System: Debian Sarge Stable, don't know witch version, just installed it yesterday so I guess it's the newest? Uses xfree86, has Gnome installed, will probably use KDE later..

At first x didn't start because the mouse was missing, then I corrected some file (etc/X11/XF86Config-4) and if found the mouse. But now when I start Gnome, the mouse goes to the bottom left corner, and when I try to move it, it jumps right back after a second or two.. I use a standard PS/2 2-button mouse, no cordless/usb/optical bs.. I have tried to search, but all of you uses USB/whatnot mouses and the settings are different..

I've tried a lot of different settings, what should I use?

The previously mentioned file is now like this:

The xfree86 is outdated, xorg is the new one. So probably you have a old version of Debian.
Have you tried 'dpkg-reconfigure xfree86' ?

Sarge was set to be retired December 4th, 2006, but it didn't happen yet. Apparently they are trying to iron out some bugs before they release etch as stable.

In any case, sarge still uses xfree86. That will very soon be retired, but nobody really knows if that will happen today, tomorrow, next week, or next month.

I strongly urge you to change your /etc/apt/sources.lst from stable to etch. Once you do that, apt-get update and apt-get upgrade will install xorg in place of xfree86. Xfree86 was a clunky beast, and xorg is vastly superior to it.

Just as a point of order, for a home desktop system, debian stable is 100% the wrong way to go. Stable has software that is at least 18 months old, and it is used primarily for servers, that people want to update as little as possible. The vast majority of stable updates are done for security reasons, not functionality.

On my home desktop and work laptop I run debian unstable. Despite the name, I've never had a moments problem with it, and it has been my only distro for more than 2 years. if the cutting edge of unstable scares you, go with the middle ground of testing. When new software comes out, it gets in unstable immediately. If it survives there for a about a month with no huge bugs found, it will make testing. It similiarly trickles down to stable, but that is a much longer process.

As shrikant.odugoudar wisely told you, you can do a dpkg-reconfigure xfree86, but it isn't worth saving at this point. The move to Etch is soon to come, and then you'll be forced to make the change, so you may as well do it now.

Peace,
JimBass

Ok, thanks for the info But it's not my home desktop system (maybe I should have mentioned it), it's to test some things at work. I'm setting up a second computer, and have to set ut up to be like the system the software was configured on, that's why I'm using Stable.. It may be used as a server later on..

I have used 'dpkg-reconfigure xfree86' and tried alot of different settings.. But I think I'm not getting it right somehow..? That's why I posted my settings.. The debian system set my mouse to /dev/mouse as default, but I when I set it to /dev/psaux it actually found it. I first used a sort of link (/dev/mouse -> /dev/psaux or something) and then changed it in the file later..

Any tips?

Mouse can get funky, in particular when you change from ps2 to USB. /dev/psaux sounds good though.

Why run a gui on a server? If it is a true server, it would be better served running GUI free. Make it CLI only. We have about 20 boxes at work, and there isn't a GUI running on any of them. Don't waste system resources drawing pictures, when 99% of the time you don't need the pics.

You're out of Redmond world now. Every single thing servers do can be done from the command line. You have no need to be drawing pictures all over the unit. Since you said this is a practice box, give it a shot and see. Chances are good to great that it will do everything you need.

Peace,
JimBass

I know everything can be done from the command line, just not by me But I'm getting there (slowly).. As I said earlier, I'm going to install the same software as some of our developers use, so I can test their new stuff.. So it's not going to be used as only a server.. But thanks for the input Jim

I finally got it working by copying the info from our other debian machine (why didn't I think of it before?) The file also says that if it's written to manually, you have to make some changes before getting it to be updated by xfree86 again, could that be the reason none of my changes worked?

For all others in the future with the same problem:
(I have no idea why there is two devices here and I only had one?)