[ale] Strange USB mouse problem

[JK]

Hi everyone,

I have an Ubuntu Karmic box that has no PS/2 mouse port.  I have it
connected to a PS/2 KVM box via a USB/PS2 adapter -- both the
keyboard and the mouse PS2 cables are multiplexed into a single
USB port, even though the box does have a PS2 kbd port.

Problem is, about 50% of the time, the mouse is not detected (or
initialized properly, or something) at boot time.  When this occurs,
the boot hangs for maybe 30sec while detecting HID devices, then
proceeds to boot to the login screen. The keyboard *always* works
fine.  But if that little hang occurs, then the mouse is totally
incommunicado.  A power-down reboot usually -- but not always --
fixes the problem.  A soft restart, or even a press of the reset
button, usually does *not* fix the problem.

I'm not sure it's relevant, but the kbd and mouse are both wireless.
Can't remember the manufacturer.  So the physical setup is:

mouse/kbd ~~ (IR link) ~~ [PS2 KVM]---[PS2/USB adapter]---[USB port on Karmic box]

I have replaced the AAA batteries in the kbd and mouse with new
ones, but that did not change the bad behavior.

Unplugging the kbd/mouse USB connector does not help :-(  Or rather
(just tried it again) it does help if repeated enough times.

This machine has like 8 USB ports, and it doesn't matter which
one I plug the kbd/mouse into.  I'm pretty sure there are at least
3 separate USB controllers on the mobo (an ASUS M3N78-PRO).

Any advice? Am I looking at a hardware problem?

Thanks,

-- JK

-- 
We Americans are a freedom-loving people, and nothing says "freedom"
like Getting Away With It. -- Guy Forsyth, "Long Long Time"