Arch Linux

dav7

Member

From: Australia

Registered: 2008-02-08

Posts: 674

Toshiba Satellite 2540CDS REALLY WEIRD mouse issues (or maybe not?)

First up, the CPU this thing has in it, an AMD K6-2, is technically an i686 chip but has an i586's interface and timings, so it's a bit of a juggle as to where to put this post. I presumed this section would be best, since "official" Arch (ie not Lowarch or uArch) won't boot on it.

So I found a laptop with the specs above out on the side of the road recently, destined for the (true/real) dump. Naturally, I rescued it, since I really like old hardware

Anyway, it has some really, really WEIRD mouse issues. That, or it simply has an odd mouse configuration. At the moment, all I can test it out with is Xwoaf (X windows on a floppy) and win2k setup I found on its hard disk (it boots to what appears to be "phase two" of 2k setup when it's turned on - I have no idea why).

At any rate, more or less any type of mouse refuses to work. First up, the internal thinkpad-style mouse button thingy doesn't work. Next on the list was an external PS/2 mouse, which also won't work. Next up was my own desktop's USB mouse (this laptop has a single USB port, covered by a cute little flap, which indicates what USB was like back in '99, heh), which ALSO didn't work. And at my wits' end, I gave up then while thinking "you should try Xwoaf on that old 400MHz Celeron you have. It has a serial mouse and you could probably move the cursor around on tha--WAIT A MINUTE. That laptop has a serial port on it!" the penny dropped, but STILL, no go.

I tested all the mice in Xwoaf, and the internal and PS/2 ones in Win2k setup because I know for a fact that 2k setup won't detect a USB mouse, and I'm guessing it wouldn't take too kindly to my serial one either (but not in a fatal way).

At my absolute wits' end, I took to the bottom of the laptop and started removing screws. Which epically failed. I refused to force or pry anything so stopped poking it that way, and turned to the web for some info. Amazingly, I managed to filter through all the "BUY PDF NAO!!!" sites and managed to find the service manual PDF for the 2540... which showed I was supposed to remove a very obvious screw above the keyboard (obvious since a small panel below the keyboard but just above the armrest is missing). Equally as amazingly, I managed to put all the screws back where they were supposed to be after not having made much effort to sort them when I took them out, and removed two screws inside of the laptop... which then had me looking at a connector, which I removed the ribbon cable out of and at the recommendation of my hardware friend rubbed with a hard [pencil] eraser. The contacts cleaned I put the connector back in and IT STILL DIDN'T WORK!!!

So, out of 4 mouse types, none appear to work. This is crazily weird. What could possibly be the problem?

-dav7

Last edited by dav7 (2008-10-14 16:35:59)

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Windows was made for looking at success from a distance through a wall of oversimplicity. Linux removes the wall, so you can just walk up to success and make it your own.
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Reinventing the wheel is fun. You get to redefine pi.

SiC

Member

From: Liverpool, England

Registered: 2008-01-10

Posts: 430

Re: Toshiba Satellite 2540CDS REALLY WEIRD mouse issues (or maybe not?)

Get a live CD. Boot it. Plug in USB mouse, and type cat /dev/input/mice, then move the mouse around. What happens?
Also try lsusb on same livecd, does it show a mouse?

Sorry bout terseness, typing one handed whilst eating