Once you have figured out your mouse interface and protocol types, you're ready to proceed.
Now, you'll need to know which interrupt number your mouse is using, and make sure it doesn't conflict with any other peripherals you have installed.
You should make sure that your mouse is not trying to use the same
interrupt as any of your other devices --- it is not possible for
the mouse to share an interrupt under Linux, even though it may
work fine under other operating systems. Check the documentation
for all your peripherals to see which interrupt they use. In most
cases IRQ4 is used for the first serial port (/dev/ttyS0),
IRQ3 for the second (/dev/ttyS1) (these are assuming you
actually have such devices --- if you don't you can happily use
their IRQ's), and IRQ5 for some SCSI adaptors.
Note that for ATI-XL, Inport and Logitech mice the kernel default is to use IRQ5, so if you are stuck with a pre-compiled kernel (eg, CD-ROM users) you will have to use that.
If you open up your computer's case and look at the card which your mouse plugs into, you should notice a block of jumpers on the card (hopefully labeled ``INTERRUPT'') with positions for interrupt (otherwise known as IRQ) numbers 2,3,4 and 5. To change the interrupt simply move the jumper from its current position onto the correct pair of pins.
***************************************************
*** MAKE SURE YOUR COMPUTER IS TURNED OFF ***
*** BEFORE CHANGING THE JUMPERS AROUND. ***
***************************************************
ATI-XL busmice have a software selectable IRQ - you should have
received with your mouse a MS-DOS program (VSETUP.EXE) to set the
IRQ. In order to do so you must (temporarily) boot MS-DOS and run
this program. Note that the VSETUP program takes an optional
parameter ``/70'' to increase the vertical refresh rate (which results
in less flicker). The VSETUP program also allows you to select
either the primary or secondary mouse address - you should set
this to the primary address or the kernel will not be able to
detect your mouse.
Once VSETUP has been run you must perform a hard reset for the new configuration to take effect.
The PS/2 mouse always uses IRQ12 -- there is no way of changing this (except with a soldering gun.) In the rare case that some other device is using IRQ12, you'll have to rejumper that peripheral to use another IRQ number.
In order for your busmouse to operate correctly you will need to recompile your kernel with the busmouse support compiled in.
Change to your kernel directory (here assumed to be (/usr/src/linux)
and do a
make config
If you are unsure as to your mouse type, the first time you recompile the kernel you may wish to enable all of the busmouse options in the hope that the kernel will autodetect your mouse properly. People have mixed sucess with this: it doesn't always work, but on the other hand it might save you any further compiles.
Answer ``y'' to the question pertaining to your type of busmouse interface and ``n'' to all the other busmouse questions. For example, if you have an Inport mouse you should answer ``y'' to
Microsoft busmouse support
If you have a Logitech or Inport mouse, edit the file
/usr/src/linux/include/linux/busmouse.h and change the line
which says
#define MOUSE_IRQ 5
If you have an ATI-XL mouse, edit the file
/usr/src/linux/drivers/char/atixlmouse.c and change the line
which says
#define ATIXL_MOUSE_IRQ 5
Due to the vagaries of the PC architecture, if you have set your mouse to use interrupt 2, you must set the #define to use interrupt 9.
Examples
For a mouse on interrupt 3, you should change the line to read
#define MOUSE_IRQ 3
For a mouse on interrupt 2, you should change the line to read
#define MOUSE_IRQ 9
Next, compile your kernel as per the instructions which come with it, and boot from the new kernel. You should now have the busmouse support correctly compiled in.
To compile the kernel with PS/2 mouse support answer ``y'' to the question.
PS/2 mouse (aka "auxiliary device") support
The PS/2 mouse driver actually supports two kinds of devices: the standard PS/2 Auxiliary Device controller and a special PS/2 mouse interface chip from Chips & Technologies which is used in the Texas Instruments Travelmate and Gateway Nomad laptops. To compile in support for the trackballs on these computers, answer ``y'' to the
C&T 82C710 mouse port support (as on TI Travelmate)
When configured both for a standard PS/2 mouse device and the 82C710 device, the driver first tries to locate a 82C710 chip at boot time. Failing this, the standard driver is used instead, so using a kernel configured for both types of interface on a machine with a standard PS/2 mouse port should work too. However, there has been one report of a falsely detected 82C710 chip, so to be on the safe side do not configure in support for the 82C710 if you don't need it.
Compile your new kernel and boot from it as you normally would.
Regardless of your mouse type you should answer ``y'' to the
Selection (cut and paste for virtual consoles)
Mice under Linux are accessed via the devices in the /dev
directory. The following table gives a list of interface types
and which device you should use.
INTERFACE DEVICE MAJOR MINOR
---------------------------------------------
Logitech /dev/logibm 10 0
PS/2 /dev/psaux 10 1
Inport /dev/inportbm 10 2
ATI-XL /dev/atibm 10 3
Table 1. Mouse devices.
If you are using your ATI-XL mouse with the Inport driver,
you should use the /dev/inportbm device, not the /dev/atibm
device.
The major and minor entries are the device numbers for that particular device.
If you find that you do not have these devices, you should create them first. To do so, execute the following as root.
mknod /dev/logibm c 10 0
mknod /dev/psaux c 10 1
mknod /dev/inportbm c 10 2
mknod /dev/atibm c 10 3
Some time in the (progressively less) recent history of
Linux the names for
the busmouse devices have changed. The following device names
have been superceded by those above and should be removed:
bmousems, bmouseps2, bmouseatixl, bmouselogitech.
Many people like to create a symbolic link from their mouse
device to /dev/mouse so that they don't have to remember which
device they need to be using. If you have one of the current
Linux distributions you will almost certainly find that you have
such a link. If you have such a link, or create one, you should
make sure that it is pointing to the correct device for your
mouse.
Get the file selection-1.6.tar.gz from your local Linux ftp
site and compile the program ``test-mouse'' within it, according
to the instructions (all you should need to do is type
``make test-mouse''). Run the program like this
test-mouse -t <mouse arg> -m <mouse dev>
If your mouse is working correctly, you should be able to paint on the screen by holding down the right or left mouse button and dragging the mouse. Push the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously to exit the program.