Mouse problem

[Flybywyre]

Over the last month pointer movement has started to get a bit sluggish now and then. It finally came to an abrupt halt about a week ago when I was only able to get movement in the horizontal plane. No problem I thought, new mouse required. So I changed the mouse, now I only get movement in the vertical plane, so back to the old mouse. I am using a KVM switch so I disconnected that completely and plugged everything directly into the main computer and all seemed to be fine for a while, then it started again. Done all the usual things like uninstalling / reinstalling the drivers etc with out any success. Here is the interesting bit that I am sure points to the problem, but I can't see it. With everything connected as normal (2 computers with KVM switch ), turn my main computer on and when I go to use the mouse to log in I have the problem, only movement in the horizontal plane. However the minute I power up comp.2 the mouse behaves perfectly normal on the main computer (and comp.2) ? Turn comp.2 off again and over the space of 2 minutes it winds down to horizontal movement only ??
Anyone got any idea's ?

Regards
FBW

PS No mouse problems on computer 2:confused:

[25F]

Are you saying the problem also arose with the mouse plugged directly in to the PC?

Have you cleaned the rollers inside the mouse? That's the usual cause of stuck pointers. In this case I'm suspecting the KVM switch. Have you tried switching the cables / connectors around? I.e. connect port 'A' and cable 'A' to PC 2 rather than PC 1.

[Flybywyre]

Hello 25F

Yes......directly plugged into PC1

I also suspected the KVM switch. However I have now ruled this out as I was so sure it was the switch, I totally disconnected it. This was OK for 2 days then slowly the problem started to manifest itself again. This was with all cables plugged directly into PC1. KVM switch in its box as I thought it was faulty.
I have swapped all the cables about etc all to no avail. The mouse would appear to be working fine as I do not have any of these problems when using PC.2 ..........with or without KVM.

Odd isn't it :confused:

[Flybywyre]

Hello TCS

Standard PS/2 mouse that works perfectly well on PC2 (with or without KVM switch)

Regards
FBW

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Flybywyre

Without any details on the mobo, I am shooting in the dark here. There are some mobos that reversing the Mouse and Keyboard in the PS2 Slots solves the problem. (I know that sounds really strange but it does work on problems with some mobos, example K7N2G-ILSR and K7N2G-L.)

Have you tried with a USB Mouse?

The thing that does worry me is the fact that the mouse was getting sluggish and then started failing. It might be time for a fresh install of the OS, if you cannot get any mice to work.

Take Care,

Richard

[BOAC]

A bit of a long shot here, but this caused me significant head-scratching a while ago.

Is the mouse 'Optical'? ie does it use rotating wheels inside and interruptor gismos to detect motion? Mine is, and if a strongish light falls on it, it reacts as yours did, as the gismos get confused.

Solution:

1) Paint the inside of the cover with black paint
or
2) Draw the curtains/reduce the light

[Flybywyre]

The mobo is a ASRock K7S8X with a Athlon 2400 thoroughbred and I have one card of 256mb DDR 333. The mouse is a standard (not optical) 2 button PS/2. Properies are all correct and "assume wheel is present" is ticked. No conflicts.

Done a very recent AV scan and Spy Bot. No problems.
RAM is also working fine.
I am sure the clue is in the fact when I power up P2 it works perfectly. Turn P2 off and the mouse dies off within 2 minutes (note it is not instant) I have movement in the horizontal plane but the vertical plane gradually fades away to zero movement. Using a process of elimination I am begining to think that the mouse socket has a problem.

1) KVM switch has no problems
2) Mouse has no problems
3) RAM has no problems
3) No virus or spyware
4) No cabling problems
5) I only have this problem on P1
6) Problem persists even when mouse is plugged directly into P1
without the KVM switch

I am going to borrow / buy a USB mouse and see what happens.
Will report back to you

Thanks for your interest and help
FBW

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

TCS,

His mobo is the SiS 746FX Chipset. I do not believe that chipset supports Dual Channel Memory Mode. Now it is possible that an underpowered Power Supply could cause the issue though.

