and can't find it on my computer. I'm really trying to help myself and searched hard to try to figure this out but I'm lost and don't know where to begin.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
 
Old 04-09-2006, 12:08 PM   #2
cwwilson721
Senior Member
 
Registered: Dec 2004
Location: In my house.
Distribution: Ubuntu 10.10 64bit, Slackware 13.1 64-bit
Posts: 2,649
Blog Entries: 1

Rep: Reputation: 67
Quote:
Originally Posted by DiverDown
Hi all,

I'm brand new at Linux and just installed Slackware 10.2 on a Dell Inspiron 5100.

I've got a list of things I want to do and first on the list is to get my USB Logitech mouse to work. The touchpad works fine.
First off, Welcome to Slackware!
Do you want your mouse to work in X? (By the next section, I'm assuming so)
Quote:
Originally Posted by DiverDown
After searching the forums I see a lot of references to xf86 and xorg.conf, but I don't know what that is and can't find it on my computer. I'm really trying to help myself and searched hard to try to figure this out but I'm lost and don't know where to begin.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
Slackware 10.2 uses Xorg, not xf86. Your xorg.conf file is in /etc/X11/xorg.conf

If you want to see my xorg.conf, get it here (I also use a touchpad and USB wireless mouse). Look it over, and add to your xorg.conf what you need. But don't just replace yours with mine. The video sections and displays, etc, are probably different.

My xorg.conf is well commented. So read the commented sections (The parts after the '#')

You can also look at my homepage. It describes what I did for installs, etc. The link is in my sig.

Last edited by cwwilson721; 04-09-2006 at 12:10 PM.
 
Old 04-09-2006, 01:46 PM   #3
DiverDown
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2006
Location: Augusta, GA
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 3

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
Thanks very much for your reply. I took a look at your xorg.conf file and it looks different than mine, but I think I found the same section in my xorg.conf file, copied your input device section into mine and tried to save it and got an error message that says,

The document could not be saved, as it was not possible to write to file:///etc/X11/xorg.conf. Check that you have write access to this file or that enough disk space is available.

I don't know what to do. Does that mean I have to switch to root user before trying to edit this file? Usually I'll get a pop up asking me for my root password when it's needed but I got nothing like that.
 
Old 04-09-2006, 01:57 PM   #4
cwwilson721
Senior Member
 
Registered: Dec 2004
Location: In my house.
Distribution: Ubuntu 10.10 64bit, Slackware 13.1 64-bit
Posts: 2,649
Blog Entries: 1

Rep: Reputation: 67
Yes. Would be easiest to be root
 
Old 04-09-2006, 05:55 PM   #5
DiverDown
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2006
Location: Augusta, GA
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 3

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
Well, good news and bad news! Bad news is that the changes I made in xorg.conf screwed something up and I couldn't load X! I didn't know what else to do so I reformated and started over. There's probably an easier way but I don't know what it is. Anyway, good news is that I made another selection with the mouse this time during setup and it's working just fine. Touchpad doesn't work but I don't use it anyway. I'll figure out how to get that working later just for something to do.

I actually saved the old xorg.conf file to a kwrite document just in case I screwed something up, but I couldn't access it because x wouldn't start! Ahh, well, I figured this would be a learning experience so I don't mind.

Thanks for your help and I will check out your website for more info.

Cheers...
 
Old 04-09-2006, 06:03 PM   #6
cwwilson721
Senior Member
 
Registered: Dec 2004
Location: In my house.
Distribution: Ubuntu 10.10 64bit, Slackware 13.1 64-bit
Posts: 2,649
Blog Entries: 1

Rep: Reputation: 67
Run
Code:
xorgsetup
to get a working X configuration up.

then
Code:
cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.myback
That will back up your xorg.conf.

Fiddle with your xorg.conf as much as you want, remembering to restart X after every change, and backing it up if it works.

If it won't work, just type
Code:
rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf
cp /etc/X11/xorg.myback /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Remember that my xorg.conf is tailored to my setup/hardware, and that yours obviously is different. Read my homepage for my specs.

Just try, try, and try again. Then try a few more times. You'll get it.
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
touchpad mouse not working properly lawkh Linux - Laptop and Netbook 14 08-31-2005 09:44 PM
laptop touchpad ok, USB mouse quits working PolarDog Linux - Laptop and Netbook 4 06-20-2005 09:35 PM
USB mouse not working with touchpad cb951303 Slackware 2 09-08-2004 06:28 PM
touchpad mouse + usb mouse on laptop guild Libranet 1 11-28-2003 09:42 AM
USB mouse + touchpad working simultaneously stevenhasty Slackware 1 07-26-2003 07:11 AM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:49 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration