[ltp] External PS2 Mouse on T40?

Williams, Elliot - BLS linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org
Wed, 29 Oct 2003 15:34:16 -0500


Hi, 

First, thanks Joel for the coolest pumpkin I've ever seen!

Back on topic, thanks Alex for the reply to my question.  I've been
debugging my problem a little more and can now put the blame at the feet of
the KVM switch.  

The T40 does exactly what it's supposed to when the mouse and kb are plugged
in directly -- ignoring the on-board pointers and using the external kb and
mouse.  It's only when the KVM switch is involved that things mess up, and
they mess up with the config panel in BIOS and in XP as well, so it's
definitely not Linux's fault.

The KVM is a Linksys KVM2KIT.  Googling for "linksys kvm2kit thinkpad" comes
up with a support page from Linksys with the following tidbit: "Some
notebook computers, especially the IBM ThinkPad and Toshiba Tecra,
experience difficulties when their mouse and keyboard ports are used at the
same time. To avoid this, only connect the mouse port or the keyboard port.
If you connect the mouse port, you will have to use the notebook's keyboard
when the notebook becomes the active computer."

OTOH, when they're both plugged in directly, there's no problem, so the
problem isn't really with the laptop at all, but with the KVM.  And the
whole point of a KVM switch is to _not_ require separate mice for different
computers.  Grr....  

For the archives: Consider the Linksys KVM2KIT broken with Thinkpads (in all
operating systems). 

Anyone with a T40 or port replicator II use a KVM?  Which brand?  

Back to the drawing board...

				Elliot.