The mysterious case of disappearing mouse cursor in Ubuntu 14.04

orhank · 12-26-2015, 07:50 AM

I've recently decided to install Ubuntu (64 bit 14.04, curiously named amd64) on another one of my machines which had Windoze 7 already installed (8gig of RAM, Asus H97 mobo, 3 SATA disks, etc).

The installation process from the live CD went smoothly and when the machine rebooted to the Grub menu I chose Ubuntu and I ended up in the lightdm login screen, with no mouse cursor. I logged in to the hideous Unity and still there was no mouse cursor.

I scoured the Internet and the linux forums and learned that I was not alone. There were as many suggestions to solve the problem as there were complaints. I tried almost all of them: delete ~/.config; gsettings; script to restart lightdm, booting an older kernel, etc. Only two of them worked:

1) sudo dkpg-reconfigure gdm and choose gdm
This works consistently but puts the blame on lightdm, which cannot be the case because I installed the same distro on another machine (with 16 gb RAM, same mobo, same number of SATA disks, the only difference being Windoze 8.1 installed instead of Windoze 7) and lightdm works flawlessly.

2) Logout (via the keyboard) and login again, and the mouse cursor appears. (But who wants to do that everytime?)

So, I removed Ubuntu 14.04; installed 12.04 and everything is peachy.

ardvark71 · 12-26-2015, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orhank

So, I removed Ubuntu 14.04; installed 12.04 and everything is peachy.

Hi...

Do you want to stick with 12.04 (as your chosen solution?) If so, please mark this thread as "SOLVED" by clicking on "Thread Tools" directly above your initial post. Thanks!

Regards...

orhank · 12-27-2015, 05:57 AM

I don't think the problem is solved; 12.04 is, at best, a palliative solution. There are pages and pages of the same complaint in Ubuntu wiki and at askubuntu.com, and it seems that the Ubuntu people themselves do not know anything about how to solve this problem. What a shame.

ondoho · 12-27-2015, 06:09 AM

thankfully, there's many other (not ubuntu based) distros to choose from.
what a relief.

edit:
don't want to sound arrogant and/or offputting...
you could always present us with more information and we can try to solve this properly, without pointing the finger at ubuntu.
i'm pretty sure this is solveable.

orhank · 12-27-2015, 06:43 AM

Thank you very much for your reply. Here are the details of the machine:

CPU: Pentium G3420, 3.20Ghz x 2
Motherboard: Asus H97 Plus
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 4GB x 2
PSU: Corsair CX600M
HD: Western Digital Green 1TB x 3 SATA drives
Video card: I'm not a gamer, so I am using the onboard video adapter on the mobo
Monitors: Samsung 19" + Sony 19"
Mouse and KB: Microsoft Wireless
Other OS: Windoze 7 Ultimate

I think I've described the problem fully in my first posting. In a nutshell, the mouse cursor is totally absent after a fresh install of Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit. There are countless complaints of the same nature on the Internet for both desktops and laptops.

You are absolutely right in saying that there are numerous other linux distros to choose from but as they say "Ubuntu is for those who cannot configure Debian". I find Ubuntu very user friendly and easy to customize.

oldtechaa · 12-27-2015, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orhank

You are absolutely right in saying that there are numerous other linux distros to choose from but as they say "Ubuntu is for those who cannot configure Debian". I find Ubuntu very user friendly and easy to customize.

That's true, but with a little more knowledge, Debian can just as easily be used, and you'll learn a lot more about Linux in the process. The more you learn, the less you'll need help.

ondoho · 12-27-2015, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orhank

There are countless complaints of the same nature on the Internet for both desktops and laptops.

please post some of those, particularly what you feel to be the most fitting / most promising ones.

additionally, please the output of

Code:

lspci -k

orhank · 12-28-2015, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldtechaa

That's true, but with a little more knowledge, Debian can just as easily be used, and you'll learn a lot more about Linux in the process. The more you learn, the less you'll need help.

Thank you for your comment. I'm quite conversant with linux; using it since the early 90's. In fact, my initial linux experience was with Slackware 2.1 in 1994. (So many floppies to install from)

orhank · 12-28-2015, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ondoho

please post some of those, particularly what you feel to be the most fitting / most promising ones.

additionally, please the output of

Code:

lspci -k

Thank you.
Here is a short sample:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/45044...sh-instalation
http://itsfoss.com/invisible-mouse-cursor-ubuntu-1310/
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1390628
https://faq.i3wm.org/question/4843/c...tu-1410.1.html
https://github.com/synergy/synergy/issues/4317

The output you requested is reproduced below:

Code:

orhan@bass47:~$ lspci -k
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 4th Gen Core Processor DRAM Controller (rev 06)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor PCI Express x16 Controller (rev 06)
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
Kernel modules: shpchp
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 06)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
Kernel driver in use: i915
Kernel modules: i915
00:03.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio Controller (rev 06)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device 8cb1
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Device 8cba
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
Kernel driver in use: mei_me
Kernel modules: mei-me
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device 8cad
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Device 8ca0
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8616
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 8c90 (rev d0)
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 8c94 (rev d0)
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev d0)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device 8ca6
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Device 8cc6
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation Device 8c82
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
Kernel driver in use: ahci
Kernel modules: ahci
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation Device 8ca2
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8534
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 11)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 859e
Kernel driver in use: r8169
Kernel modules: r8169
04:00.0 PCI bridge: ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1083/1085 PCIe to PCI Bridge (rev 04)

ondoho · 12-28-2015, 07:52 PM

gdm is not mentioned in the pages you linked.
however, several state that removing gnome-settings-daemon helps.
which version of ubuntu do you use? did you have gnome-settings-daemon installed?

i take it you also tried

Code:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.cursor active false

and

Code:

sudo modprobe -r psmouse
sudo modprobe psmouse

???

ondoho · 12-28-2015, 07:52 PM

gdm is not mentioned in the pages you linked.
however, several state that removing gnome-settings-daemon helps.
which version of ubuntu do you use? did you have gnome-settings-daemon installed?

i take it you also tried

Code:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.cursor active false

and

Code:

sudo modprobe -r psmouse
sudo modprobe psmouse

???

orhank · 12-29-2015, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ondoho

gdm is not mentioned in the pages you linked.
however, several state that removing gnome-settings-daemon helps.
which version of ubuntu do you use? did you have gnome-settings-daemon installed?

i take it you also tried

Code:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.cursor active false

and

Code:

sudo modprobe -r psmouse
sudo modprobe psmouse

???

The problem I'm having is not related to gdm which works perfectly. It is lightdm that I'm having troble with; the mouse pointer disappears when I switch to lightdm.

As I've tried to explain in my initial posting, yes, I've tried gsettings and modprobing several times.

ondoho · 12-29-2015, 08:13 AM

well you yourself mentioned gdm in post #1. but nevermind.

this:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ondoho

however, several state that removing gnome-settings-daemon helps.
which version of ubuntu do you use? did you have gnome-settings-daemon installed?

???