"PS/2 Generic Mouse" gets lost. How to reload without reboot?

Question

I am running Ubuntu 12.04LTS on a ThinkPad E420s. My Trackpoint is recognized as "PS/2 Generic Mouse".

My problem is that it doesn't load/disappears after booting or after suspension. I can't move it, and it is not listed in xinput -list. I always have to restart again and again until it is recognized.

Even when it is loaded, it always takes a long time (like 5-10s). For this reason, I cannot run scripts to configure my trackpoint automatically on startup because the device is not yet there.

I wonder whether there is a bash command that will wake my Trackpoint up, or whether I can even avoid the problem in the first place.

I asked this question on various Linux sites, but got no help. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Solution

As Igeorget says, you could reload the module from command line.

sudo modprobe -r psmouse
sudo modprobe psmouse

I think you could try proto=imps, sometime corrects driver problems.

sudo modprobe -r psmouse
sudo modprobe psmouse proto=imps

To make this change permanent (1) :

create a file such as touchpad.conf under /etc/modprobe.d/, and put the following line in it:

options psmouse proto=imps

Comments

[lgeorget]

When your mouse doesn't show up, does doing rmmod psmouse and then modprobe psmouse change anything?

[slm]

The answer is most likely on this page: wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Touchpad_Synaptics. I do not have time to write it up but if someone wants to feel free.

[hoirkman]

Thanks, Igeorget. It works. If you want to reformulate your comment as an answer I will accept it.