Flybywyre,

Switching from a PS2 Mouse to a USB Mouse will increase the refresh rate of the mouse from 40 times a second (PS2) to 120 times a second (USB). If you make a lot of mouse movements, you will really notice the difference.

I thought of another test for you. With Win98 make a bootable DOS Disk and load the mouse drivers on it. You could load a DOS based program like Ghost or a Memory Tester, or most BIOS Flash Utilities to see if you have the same mouse issues outside of Win98.

Take Care,

Richard

[Flybywyre]

Bought a USB optical mouse, just set it up and everything is working fine. Done a few tests and the problem still exists with the PS/2 mouse on P1. I can leave the old PS/2 mouse plugged in to the KVM switch (which in turn is plugged into the PS/2 port on P1 for KVM power) which works fine as the mouse for P2. It would seem that the problem lies with the PS/2 port on P1.
Thanks for all your help and advice
Regards
FBW

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Flybywyre,

I am glad to hear the USB Mouse solved for problem. (Even though it is only a walkaround.)

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. Now that you have an optical mouse, I am sure you will never want to go back to balls again.;)

[FJJP]

Richard, choice of mouse type is all down to personal preference. A few years ago I bought a completly new system from a local supplier and friend. Unfortunately, he supplied a trackerball instead if the intellimouse I had specified. He apologised and arranged for a new mouse within the day. In the meantime, I fired up the machine using the ball, and within minutes was completely sold on it.

I use optical and wired mice at work, and whilst I find the optical is preferable to the wired, I am about to buy a ball for my machine in the office. Anyone know if there is such a thing as an optical ball?

[Flybywyre]

Actually Richard it turned out to be "one step short" of a walk around. Turned it on ten minutes ago to find that the new USB optical mouse is dead, I have now had to revert back to the old mouse with the same old problem, it will only operate with P2 turned on. Going to work soon so I haven't got time to start messing about. I did notice something strange when replying to an Email a few minutes ago. When I stopped typing and scrolled down the page to check something, the cursor suddenly jumped down the page as well. It did this a couple of times but seems alright now.
So now I have a computer that will not operate the mouse unless it is connected to another computer that is turned on.
Over to you,
Confused of Maidenhead
:confused:

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Flybywyre,

If the USB Mouse is ever dead, just pull the Mouse out of the USB Port and plug it into another USB Port. That will solve the USB problem.

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. FJJP, it is all Personal Preference. ;) (The only Optical Ball I know of is an Optical Trackball.)

[Flybywyre]

Tried it in all 4 USB ports..........

dead

FBW :ugh:

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Flybywyre,

If you are having problems with both the PS2 Ports and the USB Ports, it might be time for either that clean install of your OS or a new motherboard. (If the fresh install does not work, then it is probably a problem with the motherboard.)

I would like to hear TCS, and FJJP's thoughts on it too.

Take Care,

Richard

[Flybywyre]

Latest developments..............
Spent the last 2 hours or so playing around and did the following. Connected the new USB mouse to P2 and everything worked fine. Back to P1, same problems, every USB port I tried came up with a Windows message saying the item is not recognised. Deleted all mouse drivers (only 2), turned it competely off and went to the garage to get some more beers. Ten minutes later turned it back on and it recognised the USB mouse and started working OK. Thought this was good but I realised that P2 was still turned on, so I turned it off, and........mouse on P1 died at the same time. No movement what so ever although the light underneath the mouse was on. Went to the loo, got another beer, sat back down and as I did I moved the mouse out of the way ........and .....there was a flicker of movement on the screen. Only slight at first, so I kept moving it and moving it around the desk, as I did so it became faster and more responsive. After about 2 minutes it is now working 100% and I am typing this post on P1 :D
This has really got me baffled
Regards
A happier FBW :D :D

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Flybywyre,

The more you describe it, the stranger it gets. It really does not sound like a healthy computer. I still think it is either a corrupted OS or a bad motherboard. (The only other thing I could think of is the Power Supply not providing enough juice. As in, it could have a RAIL that is failing.)

