allend

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You have got me scratching my head as well.
Are you sure that you have no extraneous files in your /etc/modprobe.d? All files in that directory are examined and it is possible that you may have a backup file from your editing program.
Have you tried using the synclient program?
Another possibility is to try using the SlackBuild for the synaptics driver package, as I did.
You have my sympathy with this. It took me three nights of solid work before I finally nailed it on my Toshiba 1410.

Slacker_Rex

Yes, triple checked. completely commented out. All other files in that folder were installed by default, and just to be sure I looked through them to see if they contained anything relating to mouse or trackpad and nothing.

I can't recall right now, but I was thinking that at one point I did receive something useful with the command. SHMConfig is NOT disabled in my xorg.conf, so this is a clue that something is not right.

I used the xf86-input-synaptics package (and buildscript) from SlackBuilds.org. Are you suggesting another package?

Just for the heck of it, I will remove anything related to synaptics driver and download it again and resintall it fresh. In looking around, I found copies of synclient and syndaemon in different locations (one in /usr/bin/ and one in /usr/local/bin). Perhaps this was a remnant of an install I attempted before I used the SlackBuild script, I don't remember at this point. Hopefully the removal and re-install will help to some degree. I will let you know the results. Since synclient is not working though, it tells me that something may be FUBAR with the driver package itself and hopefully this will fix that.

To some degree it is what I get for stumbling around blindly compiling and trying to install drivers hoping it will fix an issue. Really though, if we wanted the simplicity of 'click and run' we would just run Linspire or one of the *buntus though now wouldn't we?

Thanks for your help.

allend

In an earlier post you mentioned that you had used a package from linuxpackages.net. I suggested that you use the SlackBuild as it would compile the driver on your system, rather than use a precompiled driver from elsewhere, to eliminate any incompatibility. Removal and reinstall should clean things up.
You have been looking at the documentation in /usr/doc/synaptic*, right?

Slacker_Rex

If I said I used anything from linuxpackages.net I did so inadvertently. I don't use those packages as I have read too many bad things about them. I either download sources direct, or the packages from SlackBuilds.

The docs I was referring to were in /usr/doc/xf86-input-synaptics-0.15.1.

That said, rule number one of tech support, I suppose is to functionally check your hardware (i.e. make sure it is plugged in). It seems that my trackpad has gone south for some reason. My machine is dual boot, and I had to boot into Vista today (school thing, I try to avoid that side like the plague but tests were due) and the trackpad is not working when booted in there either. As a third test I grabbed a live Knoppix live CD (5.3) and same thing there.

I apologize for wasting your time. On a side note though if you (or anyone else) knows of some way to actually check an internal trackpad (aside from pulling my laptop apart) I am all ears. This one is a bit over a year old, so it is out of warranty. I won't be incurring any large expenses for diagnosis, especially given that it was not an extremely expensive model to begin with.

If nothing else, if/when I come across the need to set up a track pad on a linux laptop again hopefully what I have learned from this experience, I will be able to do it (almost with my eyes shut).

Thanks again for all your help, I really do appreciate it.