Problem with Microsoft mouse not working on E1705

I have a Dell Inspiron E1705 notebook and I tried connecting an older Intellimouse Optical made by Microsoft through one of the USB ports and It doesn't seem to want to work or even recognize that something is plugged into the USB port. I've tried using the add new hardware wizard and tried it in multiple ports. I think the Synaptics touchpad might be interfering with my mouse even after I selected the option on the Synaptics mouse properties "Disable touchpad after a pointing device is detected" feature. I have gotten it to work at least 3 times already but it wont stay on for more than maybe 15 mins and If i try plugging it in after it shuts off, it just does nothing. I have used this mouse for several years on my Desktop computer and it still works just as great as when I got it. I have tried getting the drivers from the cd and also from microsoft for the mouse. It says its plug and play, and it being a microsoft mouse wouldn't you think it would be compatible? This is really making me mad. I know I should probably just buy a new one but in the meantime I would like to find a solution. Any help would be appreciated.