Strange happenings with a wireless mouse. (abandoned)

[cobaka]

Weird: A few days ago I began a thread about a wireless mouse that didn't move the pointer.
The link: https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=6553

But I made a mistake. I just plugged the receiver into the USB port and expected everything to "go"!
Then Dr. bigpup said: Did you re-boot your Linux box??? What? Need to reboot?
It turned out that this particular mouse was 'activated' during the boot sequence.
Before that, my experience was with a Logitech M235 mouse. Worked without re-booting.

OK! The previously non-working mouse was "all systems go" and I thought I was happy, but ...
I reported (here) ... everything is good! Then ... after that ... the mouse stopped working.
Using Pup-Sys Info I saw that the wireless receiver (plugged into a USB port) was "missing".
Didn't show up on the list of USB devices connected to my Linux Box.
I didn't say anything here. Just thought: "Wireless receiver must have died." Sigh ....

A few days later I began working on a netbook. I installed Puppy Linux (Friendly Puppy) into a thumb-drive, booted, and used my lovely little netbook a little. Then - a thought struck me. (strike!!!)What if the OS on the "other"/first Linux box got confused about mouse drivers etc? What would happen if I plugged the "dead" wireless receiver into the netbook? And, of course, I couldn't resist this exciting scientific experiment! So I did! (Plug!!) Waddaya know! Suddenly the dead mouse liveth! I have a Lazarus mouse! BUT suddenly (and without warning) this previously installed Friendly Puppy decided this was the first boot. It wanted to run thru all the 'first boot' setup! Yes. The netbook is sitting beside me asking for Language, Time Zone, CRD (and so on).

Why (why, why, why!) has the addition of a mouse wireless receiver caused this? Oh, I won't shut the net-book down!
I'm confident Friendly Puppy will think this is the first shut-down and want to create a save-file!
Looking at the boot device (sdb2) I see the save file!
I'm typing this from my "standard" Linux box. The Linux "net-box" is on the table beside me.
What's going on here?

[Phoenix]

I'd suggest making sure that you were already booted and using the savefile. As well, it may help to see /var/log/messages or dmesg. It could have also incorrectly suspended itself (and alas never woke up again).

[cobaka]

@Phoenix
Go to the very end first (to save time). Then come back here if you want to.

You:

it may help to see /var/log/messages or dmesg

OK in a moment, but first a sick joke.

You say: Look at the 'messages' file. Now I have two PCs on my desk. My regular PC and "the troublesome". And where do you think I look for 'message'? On the regular - never gives trouble, all OK - Linux box. The problem is on the other PC. No wonder people think I'm a brick short of the full load.

OK .. now I'm chasing the whatever file on 'the troublesome'.
This is weird: The story. Working on ASUS. Plugged in a thumb-drive to transfer 'messages' file.
This thumb-drive was on an 'extension-hub' with a switch for each USB port. (A power switch).
What do you do when removing a device? Turn the power off, right? Right!
Now, with the power off the thumb-drive only - but still on for the wireless mouse - the mouse does not move the pointer!
Plug in a 'wired mouse'. Works just fine. *Thinks* I'll shut-down/reboot the ASUS.
Shuts-down & re-boots.
Now the wireless mouse is working again and Puppy booted using the (already existing) save file.
Confused? Yes, me too!

I planned to send the file called messages from ASUS. (But see below ...)
At this point I'm thinking: *thinking* "ASUS is booting just fine."
Had a few hiccups with a wireless mouse, but it's working now.
It was an inexpensive mouse and if it doesn't work - I can trash it.
I ordered a Logitech mouse yesterday (before this exercise in confusion began).
If you want to chase this rabbit down a rabbit hole - I'll help.
If you want to forget the problem - that's fine.
Solutions to problems teach us something.
Not every problem can be economically solved.

