> I thought this may be an issue with Intellimouse Optical Mice (Mouses?),
> but you mentioned that it happened with your Logitech mouse also. I own an
> Intellimouse Explorer which also uses an optical eye. I've seen it display
> the same behaviors that you've mentioned (including the one on the
> Linux-Mandrake installation screen.) Basically how I'd describe it is that
> it looks like someone slides the mouse across the desk as fast as possible,
> somehow pressing the right mouse button once for ever 5 pixels moved.
> Sometimes the mouse works after that, sometimes the mouse doesn't work at
> all after that, sometimes the whole system hangs.
Mine also likes to shoot to the lower left corner of the desktop a
lot. Ok, this was of no help to me but may help you. Assuming you
are using Xfree4.x, look in /etc/x11/xfreeconfig-4 under the mouse
area. It is either called "PS/2", "IMPS/2" (Intellimouse?),
"ExplorerPS/2" (Intellimouse Explorer?), or "Auto". Mine is screwy
as "IMPS/2" but doesn't work at all on the others. Therefore, and
since I've stripped my system to just video/mouse/keyboard and it
still does this tells me to investigate my bios settings (or an update
to the bios) or perhaps a motherboard driver update (are there such
things?).
Also this didn't help me but it is specific to your mouse so it
might be just what you need. Unfortunately I lost the messages, but
you can search google groups (from google.com) in the newsgroup
"alt.os.linux.mandrake" for the subject "MS Intellimouse Explorer"
which told of a couple of specific lines to change/add in XF86Config-4
for this mouse. And I _believe_ it referenced a web site dealing with
it. The procedure didn't work for me (not exactly the same mouse, it
is one version older and at least one model down on the ladder) but
hopefully it can help you.
> I have some good news and some bad news about this though. The good news
> for us Linux fans is that it's not a Linux or X-Windows problem. I've seen
> my mouse display this behavior far worse on Windoze 95 and Windoze 98 SE.
Strange. With me both mouse and keyboard perform flawlessly
in Win98(se?). But of course that's like getting a beautiful date for
the prom...
...who happens to be your sister. <GRIN>
> The bad news is that I haven't completely determined what causes this
> problem. It doesn't happen very often, but it's very annoying when it does.
Is constant in Mandrake Linux for me.
> [My apologies to M$ haters for mentioning M$ and their products so much in
> this post. It pains me to do so. I received my M$ mice as gifts and ended
> up using them for that reason.]
Hey, I guess I am among the M$ operating system haters (well,
dislikers), but I really like my MS Intellimouse Optical and MS
Internet Keyboard, which I got as a package deal on sale at Sam's
Club, and it even gets an additional $10 rebate. Computer Shopper
rated this mouse well when it came out (& was $54.95!). They just
said that the newest Intellimouse (optical, cordless, etc.) was the
best mouse out there bar none.
BTW, I used to like their Flight Simulator about nine years ago!
> 1. At first I thought it was possible that my mouse pad was "confusing" the
> optical sensor. Yes I know how silly that sounds, but you have to realize
> that this is a M$ product. ;) I changed mousepads. The mouse still acted up
> and I determined that my mousepad was not the culprit.
I read that glass or really shiny white paper could cause
problems. Mine works on about anything including my palm and
pants leg. Also, I noticed it works about 1/4 inch off of the surface
as well. Neat I suppose. Just wish I could turn off the "taillight" on it
but I am becomming used to it.
> 2. I then considered that my Intellimouse Explorer was the culprit. I
> thought maybe I had received a faulty one or that a wire inside was broken.
> Plugging my old Intellimouse (and updating the settings), I found that the
> old Intellimouse (the kind with a ball and wheel) displayed the same
> behavior. I returned to using the optical one. This lead me to believe that
> my optical mouse was no more glitchy than my non-optical mouse.
I went through the same steps, only my replacement IS my
intellimouse. And I think I'll be keeping it if I can straighten things
out. It's nice to have five buttons, one wheel, and no ball. I think the
extra buttons on the side might be mappable. I definately read that I
can map other functions to the 10 extra keys on the MS Internet
keyboard in Mandrake Linux.
> 3. I considered that my PS/2 mouse port had issues. I was using Windoze 95
> at the time. I reformatted my hard drive and installed Windoze 98 SE (which
> I also received as a gift). Windoze 95 did not have USB support. I plugged
> my optical mouse into the USB port and set it up properly. After a period
> of time, I found that the mouse displayed the same erratic behavior on
> occasion. This lead me to believe that it wasn't the result of a glitchy
> PS/2 port.
I know Win98 is a p&p device, but maybe you've got a conflict
somewhere anyway. I can't use mine as a USB because when I plug
it in (in Win98) it asks me for my Win98CD which I didn't get with the
computer. One of the reasons I started thinking about Linux
originally. One of the MANY reasons, of course.
> 4. I considered that it might just be because Windoze sucks. ;)
Could be. You have two different OS's that both deal with the
various devices differently. You could have a conflict somewhere in
Linux, and yes Windows sucks. 8-)
Seriously, in researching my problem (actually someone was
nice enough to send me a blurb about it) I read how in windows
shared IRQ's due to which slot the cards were in caused no noticable
conflict (IOW no error message or obvious problem) but when fixed
the HD performance went from 40 mb/sec to 50 mb/sec and cpu use
droped from 13% to 5%. I assume a situation that screwy in Linux
would get a few error messages though but you see what I mean
about possible conflicts.
> 5. I've considered that it might be an issue with Dell Dimension Desktops,
Could be an issue with the bios settings or even the bios version
(this is about where I'm leaning for my particular problem).
> but I have a friend who bought a cheaper computer that came with a
> "branded" mouse. In other words it has the logo of the company that made
> the computer on the mouse itself. She has told me of the same problems on
> her computer with her mouse acting erratic also. The jury is still out on
> whether this is an Intellimouse in disguise. It does lead me to believe
> that Dell doesn't have mouse issues. I've also heard of other people with
> mouse problems on various computers.
Lots of problems looking the same or similar could have totally
different original causes. That's why I'm having fits right now, so
many mouse problems I've read about... Most of them _could_ have
been my problem, but after trying the indicated fix... Nope.
That and the fact that I found my IDE cable was plugged into my
secondary ide channel so I corrected it and now, of course Linux
can't find itself. (Looking for hdcwhatever and it is now of course
hdawhatever). I guess I'll reinstall AGAIN. I believe this is #16.
> 6. I've also considered some type of EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference). I
Could be I suppose. My mouse cord has some kind of barrel-
shaped object in the cord where it plugs in. I assumed it was to
prevent this problem. I don't know for sure.
> I'm not sure if this information will help you or not, but it might help
> you troubleshoot whether you have any similarities to my situation.
Don't get me wrong, I am certainly sorry you are also having
troubles. But it is reassuring that I am at least not the only one who
IS having problems.
Hope you get yours fixed,
Wes G.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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