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Trouble-shooting guide
----------------------
Contents
--------
1. Check that the touchpad is correctly detected by the kernel
2. Check that an external PS/2 mouse isn't causing problems
3. Check if some other program is using the /dev/psaux device
4. Check that the evdev kernel driver is available
5. Check that the synaptics driver is properly loaded by the X server
6. Check that the touchpad is enabled in the BIOS/hardware
1. Check that the touchpad is correctly detected by the kernel
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you are using a 2.6 linux kernel, check the /proc/bus/input/devices
file. The touchpad must be identified a "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad"
or an "AlpsPS/2 ALPS TouchPad". If it is identified as a "PS/2 Generic
Mouse" or "PS/2 Synaptics TouchPad", something is wrong.
Possible fixes:
1. Check your BIOS settings. Some BIOSes can do USB -> PS/2 mouse
emulation which can interfere with the touchpad. There may be a way
to disable the legacy mouse emulation from the BIOS setup program.
2. Arrange so that the kernel initializes the USB subsystem before the
PS/2 touchpad. Initializing the USB mouse sometimes disables the
BIOS emulation. Compiling psmouse as a module and loading it in
/etc/rc.d/rc.local usually assures the USB is initialized first.
3. Disconnect the USB mouse and restart the computer. (Not really a fix,
but can help when trying to figure out what's wrong.)
4. Make sure your boot loader doesn't pass any parameter to the kernel
that disables mouse extensions. ("psmouse_proto=bare" for example).
Alternatively, if psmouse is compiled as a module, make sure that
modprobe doesn't pass such parameters. Check /etc/modprobe.conf and
"rmmod psmouse; modprobe -v psmouse".
If you run a 2.4 kernel or an non-linux kernel, the
/proc/bus/input/devices file is not available, but the BIOS setting
could be relevant anyway.
2. Check that an external PS/2 mouse isn't causing problems
-----------------------------------------------------------
If you want to use an external PS/2 mouse at the same time as the
synaptics touchpad driver, you must use a 2.6 linux kernel and your
hardware (keyboard controller) must support active multiplexing. You
should see something like this when the computer boots:
mice: PS/2 mouse device common for all mice
i8042.c: Detected active multiplexing controller, rev 1.1.
serio: i8042 AUX0 port at 0x60,0x64 irq 12
serio: i8042 AUX1 port at 0x60,0x64 irq 12
serio: i8042 AUX2 port at 0x60,0x64 irq 12
serio: i8042 AUX3 port at 0x60,0x64 irq 12
If you don't use a 2.6 kernel or your hardware doesn't support active
multiplexing, you can't use an external PS/2 mouse together with the
touchpad driver.
3. Check if some other program is using the /dev/psaux device
-------------------------------------------------------------
If you use a 2.4 linux kernel, only one program at a time can reliably
read from /dev/psaux. This means that if you for example have GPM
running, it will probably prevent the synaptics driver from working
correctly. It also means that if you have a second InputDevice in your
X configuration file, it must not read from /dev/psaux. You probably
want it to read from /dev/input/mice instead, which will handle USB
mice in both 2.4 and 2.6 linux kernels, and both USB and external PS/2
mice if you use a 2.6 kernel.
The 2.6 linux kernel fixes the /dev/psaux shortcoming, so that you can
safely run GPM and the synaptics driver at the same time.
4. Check that the evdev kernel driver is available
--------------------------------------------------
If you are using a 2.6 linux kernel, the evdev kernel driver is needed
for the X driver to be able to communicate with the kernel driver.
Check the /proc/bus/input/devices file. The Handlers= line should
contain an event device name, like this:
H: Handlers=mouse0 event0
If there is no event handler, you either have to load the evdev kernel
module or recompile the kernel and build it into the kernel. If you
don't want to recompile the kernel, adding "/sbin/modprobe evdev" to
/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit usually works.
5. Check that the synaptics driver is properly loaded by the X server
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The X log file is usually called /var/log/XFree86.0.log or
/var/log/Xorg.0.log. It should contain something like this:
(II) LoadModule: "synaptics"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input/synaptics_drv.o
(II) Module synaptics: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 4.3.99.902, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 0.4
If the LoadModule line is missing, you probably forgot to add
Load "synaptics"
to the "Module" section in the X config file, or you modified the
wrong config file. Some systems that have been upgraded from XFree86
to Xorg or from XFree86 3.x to XFree86 4.x can have multiple config
files in the /etc/X11/ directory, but only one is used.
Next, check that the log file also contains a line like this:
(II) Synaptics touchpad driver version 0.13.4
If there is no such line, there is probably a binary compatibility
problem between the synaptics driver and the X server.
Possible fixes:
1. Try upgrading to the latest synaptics driver.
2. Try installing the X SDK package if it is available for your
version of X. (In Fedora Core 2, that package is called
xorg-x11-sdk-6.7.0-2.i386.rpm.) Then re-compile the synaptics
driver and try again.
3. Make sure the driver is compiled with the same compiler version as
the X server.
6. Check that the touchpad is enabled in the BIOS/hardware
----------------------------------------------------------
On some computers, it is possible to disable the touchpad either with
a special key combination, from the BIOS, or with a special touchpad
on/off button. On some machines, cycling the power doesn't
automatically reenable the touchpad.
If the touchpad appears to be dead, try to enable it from the BIOS or
using a key combination. One user also reported that he had to remove
the computer battery to make his touchpad operational again.
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