(Later). Why I didn't send the 'messages file'.
Put the thumb drive (fr. ASUS with 'messages') into the USB port.
I see it on my desktop, but when I try to "add-files" from Chromium (and the forum) - I can't locate the device.
I think god hates me today. I will abandon this problem.
The benefit of a finding a solution exceeds the cost of finding it.
I have a working mouse. I don't know why it failed in the beginning.
(Maybe the mouse itself has a dry solder joint. Who knows?)
Thanks for your help.

Собака

[mouldy]

Hmm, odd that mouse needs a reboot. Least for basic use. if it has couple dozen side buttons and disco lights and who knows what then yea probably has other software/drivers needed. And dont get me started on modern technology ability to make all electronics with less longevity. Mice dont last like they used to, not even namebrand ones. All seem made in China and they tend to cheapen any design to the nth degree. I recently got a mechanical keyboard that offers usb wire connection, along with bluetooth and 2.4G with its own usb dongle. Choose your poison. I messed with it, got the bluetooth working and its very stable. Never did get the 2.4G working. But guess what, I just plug it in with cable. That just always works. Same with mice, found I really rather have usb cable mouse than wireless one, though I do have a Samsung bluetooth one (from back when they were still made in S. Korea) I save mostly to use with my cell phone. Old stiff fingers dont cooperate with touchscreens well. The mouse (and keyboard) make life lot more pleasant when I have to use the infernal contraption as phone rather than as a cellular modem. As alternative scrcpy works nicely too. But the mouse fits in my pocket and goes forever with one AA battery, my desktop computer with scrcpy doesnt.

[cobaka]

@mouldy
You:

And don't get me started on modern technology ability to make all electronics with less longevity.

In some ways electronics from today is waaay more reliable than electronics from times past. I have an older friend who studied at Monash Uni. Computing time was scarce. He got access in the wee morning hours. He told me how he saved his work every 10 minutes; "saving' at longer intervals often resulted in lost work because the CPU often crashed. ENIAC & CILIAC were generally only ran for a few days between crashes.

Considering Intel: That company made chips that run so hot you might melt solder in them. That was the joke of the day. The 8-bit latch (8212) was an example of that. (This is - of course - a trivial MSI chip from the 1980s. It might have had a few dozen gates in a 24-pin package.) Intel got 'horsepower' from the hardware. Motorola gets 'horsepower' from clever instruction sets .... and so the Motorola chips ran cooler and were more reliable. The rule of thumb at that time was that every 10C rise in temperature halved the life of whatever.

On the topic of 'old': I have a number of receivers from US army B-17 bombers - designed and certified in the mid to late 30s. These will run (generally) if a few electrolytic and paper capacitors are replaced.

I was involved with production automation. I worked for a company that ran hundreds of 8-bit CPUs on the production line; the main point of failure came when the back-up battery in the program RAM went flat.
Generally this took about 10-12 years. If the battery was properly serviced these small uPs would run reliably for many decades - and in conditions of temperatures up to +60C and filthy air.

But generally your point about reliability is accurate.
Reliability comes from attention to detail.
We cut corners to save a few pennies.
Cabinets are flimsy. Cables are cheap (and fail).

собака

[mouldy]

Oh they made electronics reliable. There are still some on here using the old single core computers from very early XP era. We are just in the post-reliable era where now its all about squeezing out that extra fraction of a penny and convincing people to replace electronics every year or two, that this is somehow "normal". They obviously can still make stuff reliable, but the corporate bean counters want ever more profit. Plus its a bit like the proverbial frog in pan cold water, with the temperature slowly rising. He will jump if it suddenly became hot, but if its ever so gradually heated, he wont until he is cooked. If quality is ever so gradually lessened and prices ever so gradually raised...... Trouble with becoming old, you remember inconvenient stuff. I grew up when refrigerators were simple and would last 50 years, many got thrown away just cause people wanted new and shiny not cause they no longer worked. Now good luck getting new one to last ten years. Smaller, lighter duty compressor, all kinds of "luxury extras", etc.