Inputattach

[Christoph Frieben]

2011/3/7 Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R:
> Inputattach does the trick nicely, getting Fedora to use a mouse
> attached to ttyS0. It would be nice if inputattach were available
> during install.

Navigating through anaconda with space, tab and return keys is
feasible but having mouse support even for serial mice would be great.
For the sake of completeness, here the prescription referenced in my
previous post:

Ubuntu Documentation > Community Documentation > SerialMouseHowto

    SerialMouseHowto

Some older machines do not have USB ports, and instead used serial
ports to support the earlier generation of mice. The standard install
of Ubuntu no longer supports serial mice, but Ubuntu will run on these
machines and use the serial mouse with a few simple modifications.

If you are installing on a PC with a mouse attached to a serial port
(rather than the mouse port), here's what you need to do...

Using Inputattach

This method is tested to work with Ubuntu 10.4.

    Press Control-Alt-F1 to get to Virtual Terminal 1 (your screen
will turn black and you'll see a login prompt in white text).
    Login using your username and password.

    Run 'inputattach --help' and find the appropriate protocol option
to match your mouse

    Add 'inputattach <protocol option> /dev/ttyS0' (or whatever device
your serial mouse is attached to) to /etc/rc.local

ie. for many generic serial mice, the code is:

inputattach --microsoft /dev/ttyS0

    Restart (ie. 'sudo reboot')
    Hopefully your mouse is now working, if not, remove the line you
added to rc.local and try another method.

And here again the URL: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SerialMouseHowto .