Mouse stopped working

[judew]

Hello,

My mouse has stopped working on my computer. In fact, neither of the two that I have work on it. What would cause the mouse to stop working?

Thank you,

Jude

[LOBster]

1. What was the port type(s) you tried... USB, PS/2, Serial COM, bluetooth???

2. Optical or ball mice? Wired or wireless (dead battery)?

3. What version Windows?

4. Did you check the status in Hardware Device Manager, under Control Panel, System? If so what did it show?

5. Do the mice still work on another computer (swap)?

6. Did you add or remove other hardware (including USB devices) just before the failure first occurred?

~~~
"God is in the details." - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (architect)
"The devil is in the details." - old German proverb
"Between heaven and hell are the details." - Lon O'Bannon III
"Attend to details, lest all hell break loose." - Guru Tru Yahu
"Details are always vulgar." - Oscar Wilde

[judew]

I tried both the USB for the wireless (optical) mouse (it is fully charged) and the "plug" (in back of the computer) for the wired (roller-ball) mouse. I have no idea what a Bluetooth is. I have Windows XP. The computer is not quite a year old (December).

Yes, the mouse works on the other computer...the one I have to use because I don't know how to open anything on my good computer without the mouse. So, no...I haven't checked the Device Manager. I'll try to see if I can get to the Device Manager using the keyboard. I found some keyboard shortcuts at Microsoft.com. Maybe one of them will get me there.

Thanks for your reply!

Jude

[LOBster]

Navigate WinXP by keyboard with no mouse...

1. "Windows key" between Ctrl and Alt keys (some keyboards have 2), gets Start menu

2. Use keyboard arrow keys (Up, Down, Left, Right) to navigate menus

3. Use Enter to select (click) current menu item.

4. Tab steps between fields and buttons in active window, with wrap-around from last object to first. Shift-Tab does same in opposite direction.

5. Alt-Tab rotates between open windows

6. To access menus in menu bar if window has one, note underlined letter in menu name, and use Alt+{key} to activate it. For example, Alt-F selects and opens the File menu, etc. Some menus in some programs often will indicate the Ctrl+{key} hotkey combo to select that item if it has a hotkey.

7. I almost forgot about the other menu icon key that some keyboards have, which is usually next to a Windows logo key, if present.
Depending on the active window, the special "menu open" iconized key pops open some menu, but I've never used it, so can't
vouch for its global usefulness.



For wireless controllers (optical mice, etc.) they're either RF or IR (line of sight). In either case they have some receiver unit plugged into the PC, in your case a USB port. The tricky bit is when the receiver loses signal sync with the transmitters in mouse (and keyboard), the screen cursor stops responding to mouse actions, and you have to do the sync up again, usually initiated by a button press on the devices. In my setup there's a status activity LED (multicolored) on the receiver unit, as well as a resync button on top of it. I press the button, it changes colors and starts to blink, then I have to use a pencil point to press the sync buttons recessed in pinholes under the mouse and keyboard, to get them all talking again. No reboot required. It also is a USB version wireless setup. You may want to review the instruction sheet that came with your wireless controller(s) and see if resyncing them restores use.

Good luck.

~~~
Applying computer technology is simply a matter of
finding the best wrench to pound in the correct screw.
- Guru Tru Yahu

[LOBster]

Also, you can try the mouse in a different USB port if one is free, and/or plug a different USB device (e.g. USB flash drive, etc.) into that doubtful port to test/verify if it is working or not.

Re. PS/2 keyboard (& mouse) ports: They are NOT HOT-SWAPABLE!
If you unplug a controller from the PS/2 (serial) port while in Windows, it will crash your Windows session, and possibly lock up your PC (requiring a hard power off).
Also you can NOT plug anything into a PS/2 port once the POST is running during boot up, and definitely not once Windows is loading/loaded. It may also likely crash or freeze your PC.

To correctly use the PS/2 port mouse &/or keyboard, they have to be connected first while PC is off, then power it on and once Windoze starts to load, once you see the cursor, you should be able to mouse and confirm it's working. If not, the PS/2 device, or port, or controller chip on mobo would be bad.

over & ouch,
L.

~~~
The voices in my head are arguing again.

[judew]

Thank you,

Yes, I did shut down the computer before connecting each mouse; then, turned it on again.

I will try the reset buttons again on the wireless mouse, though I did try them once - without success.

Thanks again,

Jude

[cryptstalker]

erm well maybe it is the BIOS try there and make sure that your mouse is on from there as that is sometimes the problem with mouse not working. hpe this helps

[judew]

Thank you for the reply.

My entire computer crashed the next day. I now have a new one

And....my wireless mouse works...LOL

Thanks again,

Jude

[MikeyB]

Are there any other problems in general with wireless? Been thinking about switching from corded.

[rook]

i think the only minor problem with wireless is the batteries other than that, it's a good upgrade to the old fashioned corded mouses, although they don't make that much of a difference, since you aren't going to point and click on a 20inch screen from meters away. you can hardly see anything when you're far away from the screen