I realize this should be easy, and I thought it would be. I am trying to use a Microsoft Wireless mouse with my Gentoo desktop. The base attaches to the PC via USB, and a mouse and keyboard attach to the base via RF. The keyboard appears to work fine, and the mouse also works if the base is plugged in while X is running. However, if the base is plugged in at boot, the mouse is completely unresponsive. If I unplug and replug the base while X is running, the mouse will start working.

Hotplug and Coldplug are both emerged and added to run levels (coldplug is at boot, and hotplug is on default). I have tried following some how-tos that people have used with tilt-wheel mouse that included adding options to xorg.conf like:


Option "Protocol" "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event1"
Option "Phys Dev" "<stuff>/unput1" #stuff out of /proc


I have tried protocol with evdev, auto, microsoft, and ImPS/2. I have tried (and got the same results) /dev/input/mice, /dev/input/event1, and /dev/psaux for the Device option. I am at a loss, but it seems like this should be working.

Is there a way to similate the plugging and unplugging of the base? Or has anybody had this problem, or a possible solution?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.


In a hopefully unrelated situation, there have been two times, after messing around with device configuration that the BIOS on boot couldn't find the keyboard and wouldn't boot. This situation was resolved after plugging in a broken keyboard to the PS/2 port, and has worked ever since. One of these incidents was after type "cat /dev/input/event0" which happened to be the keyboard.

I am running the gentoo patched linux kernel 2.6.12-r6

Thanx for the help

Another thing I noticed: After replugging the base to get the mouse working, the mouse will only work for a few minutes before going dead again. This sucks.