How can I compare ALL mouse settings across distros A signal handling matter 3479

Exactly. Some KVMs emulate the presence of a mouse to the o-s when switched away or over, and some don't.

The result of the latter is a driver that loses track of mouse state.

Solution - reinitialize the mouse driver by switching away from X and back again, with ctl-alt-f1 ctl-alt-f7.

Why not? That's what you need.

It is correct.

It can't really be fixed - because nobody can tell what arbitrary KVMs will do. If the KVM manufacturers were to test against linux kernels, then they wouldn't produce the problem in the first place. When they do produce a KVM with that problem, you can't fix it - only they can.

It's just random. KVMs which leave the terminals floating or similar will provoke crazy bus states (on a ps2 bus, which is not buffered).

The kernel might have a try at detecting mouse craziness and shutting down mouse inputs until you start moving the mouse in a standard way again - that's the best one can do, I guess.

The best hope is to find some special signal that some KVM manufacturers produce to indicate that the mouse is going away and not to listen for a while.

Peter