I need serious help.

[johnkim]

When I put mouse cursor on start button, the start balloon does not show up.
Whenever this happens, my mouse left click does not work properly.
For example, if I click on internet explorer then the it opens however I can't click
anything on explorer. The blue color on top of explorer turns gray and nothing
happens.

When I do ctrl+alt+del to turn on task manager and click couple times on the
task manager screen then it goes back to normal.
Of course first mouse click doesn't work... it is second click on task manager
that will make it work properly.

I know this sounds so strange and unusual. But I'm just trying to explain the
situation as best as possible.

I tried different mouse/ new driver and so on. It has nothing to do with mouse
at all. I just thinking maybe something is running that prevent my mouse from
working properly. I checked virus and adware and everything.
I even format the hard drive more than 5 times but same problem still exists.

Please help.

 

[pauliewalnuts]

Unplug the mouse you're using, borrow somebody else's mouse, plug that borrowed one in, and see if the same problem manifests.

If so, holler back.

 

[Chase]

Unplug the mouse you're using, borrow somebody else's mouse, plug that borrowed one in, and see if the same problem manifests.

If so, holler back.

If that doesn't work,

It sounds like you may need to invest in a new mouse..

 

[johnkim]

I have already tried that with different mouse. Same thing happens. It's definately not a mouse issue.

 

[pauliewalnuts]

You formatted your hard drive, as in installed a completely new Vista OS and new software, and the problem duplicates?

 

[johnkim]

Yes. I formatted the hard drive and installed a completely new vista OS and all and the same problem still exists. Some say it can be a virus still resides in memory because when I formatted the hard drive I didn't unplug everything and waited 10 minutes.

 

[Jonathan_King]

First, the memory is cleared within seconds of losing power. In other words, you don't need to wait 10 minutes. As soon as the hard drive spins down, it's okay to boot back up again.

Second, where did you get your copy of Vista?

 

[johnkim]

My copy of vista is from Dell. I have vostros 400 system from Dell.

 

[Jonathan_King]

Try opening a command prompt with admin privileges and running sfc /scannow.

 

[pauliewalnuts]

Go to the Start menu while in regular mode and type "MSCONFIG". Open the startup tab. This is a list of all the programs Vista, through the registry, has commands to start up immediately. First, uncheck anything with an unknown publisher. Reboot. See if the problem persists.

Next, uncheck the unnecessary BS programs like any Dell Support programs. The Dell's support Services will be running, anyway, so these are a waste of bandwidth and compute cycles. Other BS programs to uncheck are Adobe update, Java update, and stuff like that.

 

[johnkim]

On startup tab, there is nothing there. I already deleted everything.

 

[johnkim]

First of all, I want to thank both Jonathan King and Pauliewalnuts for all the help.

I did sfc/scannow. But nothing happened. The problem still exists!

In both case, I reboot the computer. Still the same.

 

[Katokato]

I believe that this is a hardware issue. Are you able to run games fine (gpu check)? How about your hard drive, maybe you can run chkdsk (hdd check). Run memtest86 (memory test). and try to switch the ram sticks around the other sockets. Are you getting enough amperage from your power supply unit, you can go to eXtreme Power Supply Calculator get your wattage, and see if the watage used doesnt exceed max wattage output on your power supply unit? Make sure your drivers are correct/up to date. Does your computer still receive correct input when not using a mouse (i.e. controlling mouse with the keyboard)? Download and run speedfan to test if your computer temperatures are fine.
Try sfc /scannow in safe mode

Make sure you have vista sp1+ to get all of the correct drivers.

Go to: http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm and do the services tweaks.

Try speeding up the performance of vista: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/81176-speed-up-performance-vista.html?filter[11]=Performance%20Maintenance

Try using a ps/2 mouse if u using usb, or use usb mouse if using ps/2

I think this is a hardware problem, because 5 reformats/reinstalls shouldn't keep the problem going.

Run a malware scanner, malwarebytes is good, or you can try using avast home edition.

Do all of the above under safemode (repeatedly press f8 key right after bios hands control to hdd).

 

[johnkim]

Dear Katokato,

Thank you again for your input.

