PS/2 Mouse click not working in OL 7.6 installation dialogs

[toracat]

I am almost certain that the whole thing has to do with the known kernel bug with EL 7.6 Mouse only usable within single application after mouse click on RHEL 7.6.

[socratis]

@toracat
I don't think so, because that ticket, as far as I know, doesn't have to do with PS/2 vs USB Tablet option for the pointing device. And that ticket is after the installation, once X has started. This is in the installation phase, no X involved...

[waldorfm]

I cannot understand your rationale. There is no need for finger pointing or defending the defaults. No instructions exist that starting with RHEL 7.6, the mouse needs to change from PS/2 to USB tablet. This is not a shortcoming or misunderstanding on my end, who discovered the work-around only after I reported the problem. Whether or not the issue is VirtualBox or RHEL is of very little concern to me. However, if VirtualBox is emulating a PS/2 interface that no longer works properly with the latest release of RHEL, then there is room for improvement. Based on my experience with a number of UI glitches during the past, I would rather suspect it's a problem with VirtualBox or Qt framework.

[socratis]

This is not a shortcoming or misunderstanding on my end

Not at all, and I honestly didn't mean it to come across like that, I'm sorry if it did. That was not my intention.

However, if VirtualBox is emulating a PS/2 interface that no longer works properly with the latest release of RHEL, then there is room for improvement.

Absolutely! The developers have been thinking about having a wider template range, even user-provided ones, but it's a rather difficult technical problem.

If that option materializes, you would be able to fine tune the templates, to say for example "if Ubuntu 4, use USB2. If Ubuntu>16, use USB3", or that sort of detailed specs for the VM.

Until that happens, we have to use our best judgement. You wouldn't go out today and buy a computer with a PS/2 interface. I'm not saying it may not be a VirtualBox issue, au contraire. But, there's a perfectly legal and logical workaround, so the gravity/severity of the problem becomes minute.

Finally, at least *I* got something out of this thread; I've installed the OL guest that I've been postponing for the longest time...

[toracat]

@toracat
I don't think so, because that ticket, as far as I know, doesn't have to do with PS/2 vs USB Tablet option for the pointing device. And that ticket is after the installation, once X has started. This is in the installation phase, no X involved...

I'd like to remind people that the said kernel bug can be reproduced without VirtualBox. Some users reported the mouse problem during installation. This happens, for example, when a non-default language needs to be selected. A new window pops up and there the mouse issue kicks in.

Although I'm not 100% sure that the problem reported in this thread is indeed related to that kernel bug.

[toracat]

Whether or not the issue is VirtualBox or RHEL is of very little concern to me. However, if VirtualBox is emulating a PS/2 interface that no longer works properly with the latest release of RHEL, then there is room for improvement.

IF the problem you observed is in fact due to the kernel issue in RHEL I referenced, then there is nothing virtualbox developers can do. All they can do is to hope that Red Hat releases the kernel with the fix.

[socratis]

Although I'm not 100% sure that the problem reported in this thread is indeed related to that kernel bug.

As I mentioned, I don't think it is, for two reasons:

1. It works just fine with a USB mouse, as confirmed both by my experience and the testimony of the OP, waldorfm.
2. I don't think that during the setup, that the X server has kicked in yet, it looks like a "text-based" installer.

[toracat]

@socratis

(1) The kernel bug is actually in the psmouse driver, as I noted earlier.
(2) The problem manifests itself when the mouse is in use. This is not an issue with the X server.

[socratis]

(1) The kernel bug is actually in the psmouse driver, as I noted earlier.

Funny... Because the rest of the thread that are dealing with this, and my personal experience, the "mouse getting lost after a while/after clicking on a single app" was caused by a USB Tablet pointing device, not a PS/2 one...

[toracat]

That is really odd. When I did a test install of CentOS 7.6, I was able to reproduce the mouse problem with the [default] 'ps/2' setting. And the problem was gone when I selected 'USB Tablet'.

Edit:  Use of 'USB Tablet' is one of the possible workarounds I listed in the CentOS bug tracker.

[socratis]

Hmm... maybe my memory is failing me then. I rarely (if ever) leave any guest with the PS/2 mouse, the USB Tablet doesn't require the GAs to be installed at all, the mouse "integration" works right out of the box, that's why I always prefer the USB one...

I'll try it again... Now you got me worried about the status of the RAM on my cranium! I may have to run a "memtest /dev/myHead"

[toracat]

I've never bothered to change the default choice (which is PS/2 in RHEL/CentOS) but never had a problem. I seldom install the GA because I run headless guests most of the time.

Regarding the RAM problem, I started having that years ago...

[M'kz]

I've same problem before after installing some USB 2.0/3.0 extension packs on virtual box 6.0.4. The mouse integration turn grey or cannot being even clicked. So I remove extension packs USB [preferences -> extension] and using USB 1.0 after that the mouse is visible now.

[socratis]

So I remove extension packs USB [preferences -> extension] and using USB 1.0 after that the mouse is visible now.

That's an interesting observation, got to try and replicate it. What happens if you don't remove the ExtPack, but you simply change the USB controller to USB 1 only? Does it work or does it fail? And we're still talking about OL 7.6, right?

[waldorfm]

I've same problem before after installing some USB 2.0/3.0 extension packs on virtual box 6.0.4. The mouse integration turn grey or cannot being even clicked. So I remove extension packs USB [preferences -> extension] and using USB 1.0 after that the mouse is visible now.

It's not the mouse isn't visible. It's just not clicking. I did not uninstall the ext. pack, but changing USB to 1.1, 2.0 or 3.0 in the VM settings makes no difference in my situation.