Mice not working.

Hi,

I have an external mouse which I use with my Dell XP laptop. Recently I cant seem to get it to work. Although, the mouse light does come on when plugged into the usb drive.

I did some weeks ago remove the drivers for the mouse when it was jerking everywhere on screen, after that I did a reboot and it found the drivers again and started working fine. I dont know if that is an issue at all. Then I didnt use it for a week and when I tried to the mouse cursor just wouldnt budge.

I tried another another mouse (although not a new one) and that doesnt work either. I really have a move the mouse around like a madman to make the cursor move ever so slightly.

The intergrated mouse on the laptop works fine. I have tested the usb sockets with other things and they work too.

Could it be that all the mice I have are just worn out or there a deeper problem? Are there any checks I can do or anything I can try?

Thanks for your help in advance guys.

wireless mouse or cabled?
ball mouse or optical?
how old?

hi,

both are cabled via usb, 1 is optical the other balled. they are just over a year old.

Problems with the mouse/touchpad are not uncommon on some Dells. It is usually the ones with the "pointing nipple" in the middle of the keyboard as well. I have found two possible cures:-

1 Go into the BIOS and set the mouse to PS/2 only. The Touchpad still works, but it seems to disable the nipple.
2 More Drastic - Remove the keyboard and cut the small cable between the nipple and the base unit. This will permanently disable the nipple, but often cures the problem. TAKE CARE to cut the correct cable.

Use at your own risk

I haven't seen that nipple on a Dell in years. Did they use it on XP machines?
Whatever, before doing anything I'd try another NEW mouse. Mice are disposable items - they break

As a a rule, dont EVER install mouse drivers / software on XP or later operating systems. The OS has all the support you need, and installing the software just causes problems. Especially with Logitech mics (which install "Logitech Desktop Messenger" which is nothing more than a advertising spam program)

Jon,

I have got a Latitude C840 in for repair at present which has one. The machine is probably 6 years old, but still works OK.