How To: Alps touchpad on 2.6.10 Hoary

[mendicant]

At the request of somebody I helped earlier.

% sudo aptitude install linux-source-2.6.10 kernel-package xorg-driver-synaptics
% cd /usr/src
% sudo tar -x -j -f linux-source-2.6.10.tar.bz2
% cd linux-source-2.6.10
% gunzip -c /usr/share/doc/xorg-driver-synaptics/alps.patch.gz | sudo patch -p1
% sudo cp /boot/config-2.6.10-5-386 ./.config ## or whatever you are currently running--note that there are two dots there, since the file is <dot>config
% sudo make-kpkg --us --uc --initrd --append_to_version "-5-386-alps" kernel_image kernel_headers kernel_source
% cd ..
% sudo dpkg -i kernel*alps*deb

Then just use the template in /usr/share/doc/xorg-driver-synaptics/README.alps for your xorg.conf. To disable tap-to-click while preserving the scrolling behavior on the right edge of the pad, try setting MaxTapTime to 0.

[SteveGodfrey]

Thanks for the guide but I'm failing at the aptitude command!

Can you tell me which repositries you're using?

Thanks

[mendicant]

Thanks for the guide but I'm failing at the aptitude command!

How are you failing?

xorg-driver-synaptics is in X11/main
kernel-package is in misc/main
linux-source-2.6.10 is in devel/main

I do have restricted, universe and multiverse, but those won't matter because everything is in main.

[jasonmallison]

You could just use apt-get instead of aptitude...

[mendicant]

aptitude vs apt-get isn't likely to be the issue. In any case, you should use aptitude in preference to apt-get or other console based front ends:

http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/.../msg11344.html

[SteveGodfrey]

Right then I've eventually managed to get all that done! It's taken me around 15 hours.....

I re-boot the PC and my new kernel was there (ends in -alps) booted into that and X wouldn't start. So I restored the original xorg.conf and it started up ok

The tap to click has now been disabled (phew) but I still get the mouse occasionally scrolling down the screen and getting stuck at the top or bottom menu bar

Any ideas?

Thanks

[JALenon]

Hi, thanks for this thread.

I'm new to Linux and this line is unclear to me.

% sudo cp /boot/config-2.6.10-5-386 ./.config ## or whatever you are currently running--note that there are two dots there, since the file is <dot>config


What goes in place of ## in the line above?

[mendicant]

% sudo cp /boot/config-2.6.10-5-386 ./.config ## or whatever you are currently running--note that there are two dots there, since the file is <dot>config


What goes in place of ## in the line above?

Nothing. It's a comment, so you could just print out the whole line and it would work. The comment itself refers to the fact that config-2.6.10-5-386 might have to change. For example, if you use a 686 kernel, it would be config-2.6.10-5-686.

[dejitarob]

Using basically the same method posted by mendicant, I got the alps/synaptic driver loaded according to my Xorg.0.log. However the sensitivity is very low and immediately after I log into and KDE loads, the touchpad stops working completely. I'm using mlord's xorg.conf, who got it working in this thread.

Update: Ok via the README, adding the "AlwaysCore" and "CorePointer" in the ServerLayout section of my xorg.conf while commenting out the CorePointer options in the InputDevice section fixed it.

[jc3835]

At the request of somebody I helped earlier.

% sudo aptitude install linux-source-2.6.10 kernel-package xorg-driver-synaptics
% cd /usr/src
% sudo tar -x -j -f linux-source-2.6.10.tar.bz2
% cd linux-source-2.6.10
% gunzip -c /usr/share/doc/xorg-driver-synaptics/alps.patch.gz | sudo patch -p1
% sudo cp /boot/config-2.6.10-5-386 ./.config ## or whatever you are currently running--note that there are two dots there, since the file is <dot>config
% sudo make-kpkg --us --uc --initrd --append_to_version "-5-386-alps" kernel_image kernel_headers kernel_source
% cd ..
% sudo dpkg -i kernel*alps*deb

Then just use the template in /usr/share/doc/xorg-driver-synaptics/README.alps for your xorg.conf. To disable tap-to-click while preserving the scrolling behavior on the right edge of the pad, try setting MaxTapTime to 0.

Got to the gunzip line and I'm having an issue...

patching file drivers/input/mouse/Makefile
patching file drivers/input/mouse/alps.c
patching file drivers/input/mouse/alps.h
can't find file to patch at input line 486
Perhaps you used the wrong -p or --strip option?
The text leading up to this was:
--------------------------
|diff -puN drivers/input/mouse/psmouse-base.c~alps drivers/input/mouse/psmouse-base.c
|--- linux/drivers/input/mouse/psmouse-base.c~alps      2004-10-20 20:04:38.190737928 +0200
|+++ linux-petero/drivers/input/mouse/psmouse-base.c    2004-10-20 20:04:38.196737016 +0200
--------------------------
File to patch:

So what exactly is the file I'm patching? Am I missing something really obvious?
Sorry if so...
Help!

Thanks.