Take Care,

Richard

[Flybywyre]

:( :(

Back to normal this morning. Mouse dead on P1. gradually comes to life after about 5 minutes of moving it around the desk. Working fine at the moment. (although it does slow down if you leave it alone for 5 minutes, then it springs back into life after a few laps around the desk)

Regards
FBW

[Flybywyre]

Hello TCS...........

The red light on the bottom of the mouse is on, but the mouse does no work. (it's all working fine at the moment though)

I don't have another PSU that I can try but

OS is Windows XP PRO
Motherboard & processor is about 8 months old (ASRock K7S8X with a Athlon 2400 thoroughbred )

If you think unplugging the MB is worth a shot I will open the thing up and have a go. (what will this do ?)

Regards
FBW

[FJJP]

This is really wierd. Thinking aloud:

Have you got the setup to switch devices off or hibernate them to save power?

Are you using a surface with sufficient texture to allow the optical mouse to work properly?

Is there a device/software conflict?

Have you tried troubleshooting in device manager?

If you're using a USB hub, does it have its own independent power supply?

Does it work if the computers are completely disconnected?

Is the setup on one computer interfering with the other?

Have you tried a clean mouse driver install from the manufacturer's website?

(After the clean re-install, uninstall all other mouse software)

Sits back exhausted - sole remaining brain cell now in hibernation to recuperate!

Can't think of any other things to try...

Good luck - FJJP

[Flybywyre]

Hello FJJP...........

Are you using a surface with sufficient texture to allow the optical mouse to work properly? Yes

Is there a device/software conflict? No

Have you tried troubleshooting in device manager? Yes

If you're using a USB hub, does it have its own independent power supply? Direct into MB USB port

Does it work if the computers are completely disconnected? This is the really weird bit.......no

Is the setup on one computer interfering with the other? No

Have you tried a clean mouse driver install from the manufacturer's website?
No....but driver is the same and it would not affect the PS/2 mouse

Very odd..........especially as it is working perfectly now.......but will be dead when I power up tomorrow morning
:confused:
Regards
FBW

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Flybywyre,

The red light on the bottom of the mouse is on, but the mouse does no work.

Then it might not be hardware related.

Go to Start >> Control Panel >> System >> Hardware Tab >> Device Manager Button >> View >> Recourses by Connection

Then click on the [+] next to Interrupt Request (IRQ) and post every IRQ and every Device on each IRQ.

Take Care,

Richard

[stickyb]

Just a thought, but very heavy CPU usage by a high priority process can create the symptoms you are seeing of mouse not responding.

Have you tried running system monitor to see wht the usage is?

Do you have any sofware that intersacts between the 2 systems? How about file shares, especially over netbios.

What could be happening is that powering off one machine is causing the other system to spend all its available power searching or trying to do something like recover a file share?????

Anyone else care to speculate on this???

ed for sp

[Flybywyre]

Opened P1 up this morning, re-seated things, diconnected the MB etc and generally made sure everything looked in place.

Now I'm totally :mad:

Can't get either USB or PS/2 mouse to work under any circumstances, including safe mode. In fact the whole thing is :mad: because without the mouse it is unusable :{

The only thing I can think of is to replace the MB

If I do that will I also have to buy another HD in order to transfer the contents of my original HD ?

Had enough of all this now

FBW

[Flybywyre]

Thanks TCS............
Will do that in a few days time as I am away for a couple of days. Will a fully loaded HD connected to a new MB really work? If someone had asked me that question I would have said no and then told them that they need to reformat the drive, connect up and then reinstall the OS etc. Good news indeed if this is not the case.
Regards
FBW