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#1 (**permalink**) 01-19-2008, 06:15 AM

As the subject says, I have some very old hardware and I'm trying
to get XUbuntu to work. The Live CD boots, but then the mouse
pointer is frozen at the middle of the screen.

The mouse is a *serial* mouse --- a Microsoft 2.1a (actually, I have
several PCs, and some of them have a 2.0 model).

XUbuntu seems to insist on configuring it as if it was a PS/2 mouse
(in the xorg.conf file, in the mouse section, I notice the protocol
parameter indicating PS/2).

I tried looking for a /dev/mouse symlink, to make it point to
/dev/ttyS0 or something like that, but could not find any.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Carlos
--

#2 (**permalink**) 01-19-2008, 06:15 AM

Carlos Moreno wrote:

>
> As the subject says, I have some very old hardware and I'm trying
> to get XUbuntu to work. The Live CD boots, but then the mouse
> pointer is frozen at the middle of the screen.
>
> The mouse is a *serial* mouse --- a Microsoft 2.1a (actually, I have
> several PCs, and some of them have a 2.0 model).
>
> XUbuntu seems to insist on configuring it as if it was a PS/2 mouse
> (in the xorg.conf file, in the mouse section, I notice the protocol
> parameter indicating PS/2).
>
> I tried looking for a /dev/mouse symlink, to make it point to
> /dev/ttyS0 or something like that, but could not find any.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Carlos
> --
I have had exactly that problem (with old boxen). The fix is to
edit (as root) /etc/X11/xorg.conf.

First, you need to add a section describing your serial mouse:
----------------------------------------------------------
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Serial Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Microsoft"
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
Option "Emulate3Timeout" "70"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
EndSection
---------------------------------------------------------

Then (muy importante) replace the existing mouse InputDevice
in the ServerLayout section with the new description:

---------------------------------------
Section "ServerLayout"
InputDevice "Serial Mouse"
... more stuff ...
EndSection
---------------------------------------

Save your file, reboot. Your mouse should be OK now.

#3 (**permalink**) 01-19-2008, 06:15 AM

Roby wrote:

> Carlos Moreno wrote:
>
>>
>> As the subject says, I have some very old hardware and I'm trying
>> to get XUbuntu to work. The Live CD boots, but then the mouse
>> pointer is frozen at the middle of the screen.
>>
>> The mouse is a *serial* mouse --- a Microsoft 2.1a (actually, I have
>> several PCs, and some of them have a 2.0 model).
>>
>> XUbuntu seems to insist on configuring it as if it was a PS/2 mouse
>> (in the xorg.conf file, in the mouse section, I notice the protocol
>> parameter indicating PS/2).
>>
>> I tried looking for a /dev/mouse symlink, to make it point to
>> /dev/ttyS0 or something like that, but could not find any.
>>
>> Any suggestions?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Carlos
>> --
> I have had exactly that problem (with old boxen). The fix is to
> edit (as root) /etc/X11/xorg.conf.
>
> First, you need to add a section describing your serial mouse:
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Section "InputDevice"
> Identifier "Serial Mouse"
> Driver "mouse"
> Option "Protocol" "Microsoft"
> Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
> Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
> Option "Emulate3Timeout" "70"
> Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
> EndSection
> ---------------------------------------------------------
>
> Then (muy importante) replace the existing mouse InputDevice
> in the ServerLayout section with the new description:
>
> ---------------------------------------
> Section "ServerLayout"
> InputDevice "Serial Mouse"
> ... more stuff ...
> EndSection
> ---------------------------------------
>
> Save your file, reboot. Your mouse should be OK now.

Re-reading your post, I see you are trying to get the live
CD running. Same instructions as above - except don't
reboot. Instead, restart X by ctrl-alt-backspace. The
"reboot" is for fixing HD install.

I have pentium 1 with 96mb and serial mouse running XUbuntu
6.06. Not terribly speedy, but it does work, even the mouse!

#4 (**permalink**) 01-19-2008, 06:15 AM

On Sep 6, 8:39 pm, Roby <r...@no-address.net> wrote:
> Roby wrote:

> > Option "Protocol" "Microsoft"
> > Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"

> > ---------------------------------------
> > Section "ServerLayout"
> > InputDevice "Serial Mouse"

Worked like a charm! Thanks!

> Re-reading your post, I see you are trying to get the live
> CD running. Same instructions as above - except don't
> reboot. Instead, restart X by ctrl-alt-backspace. The
> "reboot" is for fixing HD install.

Yes, I was clear on that detail --- still, thanks for taking the
time and the effort to go the extra mile and clarify just in
case! Very considerate!

Thanks again !!

Carlos
--

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Mouse trouble --- XUbuntu on a Pentium1