Graphics tablet / Xorg / mouse problems

[Dominic Fandrey]

Antonio Rieser wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I recently installed FreeBSD 7.1 on an ACER Aspire
> 1680 laptop. I'm running KDE 3.5 and the most recent Xorg port with a
> Wacom Bamboo tablet and the wacom driver from the ports collection.  I
> have the following problems with the tablet and mouse:
> 
> 1) If I boot without the tablet plugged in, then plug it in later and
> restart X, the error message
> 
> (EE) intel(0): [DRI] Unlocking inconsistency:
> 	Context 676684348 trying to unlock lock held by context 2
> (EE) intel(0): [DRI] Locking deadlock.
> 	Already locked with context 676684348,
> 	trying to lock with context 2.
> 
> is written to Xorg.0.log and kdm-bin.log so many times that it fills
> my /var partition and locks my system. Note that if I boot with the
> tablet already plugged in, this error doesn't appear, and everything
> works fine.

This is actually not connected to the tablet in my opinion, it's a
problem with 3D-acceleration of your video card, which apparently
does not like being reset/restarted. Can you show us your Device
Section?

> I loading the driver via the line
> 
> 'uwacom_load="YES"
> 
> in /boot/loader.conf
> 
> 2) If I remove the tablet from the computer (I've only tried it during
> an X session), the system panics and shuts down, whether or not I stop
> the wacom driver before removing the tablet.

OK, this sounds like a serious kernel problem.

> 3)  If I stop the wacom driver, then start it again, I cannot simply
> restart X and have the tablet work.  I have to reboot in order for the
> tablet to be recognized, even in mouse mode.

That's because the driver can not start a rescan of the hardware. It can
only hook in when the tablet gets first detected. This is why the
module has to be loaded from loader.conf.

> 4) Occasionally the pointer refuses to stay put and drifts to the top
> of the screen.  Controlling the pointer with the mouse becomes
> difficult at this point, too, since it wants to float upwards.
> Unfortunately, I have difficulty reproducing this reliably.  Once it
> starts, though, it doesn't stop until I end the X session.  If the
> problem starts and then I stop the wacom driver without restarting X,
> it continues anyway.

I have that with a cheap optical mouse sometimes, I plug it out and
back in and the problem is gone. Since that panics your system this
is hardly an acceptable solution. Anyway it looks to me like that
is a hardware problem.

> 5) Xorg.0.log contains the following error (also included below):
> 
> pad Wacom X driver can't grab event device, errno=1005
> 
> (I haven't honestly noticed any strange behavior on the 'pad' device, however.)

Well, I have taken the liberty to forward this mail to Bartosz, he
might be able to do something with that. Obviously the driver
does not handle all data generated by the pad.
 
> Regarding 1) - and maybe 3) & 4) - my guess is that the tablet is
> fighting with the mouse for control of the pointer, but I don't know
> how to check if that's the case or how to fix it if it is.

No, that's not the way things work. I think you are facing two
distinct problems here. One with your video card and one with the
tablet driver.