this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
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Ubuntu Linux

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Hey guys,

I don't know if this is the right place, or where to go if this isn't the right place, but I am running Ubuntu Studio. I don't really know what information is needed, but...

Ubuntu Studio 24.04 KDE plasma version 5.27.12 KDE Frameworks Version 5.115.0 QT Version 5.15.13 Kernel 6.11.0-1011-lowlatency (64 bit) Graphics platform: X11

HARDWARE: Acer Aspire 3 laptop Aspire A315-23 Version V1.21

Issue:

Mouse works fine on USB when the laptop is plugged into power. If I unplug power, the mouse stops functioning entirely, even if I plug the power back in. Mouse trackpad works either way.

Feels like it's some kind of power saving thing maybe, but it should work when it's plugged back into AC right?

Had a browse and it all feels a bit over my head for fixing this.. Any ideas?

Thanks

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[–] smegger@aussie.zone 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Is the mouse losing power when this happens? Have you tested with any other USB devices? Do they also lose power? It sorta sounds like USB power saving kicking in incorrectly but I don't know Linux enough. If all else fails maybe try something like resetting the BIOS or something?

[–] AceSLive@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hi, yes it does lose power while mains is unplugged and the laptop is using battery power, and when I plug the mains back in the mouse does light up, but no longer functions & remains non-functional until I restart the system

I do have another mouse which I tested and the same thing happens

[–] smegger@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah so there's something switching the power. It might not be entirely broken.

Could be a circuit that switches to battery power type of issue, worst case?

I reckon factory reset the BIOS. Worst case scenario you gotta set a few preferences again, best case scenario stuff starts working. Nothing to lose really.

[–] AceSLive@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't really know how to do that...

If the power settings are telling the laptop to disable the cursor, is there anything I can type in terminal to somewhat "reboot" those settings?

[–] smegger@aussie.zone 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Google:

Acer Aspire a315-23 factory reset bios

There's a bunch of videos and guides, just need to find one that matches your computer. Usually hit a button during startup to access to BIOS and can reset from a menu there.

Terminal would be after startup, more operating system level stuff.

[–] AceSLive@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thank you,

Are there any likely issues with me doing that? Like, can it wreck my dual boot or anything? Sorry, again, completely new to this.

Cheers

[–] smegger@aussie.zone 1 points 2 months ago

Nothing permanent that I can think of. You're probably running on mostly default settings anyway. It's a laptop so you'll likely only have one hard drive so boot order shouldn't be an issue. Only thing I can think of is if you got some kinda hardware encryption setup, but that's not likely on your typical laptop.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's a weird one. I haven't heard of a problem like that since back in the days of the transition from PS/2 ports. You're not trying to use a really old mouse that doesn't quite support USB hotplug, are you?

Otherwise (and this is just a shot in the dark), could you try running the computer off a Live USB of normal Ubuntu, so you could narrow down whether it's related to the (relatively uncommon and therefore maybe less well tested?) low-latency kernel Ubuntu Studio uses?

[–] AceSLive@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hi, nah I tried 2 mice, a cheap one I bought a year or so back and another I bought last week. Both work fine until the power is disconnected and the laptop is on battery, after which neither will work until the power is plugged back in/system is restarted.

Neither work when its only battery power from boot...

[–] grue@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Neither work when its only battery power from boot...

From boot, you say? Hmm...

Do you have a BIOS fancy enough to give you a mouse cursor? If so, do both the built-in trackpad and the USB mouse work in that (when booting on battery), or only the built-in trackpad?

[–] AceSLive@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hi, nah my bios is keyboard only

I dual-boot and have windows available. On windows both cursors work just fine on battery and on mains

I cannot find any power related settings that mention the mouse on my linux... I want to move to linux but with the mouse doing what it does its tricky...

Thanks for your help so far

[–] grue@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Have you tried the regular Ubuntu (not Ubuntu Studio) live USB test yet?

[–] AceSLive@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Haven't been able to as yet, but it's on my list - thank you