Loss of desktop control (mouse and keyboard)

wadesmart · 11-02-2010, 09:05 PM

Ubuntu 10.04

In the past few days Ive noticed a lot of updates. Yesterday morning several times I went to click on items on my desktop and I couldnt. I thought it was just my batteries getting weak. Yesterday afternoon it got so bad I couldnt click on anything for hours at a time. I could only power off.

Ive been reading lots of forums and threads and there are lots of possible problems to this but they all come down to xorg file and usb issues.

An example of one possible problem:
When I have the system log open I can not move the app around, make it bigger or smaller, I can only scroll on the right pane and have to use the mouse keys to navigate the left pane. And if I want to shut the app down, sometimes I can use the ctl+F to close it but sometimes I cant.

After I shut the app, any app that is, the mouse pointer turns to |< and I cant click on anything for 5 min to 5 hours.

It was suggested to run sudo dpkg –reconfigure –phigh xserver-xorg but when I did I didnt see anything visually or in the terminal occur.

After reading most of the day on launchpad and various sites and not finding anything useful, Im sure hoping someone has some ideas to try.

bcwagne · 11-02-2010, 09:35 PM

I'm not any kind of expert. One easy test of hardware would be to either:

1. Boot another OS (A live CD or a Windows partition if you have one).

2. See if you can switch to a console (hit Ctrl+Shift+F1 or F2). Testing the keyboard would be easy that way. You might have to install something like GPM (console mouse) to test the mouse on the console.

If you are able to use the keyboard and mouse in another environment, it is probably not hardware.

Possible software tests:

Try is to run 'top' to see CPU usage. If X is taking a lot of cycles or ram, or another process is using a lot, it could affect desktop performance.

In the same vein, try turning off any desktop effects/compiz, if they are running. This can especially make a difference if your video card shares system ram.

If all else fails, perhaps sticking the xorg package at the previous version will make a difference.

Good Luck!

widget · 11-03-2010, 01:43 AM

The reason that I am using Debian testing (10.04 is based on Debian testing) instead of 10.04 is that 10.04 is buggy for a lot of hardware.

If you have the space for a small install (6 to 10GB) I would try 2 things. 1>Install 10.10 and see what it does. 2>Install Debian Testing and see what it does.

I bet both work a lot better. I have been testing Ubuntu pre releases for some time now and 10.04 got worse (on my hardware) the closer it got to release. 10.10 works better and faster.

If, like me, you like the LTS (Long Term Support) use Debian Testing. No, it is not "stable" by Debian standards. It is more stable than Ubuntu LTS releases. I am on it now with a liquorix 2.6.36 kernel on it. It is my main OS.

I am also running, for FUN, Ubuntu 11.04-testing. That is what Ubuntu has become for me. A very nice looking toy that may as well be run pre release as they can't put out a dependable stable release for production use anyway.

I really hope they get their act together soon as 8.04 and 9.04 were great and 9.10 is not bad at all. 10.04 is a dog.

Kenny_Strawn · 11-03-2010, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by widget

The reason that I am using Debian testing (10.04 is based on Debian testing) instead of 10.04 is that 10.04 is buggy for a lot of hardware.

If you have the space for a small install (6 to 10GB) I would try 2 things. 1>Install 10.10 and see what it does. 2>Install Debian Testing and see what it does.

I bet both work a lot better. I have been testing Ubuntu pre releases for some time now and 10.04 got worse (on my hardware) the closer it got to release. 10.10 works better and faster.

If, like me, you like the LTS (Long Term Support) use Debian Testing. No, it is not "stable" by Debian standards. It is more stable than Ubuntu LTS releases. I am on it now with a liquorix 2.6.36 kernel on it. It is my main OS.

I am also running, for FUN, Ubuntu 11.04-testing. That is what Ubuntu has become for me. A very nice looking toy that may as well be run pre release as they can't put out a dependable stable release for production use anyway.

I really hope they get their act together soon as 8.04 and 9.04 were great and 9.10 is not bad at all. 10.04 is a dog.

Why not just run LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition)? It is based on Debian Testing and *includes a GUI on the Live CD*.

wadesmart · 11-03-2010, 07:32 PM

bcwagne:
Ran live cd - no problems.
Ctrl+Shift+F1 or F2 does nothing
I can use keyboard and mouse in livecd.

Im running Intel Core 2 Quad Q9950 and 8gb of ram.
30% 20% 6% 7% on cpu
Using only 1.3gb of ram.

I have turned off all desktop effects.
No shared video ram.

I had tried another keyboard and mouse, twice actually, and still had problems. Today I borrowed a totally generic dell wired ball mouse (usb) and it worked!!!

Ive tried three different wireless mice yesterday. They are all logitech so Im going to try another one, a microsoft one probably, to see if that too has problems. If it does, Im not sure what that means.

bcwagne · 11-04-2010, 12:51 AM

Hmm...quite the puzzle...

