This system is running Ubuntu, with a KDE desktop. It’s doing something very strange, and very annoying, that’s making email very difficult, hence this post.

The mouse will only click on things selectively. Right now, I cannot click on and run something from the taskbar, for instance. Within a particular window I open, I can either not use the mouse in it at all, or only use the mouse on selective parts of it. For instance, right now, I can only click in this part of the browser window that I am using right now. I cannot click in the line where you type in the URL. Nor can I minimize or close the window with a mouse.

If I go to the next desktop, and click “refresh desktop” using the mouse controls, and come back to this desktop, then the next box I click in becomes the only place I can click. For instance, if I refresh the desktop, then click in the line where you type in the URL, then I can only click on the URL. I can’t then click in the main browser area (where I am typing this message), until I refresh the desktop again.

As may be obvious, this gets very tedious. I’ve tried rebooting the entire machine — from the console, because even in the initial gdm welcome screen, I can’t click “restart” or “shutdown” or anything. I’ve tried restarting gdm several times over.

The mouse works fine, it’s connected to a KVM switch and works absolutely perfectly on the other computer. It just seems to get stuck in things. I can’t even open another program using the mouse without refreshing the desktop, and then I can’t use the program any more efficiently than I can use this one. I’m currently using the console and ps x etc. to end programs, as well.

I can get around things with keyboard shortcuts but that’s a pain in the butt. So… yeah does anyone have any clue how to get it to stop this?