DSL Embedded :: Unexpected USB mouse problem



Hi, this is my very first posting on this forum.

I'm currently on the cusp of deploying eight HP t5125 Thin Clients running DSL Embedded 3.1 off of Kingston Traveler 128MB usb flash drives.  Through evilwm, I'm running Firefox 1.0.6 with several customizations to lock it down.  The computer's purpose is for patrons in a library to lookup and request books.

I did three weeks of testing at three different branches, the last two with an optical mouse.  Well, when I ordered the equipment, I went with a Microsoft Compact Optical Mouse 500.

Here's the problem:  the mouse will not work.

Here's what strange about it:  The mouse works in Mandriva 2006, Microsoft Windows XP, Mac OSX 10.4.7 PowerPC and even in DSL 3.1 embedded running off the same make/model USB flash drive, but on a Dell Optiplex GX280 workstation.  It will also work on the ThinClient if I boot into its bundled Linux image.

The only explanation for why is with the VIA USB controller.  There might be a software bug that is unique to the ThinClient's chipset.

Is there a solution to this problem?

According to lspci, the USB controller on the t5125 ThinClient is a VIA VT82xxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev *)) and USB2.0 (rev 82).

With the mouse plugged in, it is listed, according to lsusb, as:
Bus 002 Device 002:  ID 045e:00a4 Microsoft Corp.

On any other computer or platform, it is correctly identified as a Microsoft Wheel Mouse.  But booting under the ThinClient using DSL 3.1 lists it as "unknown."

I've already tried changes to the BIOS, changing USB ports, using mouseconfig and xsetup.sh.
You could try using the full XF86, although I am not sure as to whether you may be limited to do so.

The VIA chipset may be at fault with the kernel... not sure how you'd get around that.

What does it say under dmesg?
Under dmesg, when i plugged the mouse in, it would not even be detected at all, and I couldn't use the keyboard or hotplug anything else.

Anyway, I decided to simply exchange them for Logitech units.  It seems to like them better than Microsoft.

original here.