USB Mouse Problems

[GameAngel64]

The quick story is, completely out of the blue, my laptop computer is not detecting my USB mouse in any way at all.  It has been working fine, without previous trouble, and now it does not detect it, not on the device manager, not under the mouses, and not with the install new hardware wizard.  So I am relegated to the touchpad mouse.  I tried unplugging the USB mouse, replugging it, restarting the computer, shutting down the computer, tried different USB ports (which certainly work, since I just had my Mp3 player plugged into one that I tested, and that worked fine).  The optical USB mouse still has that blue laser light on, and it illuminates when I move it around, but my computer does not care or acknowledge.  I don't have another mouse/computer I can test out, and am not too keen to buying another one.

The long story is...  I share this computer with two other people mostly.  I don't know what they do on it.  Probably nothing too sinister, but regardless of intention, over the past day or so there have been problems.  Yesterday, it began when the Windows Welcome screen and fast user switching were mysteriously disabled, so the computer went with the old "classic" login.

I'm pretty sure that when I established the two other accounts on the computer, I made them limited accounts (not POSITIVE about this), and suddenly they were administrator accounts.  Hmm.  I went to my account, and returned them to limited account status.  When I tried to turn the Welcome Screen back on, it told me I had to uninstall Client Services for Netware.  I did so, and things seemed to be working.  I ran all the virus detecting software on this computer (admittedly not much, since this has been my "minimal use" computer - my "main" computer is out of commission right now):  Norton, AdAware, AVG.  None of these programs turned up with anything significant, although I can't help but feel some foul play is afoot.

Now today the Welcome Screen and so on seem to work; most everything seems normal.  But now the computer does not respond to or detect the USB mouse.  In between the time I restored my Welcome Screen, and now, the mouse HAD been working, but now that I return home from work it doesn't.

I checked all of the USB ports in the device manager, and they are in working order.

I am on Windows XP Media Center Edition Version 2002 SP 2.

[Broni]

Did you try another mouse?

[GameAngel64]

No, I did not try another mouse because I do not have another one to try with... and don't  really want to buy a second one if I don't have to.  I'd hate to buy another one just to find out this one is fine and it's some other problem.

[Spero-T]

You see it is hard to tell, with out trying a new mouse, as it could be a software issue (did you wipe anything of the computer pervious to this problem) it could be a hard ware problem such as the mouse is self of maybe even the port could be dead.

But hold up some one could be along with a solution

[GameAngel64]

Well I don't think it's a matter of a dead port, because it still powers the mouse for one (makes it light up and such, though the computer does not respond to it), and I have been able to plug my Mp3 player into all ports just fine, but when I plug my mouse into any port it remains undetected.

The only major change I made was uninstalling Client Services for Netware or whatever, and the mouse worked shortly after that, and the next morning, but when I came home from work it did not work anymore.  My sister had be on the computer in between morning and when I came home, though I can't see what she could have done to bust the thing.  I asked if she was rough with it or something, she said no... and all she really does is go to Facebook and stuff.

It could be a faulty mouse, but assuming that it isn't what else could I try?  Are the solutions so destructive that all other possibilities (i.e. dead mouse) must be ruled out first?  My boyfriend suggested some kind of "patching," but I don't see how that applies here... but does anyone have any ideas along that vein?

Thanks!

[2k_dummy]

Does your computer have PS/2 ports? If so, try using a PS/2 mouse.

[Broni]

Look, you asked for advices, you got advices.
Trying another mouse is a step one of troubleshooting, and your basic option.
You can borrow a mouse from a friend, buy one for ten bucks, and if it's not a mouse, return it same day, have your ten bucks back, and be done with it.

[GameAngel64]

I do appreciate the advice... but no one (including people in other forums - though this is the only forum I have personally asked for help on) seems to have any non-hardware reasons for why this would happen...  ARE there reasons, outside of malfunctioning hardware, for why the mouse wouldn't be detected?

[Broni]

Yes...driver, for instance.

[patio]

Shut down and remove the USB mouse.Power up...
Re-install the Touchpad drivers...shut the laptop off and on a few times.
Power down. Plug in the USB mouse and re-boot.
If prompted re-install the USB mouse drivers...

[GameAngel64]

Shelled out $30 for a new mouse... still the computer does not recognize it....

[Broni]

Only other thing, I can think of is to get PS/2 adapter, and try it in PS/2 port.

[GameAngel64]

This is a lot of stuff to buy when I can't help but feel it's gotta be something else.  Thanks though.

[Fed]

Only other thing, I can think of is to get PS/2 adapter, and try it in PS/2 port.

That is the best advice you will ever get short of buying a PS/2 mouse.

[GameAngel64]

I read somewhere that it could be disabled in BIOS... afraid to mess around in there though.

Also, a lot of this stuff is skirting the problem, but not explaining it.  Does it lack explanation?

EDIT:  I did BIOS setup defaults (not really even sure if that was the problem), and now my mouse works wirelessly, but not when I actually have it plugged in by wire.  I don't get it, but I guess that works if there's no solving the real problem.  Yay, no more touchpad!

EDIT AGAIN:  No PS/2 port, by the way.