Problem starting up X

[satinoctopus]

I had to reinstall my Debian system some days ago.
After the process of installation, the X Windows doesn't start up.
In the /var/log/XFree86.0.log file, it says that the device /dev/input/mice couldn't be opened.

Any hint?
Thanks in advance

[oz]

Your mouse might be seen as /dev/input/mouse0, /dev/input/mice, or /dev/psaux, so if the second one doesn't work you might try one of the others in your xorg/xfree86.conf file.

[satinoctopus]

I apologyze for my ignorance, but where the xorg/xfree86.conf file is?

[oz]

It will either be xorg.conf or xfree86.conf depending on which X server you are running and the file can be found in your /etc/X11 directory. You'll need to be root to edit that file.

[satinoctopus]

In my system there is a /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file
In that file I changed /dev/input/mice for the specifications you gave me and none of them worked

[satinoctopus]

Sorry, I made a mistake in the second trial
/dev/psaux works
I can see a graphic screen now. Bot the mouse doesn't work. It's not moving

[djhobo9]

Start by making a backup copy of the above mentioned xfree86 config file. Otherwise what's below may mess up your configuration even more.

Then, have your mouse plugged in and run

dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86

as root. Try to get your mouse device autodetected with this auto-config... as long as it's plugged in it really should work.

If you mess up your graphical settings along the way, copy that backup file back in place. If this doesn't work run a

ls /dev/input

and post the results here.

[octavius]

i have recently had an xwindow problem as well i will give u a good hint,if u have the knoppix live cd anywhere try running it and looking at the configuration file in knoppix because it has excellent auto-detection.after this just mimic the knoppix file on debian and it should work,assuming that the knoppix worked as well.

[satinoctopus]

I have to tell you that I'm completely new in Linux
I have a Knoppix version 3.7 CD, but I don't know how to start it up
I even don't know what is mimic it

[djhobo9]

I have to tell you that I'm completely new in Linux
I have a Knoppix version 3.7 CD, but I don't know how to start it up
I even don't know what is mimic it

What he means is to pop the Knoppix CD in... when it gets to a boot prompt just press enter and wait. When you end up in a graphical environment (KDE--may take a minute or two) verify that everything (mouse,etc.) works.

Knoppix will have its own virtual filesystem separate from that of your hard drive... thus if you go to Knoppix and open /etc/X11/xorg.conf in Kate or a similar text editor, you are looking at the Knoppix copy of the X configuration file.

[aside: It's important to note here that XF86Config-4 and xorg.conf have the same format, just different names since Knoppix runs Xorg and Debian runs XFree86.]

Since they're the same, open the Knoppix copy located at /etc/X11/xorg.conf (only accesible from a Knoppix environment), and jot down all the lines related to mouse/mice. Then eject the CD, reboot, and you'll automatically return to Debian. Go find /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 and change the modified values to match those like Knoppix's. Then try X again.

Alternatively, you can copy the Knoppix xorg.conf to your hard drive from within Knoppix. If I had a decent CD of Knoppix laying around I could be more specific, but I apologize as I don't... hopefully it's pretty intuitive though.

In any case you just want to isolate the mouse-related lines from the Knoppix X config and copy them into your Debian one. I apologzie if this seems overly complicated... let us know how it works!