I also feel as though it is a hardware issue. I'm not sure which one is causing the problem.
1) I play madden 08 and when mouse is working fine... game runs just fine. I don't know how to check gpu. Can you please tell me how?
2) I did chkdisk... no problem.
3) I check memory... no problem.
4) I switched the ram stick around... same. I'm using 4 512MB ddr-2.
5) I tried extreme power supply calculator.... I got 223W I believe my dell vostro 400 comes with 350W.
6) All my drivers are up to date. Video, audio, network and mouse.
7) When I use keyboard, I have no problem selecting or moving around.
8) I tried different USB mouse... same problem. I don't have PS/2 port.
9) I did speedfan and results are:
Found ACPI temp (40c)
Fan 1: 1718 RPM
Fan 2: 0 RPM
Fan 3: 1092 RPM
Fan 4: 0 RPM
Fan 5: 0 RPM
Temp 1: 41c
2: 43c
3: -11c
HD0: 42c
Temp1: 40c
Core0: 35c
Core1: 34c
10) I tried sfc/scannow in safe mode.
11) I ran 3 different malware scanner... nothing found except cookies.

It took me long time to do all these. I learned a lot... But my problem is not going away.

*NOTE* When I booted in safe mode, I had no problem with mouse. Is this a hint of something?

Thank you all so much for all your help.... I hope I can find to problem.
All helps are greatly appreciated.

 

[Katokato]

Give us your system specifications, it could just be vista freezing due to slow hardware. Your temps are fine, you arent going over the maximum psu watttage. You can run games fine so then gpu is ok. If the hardware is fine then i presume it is slow hardware or something to do with the OS. Maybe explorer.exe is corrupt but i highly highly highly doubt it. Did you try the performance tweaks i posted lastly? Try speeding up the performance of vista: Speed Up the Performance of Vista[11]=Performance%20Maintenance

 

[johnkim]

Windows edition: Windows Vista Home Basic Service Pack 2
System: Manufacturer: Dell
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo CPU E4600 @2.4GHz
Memory: 2 GB
System: 32-bit

I'm doing Speed Up the Performance of Vista now! Thanks...

For a minute...I thought it was fixed. But when I reboot the computer....
same problem again!

 

[johnkim]

I went back to check to see if it worked in safe mode, sad to say... it was just that one time it worked on safe mode. I tried 5 times again and it didn't work.

When I put mouse on taskbar at the bottom... on clock-date does not come up
on desktop I can click on right button but on taskbar that doesn't work... and again when I put the cursor on start button, star balloon does not show. When this happens I can't use my left click on mouse... on internet explorer (background color is blue) when I click blue turns gray and nothing happens.

 

[Chase]

I went back to check to see if it worked in safe mode, sad to say... it was just that one time it worked on safe mode. I tried 5 times again and it didn't work.

When I put mouse on taskbar at the bottom... on clock-date does not come up
on desktop I can click on right button but on taskbar that doesn't work... and again when I put the cursor on start button, star balloon does not show. When this happens I can't use my left click on mouse... on internet explorer (background color is blue) when I click blue turns gray and nothing happens.

Can you click and access your Desktop Icons

But if not, try this anyway,

Press the Windows key + R

Type: msconfig

Hit Enter

Click the "Services" tab

Check the box that says "Hide all Microsoft Services"

Click the "Disable All" button

Click "Apply" and "OK"

You will be prompted to restart, do so.

After the restart see if you can click the start tab.

 

[johnkim]

Dear Americano,

When I disable all button and restart i was able to click the start tab.
But when I reboot to see if it still worked... I was not able to click start tab.
I went to check msconfig, all are still disable.

Where should I go from here?

By the thank you for your help!~

 

[Chase]

Dear Americano,

When I disable all button and restart i was able to click the start tab.
But when I reboot to see if it still worked... I was not able to click start tab.
I went to check msconfig, all are still disable.

Where should I go from here?

By the thank you for your help!~

Okay, so obviously there is some program or service that is preventing you from being able to use the Start Tab.. We just have to find out which program or service it is.

We should be able to do this through the process of elimination.

It would probably be best to do this while disconnected from the internet.

Try enabling all services, rebooting, and doing the procedure to disable them again.

Check to see if the Start Tab is working...

If so, start enabling one service at a time. Check to see if the Start Tab works after enabling each one. Eventually you should find the service that is causing the problem. After you have found it, we can take steps for removal/repair.