Tried multiple times. No go.

My Logitech MX1000 is a laser mouse that can be used either on USB or PS/2. But I make no promises that it'll work on your system. I use it via USB on my Dimension 8400.

Have you tried using a different USB port on rear of the tower. Pick one that's not in the same row where the USB keyboard is connected, assuming that's what you have.

Didn't your laser mice come with a CD to install the drivers? That's were you should be pointing the hardware wizard, not to folders on the hard drive.

Don't know how long you been messing with this, but if it's only a few days, do a system restore to last date available before your very first attempt to install USB drivers either of these mice. That'll get you a clean system and you can start over.

Ron

Message Edited by RoHe on 01-11-2008 06:19 PM

That's what's so frustrating. I've done it all. System Restore, specific software and drivers (the G3 is designed to work with windows drivers, tried with the microsoft and no good.) I've tried every USB port on the computer. I'm a very experienced computer user, but this is driving me insane. Only a Microsoft product would work so poorly.

The problem is that windows DOES NOT recognize the mouse as a mouse. I've checked the drivers against what should be there according to device manager on the laptop. It's all there! Both HID drivers and mouse drivers.

Try the generic fix for USB problems. Disconnect all USB devices, except mouse and keyboard. Open Device Manager and expand list under USB. Right-click and uninstall all USB entries. Exit Device Manager and reboot. XP should reinstall the ports.

Maybe I missed it, but do you know this mouse actually works via USB on a different PC?

Ron

Well, tried that. Now nothing works. No keyboard. No Mouse. No USB at all.

I'm using an old PS/2 mouse and keyboard and can't connect to the internet because my wireless is USB. I am posting this on my laptop. It says it can't find the drivers for the USB devices when it tries to install them.

And yes, the mouse works fine on my other computer.

edit: even when I put in the dell recourse CD, it cannot find the drivers for the USB controllers.

edit: I apparently don't have the correct recourse CD, and I have no other way of getting drivers to that computer as I HAD been using a flash drive that worked with my WORKING usb ports. My laptop doesn't have a CD burner on it.

So, at this point I think I'm shafted. Will stuff start working again if I just format and start over? I don't have the DELL Windows disk, but I do have an old copy of Windows XP SP1 from the MSDN library (October 01...about three or four years before I bought this computer) that may or may not work with my serial number.

Message Edited by TheSkilletHead on 01-12-2008 03:20 PM

:(

Reboot and press F8 before XP starts to load. Select 'Last Known Good'. See if that gives you back USB ports. If it doesn't, you need Dell's XP SP2 Reinstalltion CD. You can request it here:

http://snipurl.com/1x9l3

The Dell resources CD doesn't have USB drivers, they're part of XP.

When you get the CD, first try a system file check. If that doesn't do it, you can try a Repair/Reinstall. Neither will harm personal files, but you will have to reinstall XP updates and fixes again after a Repair/Reinstall.

If still no go, and assuming your system was shipped after July 14, 2004, you should have Dell's PC Restore on the hard drive. It will reset the drive to exactly the way Dell shipped it, but you must back up all personal files to CD first because they will be lost. And after PC Restore you have to reinstall all Microsoft updates and fixes again for all Microsoft products.

The last alternative is to reformat the hard drive and do a clean install of XP.

Ron

How do I get to the Dell PC Restore? Is it a program within windows or what? My computer was ordered in 05 from what I can remember.

Reboot and press Ctrl-F11 before XP starts to load. Follow the prompts.

Remember, all personal files, all Microsoft XP, IE, Office updates, and any software you installed will be lost, so be sure to back up your stuff on CD/DVD first. Don't forget email address book and browser favorites list. And be prepared to download and install about 90 updates.

If you're brave, there's a 310MB beta version of XP SP3 available for download that includes all the updates released since SP2.

Ron

Message Edited by RoHe on 01-12-2008 04:01 PM

Thanks for the advice. I borrowed a copy of the windows XP startup disk from a friend and I'm going to try the system restore. If that fails, I'll see about that factory settings restore.

I borrowed a copy of the windows XP startup disk from a friend and I'm going to try the system restore.

---

Doesn't sound legal to me.

System Restore or PC Restore?? You don't need a CD to do a System Restore (an XP feature) or to run Dell's PC Restore. You need a CD to do a Repair/Reinstall, and you will have to reinstall all XP updates again.

Ron

At the end of the day, I am using a legal serial number to windows (i DO NOT pirate software... i have found that open source is often times better anyway) and the disk is a legit backup copy.

So to update farther, the disk did not work as it appears it may have been a backup to a system that my friend had that had IDE hard drives, as the SATA drive is not booting correctly (loads windows XP splash screen and restarts), so I ordered a USB to SATA adapter off newegg and I am going to get my personal files off it and use the CTRL+F11 factory image to restore it. The only really valuable thing on the hard drive is pictures. All my documents are backed up via docsyncer to google docs, I have CDs of all my music, I don't use Microsoft Office anymore in favor of Open Office so I don't need that serial number, and I use the foxmarks extension for firefox to save my bookmarks online.

Thanks a lot for all your help. It may seem like a lot for a mouse, but it'll be well worth the effort. That ps/2 mouse was driving me insane.