USB Mouse in Slackware
 

Apparently Slackware doesn't appreciate my USB mouse. Tells me it can't read the device...I tried all the ttys[0..3] ports and nothing doing. Anyone know a quick fix or should I run to Kmart and get a converter?

Screw kmart :) Actually I like kmart, just got me a few new toys for my truck there tonight ;)

Anyway, no. Not yet anyway. You can rebuild your kernel, add support for USB devices, or maybe your kernel already has the necessary tools:
modprobe usbcore
modprobe hid
modprobe uhci (depending on your chipset anyway)

And then try setting up your mouse. This is what got me at first when I switched over to Slack, but it's not as bad as it seemed.

Cool

Well, I committed the ultimate Linux sin and forgot about case sensitivity, which is why ttys0 wasn't working and ttyS0 was ;)

So, X starts up fine now and looks nice and pretty...even though apparently AGP didn't start, but oh well.

Still nothing from the old mouse. The good news is that now when I move the mouse the optical light comes on, which is an improvement. Still doesn't give me anything on the screen, though. I uncommented those modules you mentioned and a couple of others in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules to no avail.

Something of note...

When I startup, I notice that I get this message among the scroll:

input0: USB HID v1.10 Mouse [Logitech USB-PS/2 Optical Mouse ] on usb1:2.0

That'd be my mouse alright. Is ttyS0 not the way to go?

In your /etc/X11/XF86Config show me your pointer section, here's mine (you probably will have something very close):

Cool

Just from memory...

Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Microsoft" (I've tried several)
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"

Ah hah!

Went out on a limb and tried using /dev/input/mice instead of /dev/ttyS0 and with a little finagling got it working.

Posting this from Linux now. Thanks ;)

Your Welcome ;)

Cool

Sorry; how did you get this to work? There was no entry for a USB mouse while running xf86config to configure the display and core devices, and when I try to run xstart, everything seems to work except the mouse...from my log after trying to run startx:
(WW) No core pointer registered
No core pointer
Fatal server error:
failed to initialize core devices
What do I need to do, and where do I do it, to get the USB thing working?
Sorry for the 'newbie' question, but my 1st time playing with Slackware and searches in LQ didn't pull any solid answers.
Thanks!

No, there isn't an option while running that setup program, so afterwards you have to manually edit your /etc/X11/XF86Config file to suit. Find the pointer section and make the changes for the device as shown above.

Also, you will need USB support in your kernel, but with any luck your default kernel will have it, and will save you for a short time from a kernel recompile.

Cool

I just had my logitech USB mouse working earlier today, but now... no go!

Anyway, the question: If I'm in using Konsole in KDE to edit my XF86Config, when I save those changes and exit the file, will i be able to see them take right away, or do I need to restart? I'd like to mess around with the file a bit and test some settings, but I don't know if I want to do that if I restart whenever I make the most minor of changes.

I have uncommented /sbin/modprobe hid
from the /etc/rc.d/rc.modules, and that's it. Should I uncomment a USB Host conoller, maybe? I don't think I needed to when I got this working before.. damn.