WacomErrors

This page was last updated on July 18, 2009.

Introduction

Seeing these errors in Ubuntu or Kubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) or older releases?

X Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 167 
X Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 168 
X Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169 

They’re there because xorg.conf is set to automatically configure Wacom tablets. The errors themselves are harmless, but if you don’t use a Wacom tablet, there’s no harm in disabling them. This guide shows how to disable the wacom devices in xorg.conf.

Acknowledgements

This document came about as a result of the information provided by some of the members of the alt.os.linux.ubuntu newsgroup. I really appreciate it!

Requirements

• Ubuntu or Kubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) or earlier.
• A computer with no Wacom tablet.
• Wacom errors like those shown in the Introduction section of this document.
• You should have an understanding of how sudo, gksudo and kdesu work. See RootSudo and graphicalsudo.

Disable Wacom

1. Open a terminal window.
2. Back up your xorg.conf file by typing:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf xorg.conf_backup

Press the Enter key.

3. Check that the backup is there by typing:

ls -l /etc/X11

Press the Enter key.

4. Edit the xorg.conf file using one of these methods:
   • KDE users, type:

   kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf

   Press the Enter key.

   • GNOME users, type:

   gksudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

   Press the Enter key.

5. Make these changes:
   • There are three sections for wacom devices. Comment these out by placing a # at the beginning of EACH line, so they match this example:

     # Section "InputDevice"
     #       Driver          "wacom"
     #       Identifier      "stylus"
     #       Option          "Device"        "/dev/input/wacom"
     #       Option          "Type"          "stylus"
     #       Option          "ForceDevice"   "ISDV4"         # Tablet PC ONLY
     # EndSection
     
     # Section "InputDevice"
     #       Driver          "wacom"
     #       Identifier      "eraser"
     #       Option          "Device"        "/dev/input/wacom"
     #       Option          "Type"          "eraser"
     #       Option          "ForceDevice"   "ISDV4"         # Tablet PC ONLY
     # EndSection
     
     # Section "InputDevice"
     #       Driver          "wacom"
     #       Identifier      "cursor"
     #       Option          "Device"        "/dev/input/wacom"
     #       Option          "Type"          "cursor"
     #       Option          "ForceDevice"   "ISDV4"         # Tablet PC ONLY
     # EndSection
     

   • There are three entries for wacom devices. Comment these out by placing a # at the beginning of EACH line, so they match this example:

   #       InputDevice     "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
   #       InputDevice     "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
   #       InputDevice     "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
   

6. Save and exit.
7. In the terminal window, restart the X server using one of these methods:
• GNOME users, type:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart

Press the Enter key.

• KDE users, type:

sudo /etc/init.d/kdm restart

Press the Enter key.

Obligatory Happy Ending

And they all lived happily ever after. The end.

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