Earlier today, sometime after a reboot into the 6.6.9 kernel (which just went to stable), I noticed problems with copy and paste. But it's not the kernel, or the desktop (I tried others), so I suspect some update since the previous reboot, which was Dec. 31. Using right-click and then choosing Copy or Paste from the menu works, as do Ctrl-Shift-C and Ctrl-Shift-V, but neither double left click for copy or middle click for paste work. There was nothing in tonight's updates that fixed it. Anyone else seeing this, and if not, any idea how to diagnose?
P.S. I first saw this in Firefox where middle-clicking on a bookmark no longer brings it up in a new tab, though I CAN right-click and select "Open in New Tab" from the menu. The same thing happens in Chromium, finally I noticed the problem with copy and paste in a gnome-terminal, and also in a mate-terminal. It happens in regular GNOME, in GNOME on Xorg, and in MATE.
On 2024-01-04 17:30, Andre Robatino wrote:
Earlier today, sometime after a reboot into the 6.6.9 kernel (which just went to stable), I noticed problems with copy and paste. But it's not the kernel, or the desktop (I tried others), so I suspect some update since the previous reboot, which was Dec. 31. Using right-click and then choosing Copy or Paste from the menu works, as do Ctrl-Shift-C and Ctrl-Shift-V, but neither double left click for copy or middle click for paste work. There was nothing in tonight's updates that fixed it. Anyone else seeing this, and if not, any idea how to diagnose?
P.S. I first saw this in Firefox where middle-clicking on a bookmark no longer brings it up in a new tab, though I CAN right-click and select "Open in New Tab" from the menu. The same thing happens in Chromium, finally I noticed the problem with copy and paste in a gnome-terminal, and also in a mate-terminal. It happens in regular GNOME, in GNOME on Xorg, and in MATE.
If you go to the Gnome mouse settings and use the test feature, does the middle button work?
If you're talking about "Mouse & Touchpad" under Settings, "Single Click" and "Double Click" both work with the left button, but neither do anything with the middle button, though I'm not sure if they're supposed to since I never used this before. With the right button (which works) I can at least see the highlighting change on the buttons though nothing else happens. Forgot to mention that I'm using both a PS/2 mouse and PS/2 keyboard, both connected via a single PS/2 to USB adapter. Tried unplugging and replugging everything with no change.
Just realized that I also have a USB mouse, plugged that into a separate port without disconnecting the first one. The USB mouse seems fully functional both for double left-click copy and middle-click paste.
I tried connecting the PS/2 mouse to an older machine with a PS/2 port which is dual boot Windows 10/Fedora 39. The behavior in Fedora is exactly the same. In Windows, middle-click works fine in the browser to open a link in a new tab, so AFAICT the mouse is physically OK and Fedora is broken.
This is really weird - the PS/2 mouse is now working fine in the original machine. I have no idea what happened - I'm pretty sure that just after I originally plugged it back in it was still broken and for some reason just started working again after a time lapse. Unplugged the USB mouse and the PS/2 mouse is still working.
Tried connecting the PS/2 mouse into the older machine again and now it works fine in Fedora on that as well. So whatever the problem is is sporadic but I still don't know if it's in Fedora or the mouse.
BTW, now that the PS/2 mouse is working in Fedora, the middle button behavior in the test feature is different - now when I middle-click on the test buttons I can see the highlighting change, that didn't happen when the (mouse? Fedora?) was broken.
On 1/5/24 05:30, Andre Robatino wrote:
BTW, now that the PS/2 mouse is working in Fedora, the middle button behavior in the test feature is different - now when I middle-click on the test buttons I can see the highlighting change, that didn't happen when the (mouse? Fedora?) was broken.
Almost certainly something with the mouse. There isn't going to be some special behaviour for that specific mouse over others since it's just a generic one.
On Fri, Jan 5, 2024 at 9:31 AM Andre Robatino robatino@fedoraproject.org wrote:
BTW, now that the PS/2 mouse is working in Fedora, the middle button behavior in the test feature is different - now when I middle-click on the test buttons I can see the highlighting change, that didn't happen when the (mouse? Fedora?) was broken.
It's probably time to replace the mouse.
This is very likely to be an erratic connection in the PS/2 mouse or cable. As someone who once worked as a repair technician, I would open up the mouse and check continuity from the mouse buttons to connector while wiggling the cable. Visual inspection may revela a place where the cable has a visible crimp.
It's a really cheap generic PS/2 3-button scrollbar optical mouse. There's a single screw opposite the cord that I can remove, and that end comes open, but the cord end doesn't. I don't know what's holding it together and don't want to force it. In any case it would just be a few bucks to replace so I'll use it for now unless it starts failing regularly. Sorry for the noise.
On Fri, 2024-01-05 at 12:50 +0000, Andre Robatino wrote:
If you're talking about "Mouse & Touchpad" under Settings, "Single Click" and "Double Click" both work with the left button, but neither do anything with the middle button, though I'm not sure if they're supposed to since I never used this before.
In various "mouse preferences" control panels on Linux there's a click- to-test section, where any mouse button you press over it will be detected, and it indicate that it noticed it. While it's intended for you to test out what your double-click speed time-out will be, it also serves as a way to test out each mouse button.
I find that I have to replace wheel mice every now and then in trying environments where the mouse often gets knocked off the table, or where things fall on it. The wheel protudes and takes the brunt of any impact. Then the switch becomes unreliable, or more to the point, the soldering that attaches the switch to the circuitboard is damaged. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes you have to hammer it to get it work, sometimes one press becomes multiple.
Dunno why mice always fall off and land upside down, it's like buttered toast...
Kinda wishing the current mouse would fail - the rubber mouse wheel is aggravating my skin allergies. But it's hard to find any mice which don't rubber-coat the wheel.
Ones with actual micro-switches, not tactile switches, are much better. Tactile switches are a lousy design with a very limited lifespan.
You can see what the different types look like here: https://www.jaycar.com.au/spdt-250vac-5a-micro-switch/p/SM1050 https://www.jaycar.com.au/0-7mm-spst-micro-tactile-switch/p/SP0600 They're very *different* types of switch design.
Though it can be hard to buy a mouse with a microswitch, as they often lie and call "tactile switches" "micro switches."
Cable breaks are another common issue with mice, at the part where the cable exits the mouse body. It's combination of metal fatigue from all the movement, or getting knocked into things while you mouse around a cluttered desk. Then, as you move the mouse about there's a deluge of signal disconnects and reconnects, which upsets the hardware.
I noticed PS/2 mice were really prone to erratic behaviour on extension leads (this was in the era of moving from desktop to tower cases, where the mice cables were often too short). I came to the conclusion there was a significant voltage drop across the tiny wiring inside the extension cable.
I rarer, but not impossible, situation is static electricity damage. Whizzing a plastic object around some kinds of surfaces can build up a static charge. Electronics don't like that.
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Andre Robatino -
George N. White III -
Samuel Sieb -
Tim