Thanks for the quick reply. In fact, just after I had filed the report, I decided to try a different kernel: it worked. Then I reverted to the original kernel: again it worked.
In short, I can't reproduce the problem. Maybe I touched the mouse during a critical initialisation and hit a race/deadlock. Maybe the hardware itself latched up somehow: it certainly looks like something of that sort. So I suggest that this bug is closed: if it happens again, I can reopen. ael -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org