Bug 2076 - Using mouse with some KVMs causes mouse to go crazy
Summary: Using mouse with some KVMs causes mouse to go crazy
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: xorg
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Input/Mouse (show other bugs)
Version: 6.8.1
Hardware: x86 (IA32) Linux (All)
: high major
Assignee: Xorg Project Team
QA Contact:
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2004-12-14 07:46 UTC by John Aldrich
Modified: 2007-02-22 14:26 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:
i915 platform:
i915 features:


Attachments

Description John Aldrich 2004-12-14 07:46:57 UTC
I have a Belkin Omniview SE 4-port KVM. It worked fine with my generic optical
wheel mouse with X11. Under Fedora Core using XOrg, changing between "desktops"
using the KVM causes the mouse to overreact and start clicking things as you
move the mouse -- i.e. you nudge the mouse and the pointer shoots clear across
the screen and starts clicking on menu options by itself.

System is an Athlon 1100 with 3/4 of a Gig of ram running Fedora Core 3 on a
Belkin Omniview SE KVM with a generic optical scroll mouse. XOrg was installed
from the Fedora RPMs and system is updated with all the latest updates from the
Fedora Project using up2date. 

I consider this to be a major headache as I am unable to use the local console
and have to rely on VNC to log into my machine, even from the local console
(from my wife's Windows box.) 

I do not believe that replacing the KVM is an acceptable answer as one day it
worked fine with RH 9, then the next day after installing FC3 over RH9, it
starts acting up. No hardware changes were made to the system.
Comment 1 Alex Deucher 2004-12-15 08:05:32 UTC
I've had identical problems with the KVM's here even with rh9.  switching
to/from a VT usually fixes the mice on the KVM's we have here.
Comment 2 John Aldrich 2004-12-15 15:05:40 UTC
Switching to a text console and back to X does not fix it for me, nor does using
CTRL+ALT+Backspace to restart X. Already tried the "usual" fixes. Further
research shows that it appears to be a kernel bug, however, I'm going to leave
it here, so that it can be looked into by XOrg folks.
Comment 3 Matthieu Herrb 2004-12-19 10:41:41 UTC
Most modern mices have some internal state that the driver needs to track. When
a kvm is used and another system changes the state of the mouse behind the back
of your system, you need to issue a reset of the mouse to a known state in order
to resync. The problem is how to detect that a reset is needed...
In the modern Linux and BSD kernels, the mouse protocol is handled in the
kernel. Issuing a reset from X may only confuse the kernel driver a bit more.  
Comment 4 Les Dunaway 2004-12-28 10:36:34 UTC
I have the same problem with FC3 and a LinkSys 4port KVM
Comment 5 JD 2005-07-19 15:49:18 UTC
Add another user to the group...

Same problems running FC4 (X11 6.8.2) on a Dell Dimension PC (Intel chipset),
Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical PS/2, Omniview 4 port KVM (PS/2).

From what I've been told the fix for the XFree86 problems was to set the mouse
transfer protocol from IMPS/2 to PS/2. Didn't work for me, but I'm running
xorg's and not XFree86's drivers. I'm digging around for another older PS/2
mouse to check out.
Comment 6 Erik Andren 2006-03-15 04:49:01 UTC
Whats the status on this using a modern version of xorg?
Comment 7 AaronA 2006-04-03 07:49:54 UTC
(In reply to comment #6)
> Whats the status on this using a modern version of xorg?

I am having the same problem with a Belkin OmniCube 4-Port F1D094.  Currently 
2 desktops are connected Gentoo/xorg-x11-6.8.2-r6 and a Closed Source system.  
The Closed Source machine doesn't have problems.  The Gentoo system "freaks 
out" after a switch.  I have tested 2 different logitech optical mice using 
USB to PS/2 adapters.  When freaking out, I can disconnect the mouse for a few 
seconds then reconnect and the problem is cleared.  I have the following 
options set for the mouse device in my xorg.conf file:
   Option  "Protocol"  "ImPS/2"
   Option  "Device"  "/dev/input/mice"
   Option  "ZAxisMapping"  "4 5"
The problem did not exist when I was using a linksys KVM2KIT.  Also, I have 
yet to try a mechanical native PS/2 mouse.  I hope this information is helpful.
-AaronA
Comment 8 AaronA 2006-04-03 08:33:12 UTC
Sorry, I should have tested at this before my previous post.

I tested a M$ Wheelmouse and a Compaq branded Logitech mouse.  Both are
mechanical PS2 native with scroll wheels.  Neither caused the issue that I saw
with the Logitech optical mice (Model: M-BJ58 and Dual Optical M-BL63B).

-AaronA
Comment 9 Timo Jyrinki 2007-02-22 14:26:27 UTC
Marking broken (status null/blank) bugs in xorg with no activity in a long time as fixed. Please reopen if you think it's necessary, but first do a search if a similar bug report is already filed and in a NEW/ASSIGNED state. These bugs do not currently show in most search results as they do not have any status.

Sorry for this janitorial spam, you know where to send hate mails to when your inbox gets full of bugs you're subscribed to.


Use of freedesktop.org services, including Bugzilla, is subject to our Code of Conduct. How we collect and use information is described in our Privacy Policy.