I've hacked together a pseudo solution to the 2.6.4 kernel/mouse problem, but created others in the process. The particulars of why things are the way they are and why what I did resolved something largely escape me. But while I still retain some scraps of insight into it, I think I'll make a post here about it on the off chance it may help someone else, or that it may generate responses from those more knowledgeable who may be able to help me work out problems that remain or have been newly created.
I'll start with the following. Someone on another list suggested adding the line "psmouse" to the file /etc/modules - this so a certain mouse-related module would get loaded at bootup. This did not help at all - same frozen mouse cursor I had before. I tried changing the configured mouse in XF86Config-4, editing /etc/gpm.conf according to things I was finding in web seraches, but nothing seemed to make the cursor respond to mouse movements using the 2.6.4 kernel. Neither was the mouse cursor ever working in console mode (gpm was not functional). Then, I found something that talked about another module needing to be loaded for ps/2 mice - it's called "mousedev." At the same site, I learned that /dev/psaux has been done away with by the 2.6.x kernels - much to that author's chagrin. Since I had XF86Config-4 pointing at /dev/gpmdata, and gpm.conf, in turn, pointing at /dev/psaux, it seemed likely that I had no referent for X to find the mouse's physical location. Then, I ran across a site that said to look at the output of cat /proc/bus/input/devices, which I did. This is where I found out where the 2.6.4 kernel I was trying to use was "looking" for the mouse (what I think of as the mouse's physical location, though that's likely a wrong understanding): it expected a mouse at /dev/input/mouse0, it seems. When I entered that in to XF86Config-4, after having modprobed the additional mousedev module, the mouse cursor began to respond to physical movement of the mouse. So, I got it working like that. gpm, however, has ceased to work. I can't get the mouse cursor to appear or move in console mode. I tried pointing it to the same /dev/input/mouse0 location, but that did not make it work. I'm not sure what my next step should be on that. Anyway, I added mousedev to /etc/modules as well, then tried booting with the 2.4.25 kernel. Now, the mouse cursor is frozen under the 2.4.25 kernel: it does not respond to physical movement of the mouse. Moral of the story: man with 2 kernels kills one mouse (an ancient Incan proverb :) ). At least for now, it is not possible for me to boot between 2 kernels and have a working mouse: I must use either one or the other. And I'll have to determine what further conjuring I'll need to do to get gpm working again under 2.6.4. Further input welcomed. Thanks, James PS Just noted that the console beep has ceased working under 2.6.4 as well: another module loading problem? We'll see . . . - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs
