sorry bout this. one more question.
i'm using a laptop with RH 7.2 (dell inspiron 4000). when my optical mouse is plugged into the PS/2 port, everything works just fine (both the external mouse and the touchpad), but if I start X without it plugged in, the pointer makes erratic movements and clicks randomly. i originally thought this had something to do with gpm, but I disabled it and it still does the same thing.