Okay, this may sound goofy, but I've had other Kensington products (i.e. trackballs). Usually, I had to install their software/drivers to get mine to work. Have you downloaded the latest from their website?

Good Luck,

Jen

Since the mouse does not work on other systems, its likely that there is a problem with the mouse itself.  However, you should try changing/resetting the radio channel for the mouse first, if the mouse supports this.  There is usually a button on the receiver and on the mouse and both need to be pressed in a certain sequence (check mouse manual).  If this doesn't work, check to see if the sensor light on the bottom of the mouse is on (Bad battery check).  If everything seems in order and the mouse still doesn't work, send it back for an exchange or refund.  (I use a Micro Innovations notebook cordless optical and have been very pleased with it.)

JK 

The first action I took was to download the latest MouseWorks drivers from the Kensington web site. It did not help.

I tried to sync the mouse and receiver up by pushing the button on the receiver then pushing and holding the button on the mouse as directed on the Kensington web site. They sync up OK but the mouse still does not work. This was the case for all the other systems I attempted with the Mouse. Everything is reported installed and working but the mouse does not control the cursor.

I have yet to search for and download any latest drivers for the Synaptics Touchpad, Windows OS, Dell peripherals, yadda-yadda-yadda.

I would like to return the mouse and get a refund but Dell wants me to return my laptop so they can fix(?) it.

 

Joe

I only ask this because my Mensa-member wife did this, and I still tease her about it.

Are the batteries in the mouse correctly?

Actually, she didn't put batteries in the mouse at first, and then put them in backwards, but it's something to check - try reversing them or something.

She screws things up so infrequently that it's really nice being able to say "are there any batteries in it?"  I've learned to dodge the flying staplers!

Just a thot...

Glen
i8500
2.2GHz P4m
512Mb RAM
Radeon m9000

Eschew misoneism.

Any input is appreciated. I believe the batteries are installed properly. The little red light is flashing under the mouse. The mouse is recognized but that could be just the USB receiver responding to the OS and does not necessarily mean the mouse is functional. Although, I would think that the receiver would report that no device is connected if the mouse had no batteries or the receiver could not sync up to the mouse. However, you bring up a good point. If I remove the batteries from the mouse and the Dell still reports everything is OK, that might be a clue to someone. It would be a clue to me that the mouse is not working but the clue to Dell is that the Touchpad is not working even though it is.

I have little experience with hardware and software that is supposed to be plug-and-play not really being plug-and-play. I am somewhat computer literate but have never seen this failure. I suppose just because I purchased the mouse at the same time as my Dell doesn't necessarily mean that Dell tested them together before they shipped. (Hmmmmm...maybe that's how they get their computers out the door so fast!!) I pity Dell's poor customers who expect to unpack their computer, turn it on, and have it work. Of course, if it doesn't, then Dell's response is "just send it back and we'll get it to work for you".

 

Joe

My father has that exact mouse on a Latitude D800/Inspiron 8600. No problems.

Maybe try and put a different set of batteries in there? It's possible that the batteries they included were dead.

You may want to try fresh batteries just to make sure, my mouse will lose connection but the optical sensor will still be lit when the batteries are low.  If this doesn't resolve the issue, its very likely that there is a hardware problem with the mouse itself.  In dealing with Dell on returning the mouse call Customer care rather than tech support and let them know that you would simply like to return the mouse and that tech support wants you to send the system in to repair a nonexistent problem.

JK

JK,

Thanks for your input. I had a very enlightening day yesterday. After about 2 hours on the telephone with Tech Support, it was determined that I need to disable the Touchpad but apparently my brand spanking new system does not match what Tech Support recognizes so we could not figure out how to do that. I was transferred to "external peripheral support" so someone could help me disable my touchpad. That gave me an automated message menu requesting that I pay money for "external peripheral support". I hung up.

Then I sent an email to Customer Care reporting that I did not receive a "Dell Resource CD" so I could not run diagnostics which was the first request from a Tech Support email last week (I won't bore everyone with the details but I've been at this for some time). The response was that this was not a "technical" issue and my request had been forward to Tech Support.

