Comment 61 for bug 582809

It's possible to use dkms to build the psmouse module for the buttonless synaptics touchpad on some newer netbooks.

First make sure dkms package is installed.

Next download this patched source archive for the psmouse module from kernel 2.6.35-22-generic on maverick. I just posted it to this bug, it's called: psmouse-2.6.35-22-generic-patched.tar.bz2

In a terminal, unpack the source archive in /usr/src

Next, in a terminal, enter these commands:

sudo dkms add -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic
sudo dkms build -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic
sudo dkms install -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic

This should install the psmouse.ko module in /lib/modules/<kernel version>/updates/dkms. Reboot to load it.

If the mouse doesn't function properly, use this command to check if it's installed.

sudo dkms status -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic

If it's not, then try rebuilding it with

sudo dkms build -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic
sudo dkms install -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic

Once a new kernel is issued with a fix, then you can remove it with:

sudo dkms uninstall -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic
sudo dkms remove -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic --all

I also believe that dkms will automatically build and install it on any kernel upgrade, but haven't tested that yet.

After installing any kernel update, you can test with

sudo dkms status -m psmouse -v 2.6.35-22-generic

and if it's not built, use the above commands to build and install it.

Reboot to make it effective.

For more info, see man dkms for the official documents.