Several posts and threads about the issue point at many different things, but one recurring theme is the kernel version used in 10.04:

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ub...ly/222388.html
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-fix...in-ubuntu.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9458198
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=703024

The long and short of the matter is that I really have no idea what is causing the error, and it seems most others don't either. It appears to be a common problem lately.

If everything works fine in the live CD, it is probably not a hardware issue. It may be that the kernel has some issues. It may be that xorg has some issues. It could be the usb subsystem. It could be that the moon will be full someday on a Tuesday.

Possible things to try, in order of easiness:

I would try updating my video card drivers to the latest version first. Next, I would try a previous version of the video drivers. Then I would reconfigure xorg (not really easy, but the easiest possible fix). After that, I would try reinstalling xorg (less easy than reconfiguring, but could be worse).

If that doesn't work, I would try a different kernel version by 1: installing a newer version from Ubuntu Backports, OR 2: downgrading the kernel version OR 3: compiling a new kernel.

If you're not too sure about some of those, there is always the classic windows fix: Reinstall the OS or a different distro or version.

Let me know how it works out. Ask anything else you need. I'll answer as soon as I can. Good luck.

wadesmart · 11-07-2010, 09:41 PM

So far, since moving to this cheap wired mouse, I have had absolutely NO further problems.

Interesting.

bcwagne · 11-08-2010, 06:21 PM

It's a bluetooth mouse? Are you able to use the mouse on another computer without problem?

wadesmart · 12-24-2010, 06:54 PM

Since I posted last here is what Ive done: Nothing! And it fixed itself. No idea really what is up with that. I know it wasnt really fixed but I had no further problems. Well, this morning, out of the blue, it happened again. So, even though I prefer LTS releases, Im updating -- tonight -- to 10.10.

Keep you posted.

wadesmart · 12-24-2010, 10:48 PM

Upgraded to Ubuntu 10.10 and I have the same immediate problem: I cant click on anything on the desktop. The mouse moves around just fine but you can click on anything at all.

wadesmart · 12-27-2010, 10:38 AM

Upgraded to 11.04. Had the same problem right off. Was able to shut down. Rebooted into recovery mode the rebooted again into normal mode. Been running about 15 hours now with out any problem. No idea why. Also noticed that even though I can run flash I cant do full screen without it crashing. Uninstalling and reinstalling doesnt seem to help either.

wadesmart · 12-30-2010, 02:57 PM

It worked fine for a few days but then I woke up this morning, started typing in gedit and noticed the same problem. When I rebooted I booted into recovery mode and had this error: 11.909865 [drm:drm_edid_block_valid] *ERROR* Raw EDID Remainder 103. I did some reading a found a thread that had a similar error and it was monitor or cable related. My monitor is a older CRT that has the cables built into it. I borrowed my son's and Im using it now to see if it happens again.

I dont understand how that could really effect the desktop. It feels more like a xorg issue to me.

wadesmart · 01-02-2011, 05:27 PM

Ive changed out my monitor, fresh install of my os, changed out three graphics cards and still having troubles so.. Ive been reading through all the logs.

I came across this today.

Code:

