synclient -m var doesn't work and how to fix the problem

synclient -m 100 will report the error message "can't access shared memory SHMConfig disabled?" under Ubuntu 10.10.

The solution is simple, type in the console:

sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

and add the line below (if xorg.conf doesn't exist, just create it with lines below):

Section "InputClass"

Identifier "enable synaptics SHMConfig"

MatchIsTouchpad "on"

MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/event*"

Option "SHMConfig" "on"

EndSection

Save the file and reboot!

Now, the command synclient -m 100 should print something like that:

time x y z f w l r u d m multi gl gm gr gdx gdy

62.283 3304 3177 77 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

62.383 3240 3173 81 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

62.483 3206 3162 81 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

62.583 1 5855 2 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

62.684 1 5855 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

Weird results when 2 fingers touch the pad:

time x y z f w l r u d m multi gl gm gr gdx gdy

15.867 868 -1846 97 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

15.876 4885 2595 77 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

15.887 1380 -1846 91 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

15.899 4879 2608 77 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

15.911 2148 -1846 85 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

15.924 4877 2603 77 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

15.935 3940 -2102 92 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

15.947 4877 2603 77 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0

Two fingers generate negative y coordinates! Perhaps, that explains the jumpy pointer?

I tried Fedora 14 64bits on my Pavilion dm4 1160us

I tried the live cd Fedora 14 - xfce. It boots without problem but shortly the screen turns dark (exactly the same problem as Ubuntu 10.10), but it's not possible to turn on the backlight by pressing 'f3'. I suppose the reason is that the login name is required before launching xfce (Is it the same problem with gnome and kde?).

I tried again but I interrupted the initial countdown and I chose the 'basic video' rather the default boot. So now, I saw the three horizontal bars progressing until the dialog box pops up, requiring the login name. Finally xfce started correctly.

I tried the touchpad and I observed the same problems as Ubuntu 10.10: 2 fingers on the pad generate erratic jumps of the pointer, and the right click doesn't work. So Fedora 14 and Ubuntu 10.10 suffer of the same problems concerning the touchpad of the Pavilion dm4.

I tried the wifi too. Like Ubuntu 10.10, the Wifi works perfectly.

And like Ubuntu, the fingerprint reader is not recognized.

My first impression is Fedora 14 and Ubuntu 10.10 are pretty equivalent regarding how the Pavilion dm4-1160 features are supported.