linksys kvm usb ps2 adaptors and wild mouse pointer
Scot L. Harris
webid at cfl.rr.com
Sun Sep 12 03:53:15 UTC 2004
On Sat, 2004-09-11 at 23:56, John McBride wrote:
> Some of our kvms, notably linksys, started having real problems with FC2
> as soon as people started plugging in wireless mice (usually the
> Microsoft Explorer wireless mouse). They are using the little usb to
> ps2 adapters to do this. The mouse just goes crazy in console/gpm
> (runlevel 3) or X, jumping all over the screen, issuing wild text
> commands to the command prompt, etc.
>
> I found the fix over on linuxquestions.org. There is a kernel option to
> add to /etc/grub.conf:
> psmouse.proto=imps
> (also "bare" or "exps", possibly others).
>
> From what I can see:
> "bare" provides a generic 2 button mouse, with 3rd button emulation.
> "imps" lets the explorer wheel act like a third button.
> "exps" should enable the wheel, but actually left the thing hosed (as
> before).
>
> On a couple machines, after adding this boot option, I had to run
> system-config-mouse to set up the mouse, then move the
> /etc/X11/xorg.conf and run system-config-display under X to get
> everything cleaned up. Console mode (runlevel 3) was very useful for
> testing though.
>
> While I was fooling around with the boot options on one FC2 box, I used
> Windows 2K on another port. This was a little interesting--the green
> light on the wireless mouse receiver blinks when changing ports, and
> also when W2K was just about to launch the greeter, during bootup, right
> when the display blanks. They are resetting the mouse, I think, while
> going graphical.
>
> I've noticed the green light blinks when linux boots, once, but very
> early on. Right around the first ACPI probes. The mouse driver must be
> setting up for "exps" and that's borked somehow--exps breaks the
> explorer mouse, at least with this hardware configuration. If the mouse
> is plugged directly into the ps2 port, it is fine, so it's a
> combination/stack of hw causing this.
>
> Restarting gpm does not blink the light, and I didn't see it blink while
> starting or running X either. I wonder...is there a way to reset the
> mouse in FC2, such that the light blinks? I ask because after switching
> between ports for 20 minutes or so, trying to debug this while doing web
> searches, I saw the mouse freeze under W2K for a second, and then then
> the receiver light blinked. Could it be that somehow MS is detecting
> that the mouse is haywire, freezing the cursor by ignoring it, and then
> resetting the mouse? What an awful thing for software to go through, but
> with this particular hw stack maybe such a thing is necessary?
>
> Regards,
> John
There have been a number of threads concerning mice and KVM problems.
The fix you found has worked for many people. There was one thread that
discussed a patch that needed to be tested. I believe that patch looked
for odd values (which sounded like it caused the wild movements) and
reset the mouse. I do not remember reading any results of this patch
being used. Check back about 2 or 3 months in the archives for that
discussion.
--
Scot L. Harris
webid at cfl.rr.com
A man of genius makes no mistakes.
His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.
-- James Joyce, "Ulysses"
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