USB mouse stops working

[Basil Chupin]

On 31/05/11 14:29, Bill Stanley wrote:
> Basil Chupin wrote:
>> On 31/05/11 06:38, Bill Stanley wrote:
>>> I have a regular mouse attached to my laptop. Most of the time, this 
>>> arrangement works fine but occasionally this mouse stops working. 
>>> The built in mouse-pad still works. I really do not want to use the 
>>> mouse-pad because it is awkward for me. (Most of the time the laptop 
>>> is used like a desktop.)
>>>
>>> Does having two mice active on the same computer cause problems? (I 
>>> suspect that this is the case.) If so can I deactivate the mouse-pad 
>>> and use the USB mouse exclusively? By the way, I have not yet 
>>> determined what causes the USB mouse to stop working.
>>
>> Faulty mouse? Faulty cable? Cable plugged in properly?
>>
>> Also, if you have 2 devices using the same USB channel one will stop 
>> working while the other one is active. Is this a possibility?
>>
>
> It's unlikely that the PHYSICAL mouse is the problem. I got the same 
> problem when I tried a different mouse setup. ( Wired vs. wireless) 
> It's likely that software is the fault. (BIOS, the mouse driver or 
> some setting.) Is having two mice a problem? The two mice using the 
> same channel is a possibility. How do I check?
>

Firstly, try what Doug just suggested (provided that you are using KDE).

I am using openSUSE at the moment and this command doesn't work the same 
as in Ubuntu, and the command is: "sudo lshw"[*] which should give you 
want you want (I think). If not, have a look here:

http://www.secguru.com/article/finding_hardware_details_your_linux_machine_without_using_screw_driver

Looking inside /var/log/dmesg - search for something like 'usb' or 
'mouse' - may reveal what may be going wrong as well as show you what 
you are using.

Have a look in your BIOS to see that the BIOS is configured to 
automatically assign IRQs to devices and that you have YES to the 
question of whether a PNP system is installed.

[*] Use "sudo lshw > mysystem.txt" to output the result to the text file 
which would be easier to read than scrolling around on a 
terminal/console screen.

BC

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