Comment 6 for bug 84762

I just noticed this comment on
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20061101081125696

"I had the problem of "dead" USB mouse particularly with thin cables and dual CRT monitor setups (Mac, Windows or Linux), and I have this problem still occasionally on any OS (Mac, Windows or Linux).

"It does not occur on the PS2 connection for some PC mice, and it rarely - but also - happens on USB keyboard connections.

"The only OS where I know a real fix - that can be applied in software, on the fly, and right there - is Ubuntu Linux running on my laptop (ASUS A6T). Since it may be possible to apply a similar fix to Mac OS X, I thought it could be interesting in this context. Typically, my external keyboard and the external mouse stop working after a few minutes on my PC running Ubuntu.

"However, this is recognized as a software problem, and the solution is a software solution. The commands are as follows and have to be issued as root:

modprobe -r ohci_hcd

modprobe ohci_hcd no_handshake=1

"After keying in these two commands, the USB immediately turns back on, and it remains unfreezed until the end of that session (until the machine is turned off)."

I haven't had a chance to try this yet, but I'll give it a go. I assume this would be similar to forcing a redetect by physically un/re-plugging the mouse?

luke