Here we go again, more Microsoft hardware not working correctly in Linux.

I've just installed Red Hat 8 from CD-ROM. During installation, the mouse worked perfectly. After installation, I rebooted into Linux and the mouse didn't even begin to function. I have never had the mouse do anything while in Linux.

The mouse is a Microsoft Trekker Wheel Mouse PS/2. In GNOME's "Start Here" thingamabob, I've selected each and every one of the combinations that I could think of... Generic two button, Generic three button, wheel mouse, even MS Intellimouse. I've tried each of them with and without 3 button click emulation. I've tried them ALL. I've noticed on the board some people were talking about editing some file, but I'm not really capable of editing at this point... I'm rather new to Linux, and short of a mouse I am somewhat lost on how to open the file (cant click on the GNOME foot to open my text editors, and I can't figure out how to open a konsole without a mouse to click on the GNOME foot).

Can anyone help another stupid n00b out with a devil of a mouse problem?

bump

Is it that nobody knows what the problem could be, or that I'm new and shouldn't be asking questions yet?

I mean, if I posted a question too early, I'm sorry, but I didn't know. I don't know enough about Linux yet to help other people with their problems, so I can't really offer help in order to get "credit" for an answer (like FTP ratios). I guess I could try hitting the newbie's questions and try to answer some, but I don't know if I could even answer those. If I answer one or two, can I get enough credit built to get an answer to my problem?

If it's that nobody knows, well... man, that sucks. It makes me wonder if anyone else has had this problem (mouse works in installation setup, but not in real Linux), and if Red Hat is aware of it. It'd be nice to find a fix, but if nobody has ever experienced this problem, I'm kinda screwed aren't I?

Guess I'll ask one last time... anyone, could you help another one of these "damn stupid" newbies?

I was hoping someone who knew more about this would help you out but for the time being I'll see if I can help you out a bit.

We need to look at your XF86Config file. It might also help to have a look at your XFree86.0.log file to see what's going on when X loads. If you hit ctrl-esc while you're in X it should bring up your KDE/Gnome menu. From there you should be able to navigate with your keyboard and do a few things. It will probably be easier if you just do this from the CLI.

Emacs is my favourite editor because it's the only one I really know how to use. For editing config files you only need to know a couple of simple commands. Open a file like this:

emacs /etc/X11/XF86Config

You can then use standard keys to navigate. If you want to save some changes, hit F10, "f" for file, then "s" for save. If you want to exit, hit F10, "f" for file then "e" for exit. It's that simple.

I'm not sure if Redhat uses XF86Config or XF86Config-4. It's easy to find out though. cd to /etc/X11 and then do dir. If you see XF86Config-4 there then that's the one X is using. If you only see XF86Config, then that is the one X is using.

I suggest you copy the relevant file to a Windows partition so you can post it here. cp = copy We want XFree86.0.log as well which you should find in /var/log

If you can, post you the XFree86.0.log file on the net somewhere instead of making this thread painfully long

I've given up, I reinstalled Windows.

I didn't upload those files. Screw it, Windows worked, and I had some work I needed done pronto.

However, if it helps, I did try a reinstall and found something interesting out.

Upon the initial boot of Linux (not setup, the first real boot), when "checking for new hardware", a screen would load up and tell me that the PS/2 3 Button mouse has been removed from the system. I tell it to keep the config, but the mouse still does not work at all. This could be the problem.

Also, my ISA soundcard (Ess ES1868) is "removed" but immediately after, a new soundcard (ESS ES1868) is found and installed. I have yet to play a sound to see if it is working or not.

Seems my hardware just does not like RH8. I've got a P4 2.4Ghz machine coming, maybe it will like that one.

Untill then, I'm running Windows; I have work to do and I can't wait for RH to finally decide to like my machine.

You should dual boot mate. It took me about 3 weeks to get 3D acceleration working under Slackware 9.0 for my Radeon card (mind you it's wasn't like a 24/7 effort, but I did put in some serious time). When I got a little stressed and needed a break, I just booted up Windows and played for a while. Sometimes I didn't even boot Slack for a day or 2. Doing things this way allows you to spend more time on the problem and there's no pressure (apart from the pressure you put on yourself because you just want to get the shit working so you can enjoy it).

Bummer about reloading Windows. If it helps at all, I have nearly 15 years experience with X11 and I'm having the same problem with the same mouse. I'm using Emulate3Buttons to work around the problem. When you add that to the InputDevice section of your mouse, you can get a middle mouse button click by clicking the left and right buttons together.

Google shows nothing relevant to this problem other than a NetBSD solution that uses "wsmouse" as the protocol. But that's not available on my system, running XFree86 4.2.0. And we all know, if it's not on Google, it doesn't exist.

For the question answerers out there, this thread should prove that answering "dyuh, I dunno" may actually be the right thing to do. X configuration can still be the most problematic part of configuring a Linux system, if your hardware is not in the supported list. I think a good answer for this guy might have been "buy a different mouse, they're cheap." He still might have reloaded Windows, but maybe not.