You might try looking in the device manager and see if there is a usb mouse listed under mice and remove it if you no longer use it.

Thanks for the try, but I checked there, and no USB device is listed under device manager, and all of the ports say that they are working.

i know it doesn't seem related but I'm wondering if your bluetooth card is working.  It looks at the internal bluetooth card as a usb device. I had this problem, changed the bluetooth card and the problem went away. 

Thanks to "itpatchy" and others who emailed me regarding this problem. Most of you had success in replacing the Bluetooth module, which is recognized as a USB device. For me, and a few others, this did not work, so Dell replaced the motherboard (evidently the Bluetooth "socket" was bad). Anyway, this finally resolved the issue.

FYI: The way we finally determined what the problem was, was by going into the Dell configuration menu at startup (repeatedly hit the F2 key during system start (Dell logo on screen)). On page 3 of 7, the Bluetooth device read "Not installed." Also, after you're in Windows, look under Device Manger: USB controller, there should be a "Dell TrueMobile Bluetooth Module." If it is not there, and it should be, then you have found you problem.

When you call tech support, you may need to tell them all of this and refer them to this page, as very few of them seem to be aware of this problem and its solution.

Hope this helps. I consider this thread now closed. Thanks to everyone who helped solve this issue.

Message Edited by sherpa29 on 04-12-2004 09:31 PM

This is the same thing that has happened to me twice now. Both times it was the bluetooth card.  Replaced the card under warrenty once and bought one the second time for $29.00 I think.  Both times replacing the card fixed the problem.  See if your bluetooth card is working and you can try to disable the function in the bios to test your card