I'm running the BOINC client on a Linux box. It is set to go idle when there is user activity, and to only compute when the user has been idle for 10 minutes. If I leave it idle for 10 minutes, the client resumes computation. If I type in a window (including over ssh), the client correctly detects user input and suspends itself. But if I move the mouse, click on browser links, move windows around, etc., nothing happens. Graphical interaction seems to have no effect on the client. This is very bad, since I don't want to have the client taking 100% of my CPU when I'm using the machine graphically.

Yes. It's a USB mouse. Is there a workaround? I can't really run this until it won't cripple my system when I'm using it directly.

Yes. It's a USB mouse. Is there a workaround? I can't really run this until it won't cripple my system when I'm using it directly.

Someone mentioned a possible workaround few days ago on mailing lists. IIRC it was necessary to patch the kernel? Something rather simple, like 4 times 1 line to be added... I believe anyone will find it and post here, otherwise I can do it later tomorrow.

It should also have appeared in Ticket [trac]#463[/trac].

Peter

Yes. It's a USB mouse. Is there a workaround?

Someone mentioned a possible workaround few days ago on mailing lists. IIRC it was necessary to patch the kernel?

OK, found it:
On Wed, 15 Oct 2008, Rom Walton wrote:

This may explain why we run across the keyboard and mouse activity
detection in Linux every once and while:

http://www.cs.wisc.edu/condor/kernel.patch.html

Something rather simple, like 4 times 1 line to be added...

Nearly... It was effectively a patching 6 different devices' drivers with the following line(s):

if (retval > 0)
file->f_dentry->d_inode->i_atime = CURRENT_TIME;

Short description:

Distributions that rely on the Linux 2.4.x and all Linux 2.6.x kernels through version 2.6.10, do not modify the atime of the input device file.

So, either DIY or push&wait on distros?

Peter

Or get a PS/2 mouse?

Or a USB to PS/2 converter.

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