having mouse troubles

i'm a newbie so i'm sorry if this is phrased incorrectly.

i have a dell dimension dimc521- vista home premium - service pack 2 - 32 bit OS - HID compliant mouse

i can be doing anything on my pc and my mouse will stop working for no reason and then it will return, i've unplugged it and replugged it back in and sometimes that works. and then sometimes it goes out completely and i have to reboot it to get it return. i can see the pointer on the screen, but it doesn't respond

i asked a friend and they said that it might be the drivers, so i checked for updates on my drivers and the pc tells me i'm up to date

the same thing is happening on my compaq windows XP pc

it's very strange

now i'm kinda pc illiterate so any help will have to be very detailed for me to be able to do it

any help is greatly appreciated

thank you

Hi Felinesrus,

Welcome to Vista Forums!

First, try swapping mice (using one that you know works) to see if the problem moves from one PC to another. This should help us determine if the problem is the mouse or the computer. If the problem moves with the mouse but the computer using the "good" mouse works fine, then it's almost certainly a problem with the mouse and it may need to be replaced (but we can continue checking if you prefer to rule out other possible though unlikely options before buying a new mouse). Are you saying you have two different mice on different computers exhibiting exactly the same problem? Swapping those mice won't necessarily help (but do so if you have access to no others to see what happens) - you really need a mouse that you know works to do this test properly.

Next, go to Dell and download the most recent driver, firmware, and/or software for your mouse (despite what the PC is telling you and even if they say they are the same versions) and install the updates to replace what is on the system. Sometimes there may be problems so small they aren't detected but still affect how things work. If you provide your Service Tag Code I'll help you find them - or you can do so yourself (with the code, it's pretty easy to find exactly what you need). I'm assuming it's the mouse that came with the computer. If it was bought separately, go to the mouse manufacturer's site instead to get the driver, firmware, and/or software for it.

If that doesn't work, do you know when this problem began? Try a System Restore to a point in time BEFORE the problem began. Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html. Be sure to check the box to show more than 5 days of restore points. If the first attempt fails, then try an earlier point or two. NOTE: You will have to re-install any software and updates you installed between now and the restore point, but you can use Windows Update for the updates. Using only the keyboard without the mouse may make it a bit more difficult, but it can still be done.

If that doesn't work, try to boot into safe mode (repeatedly click the F8 key while booting and go to safe mode with networking).

Go to Start / All Programs / Accessories / Command prompt and right click on command prompt and click run as Administrator.

Type sfc /scannow and enter and let it run. It will scan and try to fix some of your system files. Hopefully it will complete with no corruption it could not repair (if there is such corruption post back here or try to analyze it to find the problem file(s) using http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228. Try to attach the report (you may need to copy it to your desktop before it will permit you to attach it) here so we can see if they can be repaired with good copies from the installation disk (unless there are too many).

While in Command Prompt, type chkdsk /f /r and enter and let it run. It will want to schedule itself to run at the next restart. Answer yes and then reboot to run the program. It will scan and try to fix any corruption or bad sectors on your hard drive and mostly remove that as a potential cause.

If that doesn't work, then please post any error messages from the Event Viewer concerning the mouse (Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Event Viewer). Here's how to use Event Viewer: http://www.petri.co.il/vista-event-viewer.htm. Look in the System section.

You may be infected with malware. Try to run anti-malware programs (in safe mode with networking if necessary). To fix this problem (if it is a problem) download, install, and run the following two programs: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php and http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html. You may also want to try the new, free Microsoft Security Essentials http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Microsoft-Security-Essentials-Download-131683.html (with the caveat that only ONE AV program can be installed and running on your system at any one time). Use removal tools when appropriate http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/05/05/comprehensive-list-of-uninstallers-or-removal-tools-for-antivirus-software/. You may also want to try the free Avira at: http://www.free-av.com/ and Avast at: http://www.avast.com/index. Reboot after completing all the scans. You may also want to try the free OneCare at http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/whatsnew.htm and let it run all the options (except the registry cleaner) because that’s good maintenance (it will take some time to complete but can be done in the background).

If that doesn't work, try a clean boot http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135. If the problem goes away then it's just a matter of tracking down the culprit causing the problem. Follow the procedures in the article. Once found, delete, remove, deactivate, or uninstall it. Once done be sure to reset Vista back to normal status as explained in the procedures. If the problem occurs in clean mode then just restore the system to normal status and reboot - this solution is not going to work.

Boot into Safe mode with networking and see if the problem occurs there. Either result helps us narrow down the search for the cause.

Let's regroup after this and see where things stand. You will have a file to attach as well as questions to answer and explanations of how each procedure went in your next reply. If the problem persists, we can decide where to go from there.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

Welcome
If it is the same mouse that is not working with 2 OS, I would try a new mouse for test purposes.

If it is happening on two separate computers, with different mouse, it could be the internet connection.

Try system restore

Try in safe mode

Try a clean boot
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Try a different port

i think i got it fixed
but it might happen again
i kept all your info you shared and if it happens again i'll be back
thanks so much for all your help

should i do the same for my xp pc to help that mouse too?

thanks again

whoop guess i was wrong
gonna try again tomorrow to tired now
thanks