Hi Michael, all: I got my no-mouse problem solved, finally. Made a couple of changes in /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 to remove the "dri" line in the line "Load", then switching the startup to console instead of X. I just did this: pico /etc/inittab and changed id:5:initdefault to id:3:initdefault, to start it in console. Wrote it out, and on the reboot, I did a startx at the command prompt and it booted into KDE, WITH THE MOUSE finally being detected this time. Weird. Why should changing the startup to console make a difference in the mouse being detected? Hm. Well, I've got a few more gray hairs in the process, but I'm sure getting an education in how Linux works. There's a possibility I may even understand it someday. Thanks for your input...now, time to play around with X and see what I've got here... Jackie