I have been dealing with this mouse issue for two weeks. My original Dell wired mouse that came with my Dell XPS 8910 computer is not working. I have Windows 10 21H1, up to date. The light on the mouse is on, but the cursor is absent. When I plug it in any USB port, a message pops “Windows Explorer. USB device not recognized. The last USB device you connected malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it”, and I read “Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems (code 43). A request for the USB device descriptor failed”.
I have tried different USB ports, and I have tried with two different mouses. The USB ports seem OK because they work with other devices. The mouses are OK, because they work with two other different computers.
The Device Manager shows two, sometimes three “Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)” USB controllers. Uninstall of these does not fix the issue. A System Restore to August 2 2021 fixed the mouse for a few hours. When I tried another USB port for the mouse, the problem returned, so, I went back to the first USB port (where the mouse was plugged in during restore). Unfortunately, the issue came back a few hours later.
I have visited the “Mouse Usage and Troubleshooting Guide” several times. I have tried all the suggestions. The Dell SupportAssist app doesn’t find mouse issues. I have tried all suggestions for the “code 43” issue, without luck.
A few days ago, a computer technician came to my house to help. He did several diagnostics test, including one with Linux. He concluded that reinstalling Windows 10 was not a solution. At one point he said that he noticed static electricity. He opened the computer, changed the cell battery, reassigned external USB and HDMI devices to different USB ports. Three of the UBS ports in the rear were left empty. He said that there was a mixed up of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. The mouse USB cable went back to the rear port.
So far so good. Device manager still shows several unknowns and one with an exclamation sign. I accept this as solution to the mouse problem. Thanks to everyone.
It seems usb controller system file is corrupted. it may be difficult to pinpoint the exact issue and repair it. a much easier fix (drastic but efficient) is to do a fresh clean install of Windows 10 (after backing up your data).
I appreciate the suggestions of redxps630, Vic384, and XPS_Man. I have Windows 10 home.
I made a Windows file system check, but it did not solve the absent mouse cursor. I tried some of the suggestions at “6 Ways to Fix the “Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed) Error in Windows 10” without luck. Some procedures are imposible to do without the mouse.
I reinstalled Windows 10, but the problem is still here. I tried again reinstalling two “Unknown USB device” without luck.
Could I have a hardware issue? Is there a way to check? Thanks.
one way to check whether it is firmware or hardware issue independent of high level program/Windows is to test mouse function on the bios level. Press F2 to enter BIOS after power up. If BIOS is not able to detect mouse, or mouse cursor is still absent in UEFI, there is indeed a troublesome hardware problem.
A normal USB port/mouse should allow you to navigate/edit the UEFI bios before system boots into Windows.
If usb mouse is completely functional at bios level, there is no hardware issue with USB port. then the question regarding "I reinstalled Windows 10" is, did you do a fresh clean install of Windows by wiping the hard disk/ssd? I would do a clean install if not already done. a clean install deletes all old partitions on the hdd/ssd, creates new partition and formats the disk before installing Windows.
JPNuser
25 Posts
3074
1
Posted August 28th, 2021 08:00
A few days ago, a computer technician came to my house to help. He did several diagnostics test, including one with Linux. He concluded that reinstalling Windows 10 was not a solution. At one point he said that he noticed static electricity. He opened the computer, changed the cell battery, reassigned external USB and HDMI devices to different USB ports. Three of the UBS ports in the rear were left empty. He said that there was a mixed up of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. The mouse USB cable went back to the rear port.
So far so good. Device manager still shows several unknowns and one with an exclamation sign. I accept this as solution to the mouse problem. Thanks to everyone.