Mouse Trouble!

[BombayDuck]

After countless TAB key presses, I have arrived here.

Was given a USB mouse recently, and a PS2-to-USB connector was already attached to it. This I need, coz i dont want to use up USB slots which are already scarce on my PC. Problem is each time the computer is turned on, it refuses to believe there is a mouse around, and i have a frozen screen.

Earlier i was using a four year old serial (COM1) 3 button logitech mouse which i uninstalled to try to force the computer to recognize the new one, which it did but only once (showed "Microsoft PS2 Mouse")! Now Device manager shows no mice, and Add New Hardware Wizard doesnt include mice in its custom list. The mouse didnt come with drivers.

Oh, and I'm using Windows XP Pro.

So how do i get the mouse to work permanently? Any generic driver i need or something? Nothing wrong with the hardware coz it has worked one or two times in between, but it seems to lose it on each new boot.

[Lost_luggage34]

Worth checking that 'Legacy USB Support' is enabled in your BIOS - it often isn't.

Although you're connecting it to a PS2 connection it's still a USB device and may not get picked up properly at BIOS startup. I forget the finer details but worth a try.

As you say, you shouldn't really require separate drivers but out of curiosity what is the make/model ?

[Keef]

Simpler answer is to get a(nother) USB hub. I've got 6 ports on the machine, a 4-port hub inbuilt in the monitor, and an external 7-port powered hub. Not that all the ports are occupied, but the mouse gets to use one of the 6 on the machine.

Some devices are a bit fussy, but there's nothing tricky about sorting it.

Powered hubs are absurdly cheap on Ebay.

[BombayDuck]

Lost Luggage

I'll try that, thanks

Keef

I do not get much time these days to go out of my way to buy computer parts and fiddle 'round with them, else I wouldv'e done that first thing...

Thanks, both of you! If anyone else has any ideas, throw them at me!

[Keef]

Powered hub:
Ebay, Buy It Now, pay via Paypal, takes a couple of minutes.
Wait for postie to bring it (may take a week or so, longer if from Hong Kong).
Plug it in and let XP find it; plug in the mouse and let XP find it, takes a couple of minutes.
Job done.

[FJJP]

Hubs aren't outrageously expensive. Next time you pass a computer shop, pop in and 99% probable that they will have them in stock. Plug in, boot up and voila!

[BombayDuck]

Hubs aren't expensive, I know - my last computer had one that i'd installed myself. But now i dont have time to go to a shop / perform surgery as someone or the other is sitting at this comp all the time. so if i could fix the problem without a change in hardware it'd be great!

And yes, Legacy USB devices are enabled in the system bios.