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397681
Left-click mouse button not working
My mouse has suddenly lost most of its functionality. Most especially, the left button has stopped working altogether except that it occasionally allows me to hightlight text and grab a dialog box to move it. Trying to navigate using the tab and arrow keys and the right mouse button and scroll wheel just aren't cutting it, especially since I need to be able to work in my various graphics programs. I tried a different mouse and changed USB ports, same problem. Restoring to an earlier restore point didn't work, either. The Device Manager says the mouse is working properly. A search for an updated mouse driver says that the best driver for my mouse is already installed. I tried to do a repair install using my CD, but when rebooting, the computer just ignores the CD, and I don't know how to do this manually. I'm on Vista Home Premium, 32-bit. Computer is a Dell Dimension C521. I don't know if it's relevant, but this happened just after I made a download from this page: http://homepage2.nifty.com/~mr_trout/models/poserModel.html However, in CG circles, this is known as a reputable site, and I've downloaded from it before without any problems. Sure would appreciate any help - this is driving me crazy! Thanks.
keithg2
935 Posts
1
April 30th, 2009 05:00
It's possible you have a corrupt Mouse registry entry.
Try Start/Run/regedit and find the HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Mouse entry. Backup that entry by doing a File/Export. Delete the Mouse entry under Control Panel, reboot and let Vista redetect and build that entry.
OldMom
68 Posts
1
May 1st, 2009 19:00
Anyway, I did try canned air on both of the mice earlier, but never thought of doing it around the mouse buttons. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if you were right - especially since I'm always cleaning dog hair out of something. Alas, I'm out of air now and forgot to get any while I was in town. But here's the lastest:
My tech's shop was closed all day, so I wandered around WalMart this afternoon instead. Since it was returnable, I decided to splurge and buy a Logitech Cordless Optical Mouse and give it a try. And because I do a lot of computer graphics, I'm always trying to get that danged cord out of the way, but cordless mice that I've used in the past have always been too heavy and clunky for my delicate little hand. LOL.
It works! It works! It works! I don't know why; I don't care why. It works, and that's what matters to me right now. Wheeeee!
Thank you sooooo much, Ron, and everyone else who tried so hard to help me. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate that. You're the best!
OldMom
68 Posts
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April 28th, 2009 13:00
Mary G
2 Intern
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20.1K Posts
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April 28th, 2009 13:00
Simple answer--replace the mouse. It's just another piece of hardware that can fail. I have 2 drawers full of them! :emotion-5:
OldMom
68 Posts
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April 28th, 2009 22:00
Thanks!
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
Community Manager
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54.2K Posts
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April 29th, 2009 07:00
Does the mouse work in safemode?
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
Community Manager
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54.2K Posts
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April 29th, 2009 12:00
I think you should try to do a complete reinstall of the operating system before spending money getting hardware replaced. To boot from the CD, you can reboot and press F12 and choose CD/DVD or go into the bios and change the boot order. Go here for more help doing this.
OldMom
68 Posts
0
April 29th, 2009 12:00
BTW, I've now tried an install repair as well as a restart using the last best configuration, and still no changes.
It's beginning to seem that this is some kind of hardware problem and that I'll need to take the computer to a repair shop. Figures, since my two-year warranty just ran out. :(
What do you think?
Julzie
381 Posts
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April 29th, 2009 13:00
This is probably going to sound silly, but is it a PS/2 or a USB mouse? Reason I'm asking is that if it's PS/2 maybe you could try a USB mouse, or if it's USB try a PS/2? Or perhaps a different USB port.
It sounds like it could be the port itself.
OldMom
68 Posts
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April 29th, 2009 14:00
No, it doesn't sound at all silly, Julz. I have a PS/2 mouse around here somewhere, and it's definitely worth a try. Though I think I recall wanting to use it when I first got the computer instead of the one that came with it, and the either the computer or Vista wouldn't recognize it. I had the same problem with my USB hub. Still, I do know a little bit more about drivers and such than I did back then, so if I can find the mouse, it's worth a try.
I did try switching USB ports for both my Dell and Microsoft mice, to no avail. In fact, the Device Manager acknowledges only the Microsoft mouse. If there's a driver for the Dell mouse, I can't find it, either on my computer or at Dell.
Thanks so much to both of you for your ideas.
Edited to add: I take back what I said about the mouse driver. I did find and install one from Dell, but the Device Manager still doesn't recognize it the Dell mouse, which is the one I'm using now. In fact, it has a tiny bit more functionality than the Microsoft mouse does.
RoHe
10 Elder
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43.6K Posts
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April 29th, 2009 15:00
Here's another silliy question... Do any USB devices work now? Or is it only USB mice that are DOA?
Try pressing Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK which is the Vista shortcut to turn mouse keys off / on. :emotion-5:
You could try reinstalling the USB drivers before you start a full reformat/reinstall. Manually set a System Restore point, to be safe. Then open Device Manager, and use the keyboard to navigate down to USB. Press the -> arrow to expand the list under USB. Move down to each item, press Shift + F10 to display the context menu (eg, like right-clicking) and select uninstall. When everything USB is uninstalled, reboot and let Vista reinstall the USB drivers.
Ron
OldMom
68 Posts
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April 29th, 2009 22:00
It's only a bunch of dead little USB mousies. Other things, such as thumb drives, work just fine.
I really appreciate your suggestions. I tried them, but still no joy.
Despite suggestions to reinstall the OS, I think I'm going to try the hardware repair route first. In addition to all my programs and data files, I also have literally hundreds of elements that would need to be reinstalled individually and organized in one of my 3D graphics programs. If I can possibly avoid going through that tedious process, it's probably worth a try.
Thanks very much, everyone. I'll post back here if and when I finally get resolution of some kind. Wish me luck!
BianchiBoy
26 Posts
0
April 30th, 2009 05:00
If it's a USB mouse, just try humouring it by plugging it into another USB port.
OldMom
68 Posts
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April 30th, 2009 09:00
Thanks anyway, BianchiBoy, but I've been there and done that several times.
OldMom
68 Posts
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April 30th, 2009 10:00
Question:
If I do a Vista HP OS reinstall from my OEM disc, will all my files and directories remain in place? Or will they disappear the way they would if I roll back to factory settings? If the former, I'm willing to give that a try before deciding definitively that this is a hardware problem.