X and Fluxbox :: Mouse Difficulties

I am running a horrendously frankensteined computer (20+ GB hd, ~128 RAM, k-6 II processor) and am having difficulty getting DSL (or any knoppix style distro for that matter) to recognize my PS/2 / Serial mouse. I'm having to use an adapter to go from PS/2 on the mouse to serial on the computer (feel free to point and laugh). I had been running Debian without much problem with the mouse, but now that I'm trying other things, I'm running into problems. Any ideas?

Check which port /dev/mouse points to:
ls -l /dev/mouse

It should point to /dev/ttyS0 (com1), if it points to /dev/psaux try:
rm /dev/mouse
ln -s /dev/ttyS0 /dev/mouse

After filling out the XWindows setup and booting into fluxbox, hit CTL-ALT-DEL to get back to the root shell prompt.

Then type:

cd /home/damnsmall
nano xsetup

then change "/dev/psaux" to "/dev/ttyS0" (for COM1) or "/dev/ttyS1" (for COM2)

then save the file and exit nano.

Finally, type

startx

at the shell prompt to relauch XWindows.

Good Luck.

original here.