[    0.000000] Phoenix BIOS detected: BIOS may corrupt low RAM, working around it.
[    0.000000] e820 update range: 0000000000000000 - 0000000000010000 (usable) ==> (reserved)
[    0.000000] e820 update range: 0000000000000000 - 0000000000001000 (usable) ==> (reserved)
[    0.000000] e820 remove range: 00000000000a0000 - 0000000000100000 (usable)
[    0.000000] last_pfn = 0x240000 max_arch_pfn = 0x1000000
[    0.000000] MTRR default type: uncachable
[    0.000000] MTRR fixed ranges enabled:
[    0.000000]   00000-9FFFF write-back
[    0.000000]   A0000-BFFFF uncachable
[    0.000000]   C0000-CEFFF write-protect
[    0.000000]   CF000-EFFFF uncachable
[    0.000000]   F0000-FFFFF write-through
[    0.000000] MTRR variable ranges enabled:
[    0.000000]   0 base 100000000 mask F00000000 write-back
[    0.000000]   1 base 200000000 mask FC0000000 write-back
[    0.000000]   2 base 000000000 mask F00000000 write-back
[    0.000000]   3 base 0C0000000 mask FC0000000 uncachable
[    0.000000]   4 base 0BFF00000 mask FFFF00000 uncachable
[    0.000000]   5 disabled
[    0.000000]   6 disabled
[    0.000000]   7 disabled
[    0.000000] x86 PAT enabled: cpu 0, old 0x7040600070406, new 0x7010600070106
[    0.000000] e820 update range: 00000000bff00000 - 0000000100000000 (usable) ==> (reserved)
[    0.000000] Scanning 0 areas for low memory corruption
[    0.000000] modified physical RAM map:
[    0.000000]  modified: 0000000000000000 - 0000000000010000 (reserved)
[    0.000000]  modified: 0000000000010000 - 000000000009f400 (usable)
[    0.000000]  modified: 000000000009f400 - 00000000000a0000 (reserved)
[    0.000000]  modified: 00000000000f0000 - 0000000000100000 (reserved)
[    0.000000]  modified: 0000000000100000 - 00000000bfe90000 (usable)
[    0.000000]  modified: 00000000bfe90000 - 00000000bfee3000 (ACPI NVS)
[    0.000000]  modified: 00000000bfee3000 - 00000000bfef0000 (ACPI data)
[    0.000000]  modified: 00000000bfef0000 - 00000000bff00000 (reserved)
[    0.000000]  modified: 00000000e0000000 - 00000000f0000000 (reserved)
[    0.000000]  modified: 00000000fec00000 - 0000000100000000 (reserved)
[    0.000000]  modified: 0000000100000000 - 0000000240000000 (usable)
[    0.000000] initial memory mapped : 0 - 00e00000
[    0.000000] found SMP MP-table at [c00f3b30] f3b30
[    0.000000] init_memory_mapping: 0000000000000000-0000000037bfe000
[    0.000000]  0000000000 - 0000200000 page 4k
[    0.000000]  0000200000 - 0037a00000 page 2M
[    0.000000]  0037a00000 - 0037bfe000 page 4k
[    0.000000] kernel direct mapping tables up to 37bfe000 @ 15000-1a000
[    0.000000] RAMDISK: 375b3000 - 37ff0000
[    0.000000] Allocated new RAMDISK: 00a05000 - 01441e94
[    0.000000] Move RAMDISK from 00000000375b3000 - 0000000037fefe93 to 00a05000 - 01441e93
[    0.000000] ACPI: RSDP 000f7e90 00014 (v00 Shuttl)
[    0.000000] ACPI: RSDT bfee3000 0003C (v01 Shuttl Shuttle  42302E31 AWRD 00000000)
[    0.000000] ACPI: FACP bfee3080 00084 (v02 Shuttl Shuttle  42302E31 AWRD 00000000)
[    0.000000] ACPI Warning: Optional field Pm2ControlBlock has zero address or length: 0x0000000000000450/0x0 (20100428/tbfadt-557)
[    0.000000] ACPI Warning: Invalid length for Pm2ControlBlock: 0, using default 8 (20100428/tbfadt-607)
[    0.000000] ACPI: DSDT bfee3140 04ED5 (v01 SHUTTL  SP45V10 00001000 MSFT 03000000)
[    0.000000] ACPI: FACS bfe90000 00040
[    0.000000] ACPI: HPET bfee8100 00038 (v01 Shuttl Shuttle  42302E31 AWRD 00000098)
[    0.000000] ACPI: MCFG bfee8140 0003C (v01 Shuttl Shuttle  42302E31 AWRD 00000000)
[    0.000000] ACPI: SLIC bfee8180 00176 (v01 Shuttl Shuttle  42302E31 AWRD 00000000)
[    0.000000] ACPI: APIC bfee8040 00084 (v01 Shuttl Shuttle  42302E31 AWRD 00000000)
[    0.000000] ACPI: SSDT bfee8c20 00590 (v01  PmRef    CpuPm 00003000 INTL 20041203)
[    0.000000] ACPI: Local APIC address 0xfee00000
[    0.000000] 8324MB HIGHMEM available.
[    0.000000] 891MB LOWMEM available.

I dont know what high and low ram is but in the dmsg log it says Thu Dec 2 03:21 UTC 2010 which was the last date my desktop froze so... the ram could be bad.

Wade

prashanthjbabu · 01-03-2011, 09:41 AM

im having similar issues on my ubuntu 10.04 machine . the mouse cursor suddenly starts moving all over the screen , this doesnt happen much but it does get very irritating when it does because im forced to restart .Also google chrome refuses to show me the RESTORE option after rebooting ubuntu , im surprised because it used to show me that option.
Also sometimes my keyboard hangs completely at such times i do have control over the mouse . Its really funny cause its either the keyboard or the mouse . luckily no such issue so far where the whole laptop hangs its either the keyboard or the mouse that acts funny randomly..

James Gaston · 01-23-2011, 12:06 PM

I've the same problem and its making linux too annoying to use for any length of time. I never know when the keyboard will suddenly disappear or the mouse go crazy across the screen. Both require a time-consuming reboot.

My PC is hand-built, all name brand components, and only a year old. Win7-64 runs flawlessly on it, no keyboard or mouse problems, so I figure its in s/w.

thanks
- james