Dell is getting closer to the result they want. Pass me around until I give up and go away. It appears my only recourse is to whine on this forum to at least make me feel better but I have no hope of actually resolving my problem. I appreciate everyone's input and, quite frankly, the suggestions scare me. Is this a reflection on what I can expect in support from Dell??

Joe

JK,

Yeah, I disabled my Synaptics touchpad that way and lost everything. I had to reboot several times before it came back. I thought it quite strange that one would have to disable the touchpad to get mouse functionality. I may take your advice and just eat the loss. CompUSA has a nice laptop kit that includes the USB mouse, a lock cable, and other neat stuff for the same price as the Kensington junk.

Joe

You shouldn't need to disable the touchpad for the mouse to work.  I've have 2 different brands of USB mice, both wireless, that work fine with my 5150 without disabling the touchpad.  I imagine Dell support told you to disable the touchpad through the BIOS.  On this system disabling the touchpad cannot be done this way.  If you would like to disable it for testing anyway, here is how to do it: Access the mouse properties window, either through the control panel or through the synaptics icon (sloppy red circle) on the task bar; select the device settings tab, highlight the synaptics touchpad entry and click disable right below it.  Note that to re-enable it, you will need a known good mouse or use the windows key and tab/arrows on the keyboard.  While frustrating, it may reduce stress levels to simply write it off as a loss and purchase another model of mouse from a local store.  For my portable external mouse I use a Micro Innovations wireless optical notebook mouse I bought from CompUSA.

JK

 

Edit: Oops!  I see you have tried this already.  I suggest you exchange the mouse to see if it's simply broken.

I  have the same mouse on my Inspiron 8600 and it worked perfectly without any setup other than standard microsoft wheelmouse drivers.  There is one thing that might help:  There is a small reset button on the USB dongle.  Press it!  Mine appears dead until I click that reset, then all is well.

Hope that helps!

Message Edited by my_screen_name on 03-17-2004 02:35 PM

The fact that another USB device works on my Inspiron USB Port and my Kensington mouse does _not_ work on another machine is not enough to slow down Dell. I've already come to the conclusion that I was sold a broken mouse but the $50 is not worth the continued aggravation (which is what I assume Dell wants me to conclude). I've done everything including syncing up the mouse with the little button on the receiver, pushing the little reset button on the bottom of the mouse per Kensington web site instructions, trying both USB ports, and trying the mouse on another computer. I have not tried to feed it some cheese. Perhaps it is hungry and refuses to work until it is fed.

The technical conclusion is that the software drivers are refusing to let go of the fact that there already is a pointing device plugged into the PS2 mouse port (internally by the Touchpad) and regardless what drivers are installed the touchpad is _always_ enabled. The touchpad works with it's own drivers, works with Kensington drivers, and works with Windows built in mouse drivers. That is why I hesitate to buy yet another mouse and have it recognized by all the hardware but the software still uses the Touchpad.

Joe

On this system, because the touchpad runs on the internal PS/2 connection, and there are no external PS/2 connections to switch to in the Bios, it is impossible for the touchpad to not be at Least recognized by XP without physically disconnecting the connector inside the computer.  This generally does not cause any incompatibility problems with USB plug and play mice because they use a different bus.  The normal operation is for an external mouse and the touchpad to work concurrently....that is you can be using the mouse and switch directly to the touchpad without changing any settings, disabling the mouse in the driver is simply a function for people who accidently touch the pad while typing etc..  From the Symptoms you are describing, I am 99% percent sure that you got a bad mouse..plain and simple.  I would buy a mouse, possibly even the same model, from a store with a friendly return policy, and try it out, worst case you can return it and you are no worse off than you are now.  If it works you end up with a functional mouse and have ammunition for dealing with Dell on this issue.

JK 

Perhaps you can easily borrow a regular USB mouse from someone -- it doesn't need to be wireless.  That could narrow the problem down to software or the physical mouse itself.

Just as a final update to this issue. I purchased a pretty neat package at CompUSA that includes a USB optical wireless mouse, a notebook light, and a security cable. The mouse works just fine! All for the same price Dell charged me for the defective Kensington mouse.

Now, let's see if I can get my money back from Dell. Thank you all for your suggestions.

Joe