Troubleshooting External Mouse Difficulties on Portable Systems in Windows 95

Possible causes:

• The mouse is poorly connected to the computer.
• The mouse connector has bent or broken pins
• The PS/2 mouse port is disabled in CMOS or the serial mouse port is incorrectly identified.
• The mouse ball and the rollers are dirty.
• Various mouse settings in Windows 95 are set incorrectly.
• Windows 95 is not correctly identifying the mouse.
• The mouse is trying to load with non-Windows 95 drivers.
• The internal mouse works but the external will not.

Basic mouse troubleshooting external mouse:

Mouse connection loose or disconnected - Make sure that the mouse is properly connected to the computer system. While the system is powered off, unplug the mouse from the computer. Look down into the plug end of the mouse. Make sure none of the pins are bent or pushed further back into the plug than any of the others. Plug the mouse back into the system and power the system back on.

Mouse connected to the proper place on the computer - Make sure the mouse is plugged into the correct place on the back of the system. If using a PS/2 splitter received with your computer from Gateway 2000, the mouse connection and the keyboard connection look identical. From the back of the system, plug the mouse or keyboard into one of the PS/2 connectors available.

Mouse identification in CMOS - If the connection on the system is secure and the pins are correctly aligned, the mouse port may not be correctly identified or enabled in CMOS. Reference the Userís Manual on how to enter the CMOS setup program. Make sure that the mouse port is enabled if the mouse is a PS/2 mouse. If the system has a serial mouse, make sure that the COM port corresponding to the mouse is identified with the correct settings (e.g., COM1 is 3F8h and COM2 is 2F8h).

Try another mouse - If the connections on the system are secure and CMOS is correctly configured, try another mouse on this computer. If another mouse is not readily available, try the mouse on another system. If the problem stays with the mouse, it may be defective.

Clean the mouse ball and the rollers - A dirty mouse causes the mouse pointer to jump across the screen or not respond to input. Turn the mouse over and remove the cover that holds the mouse ball in place. Clean the mouse ball and rollers with a lint free cloth or cotton swab. Remove any lint buildup from the rollers. Replace the mouse ball and cover. Try the mouse again.

Resolving mouse difficulties external mouse:

Mouse drivers - If the mouse is loading drivers from any directory other than Windows, the mouse will act erratically, cause errors, and intermittently not respond. To verify the mouse driver location, right click the My Computer icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Click the word Properties that appears on the menu. The System Properties window appears. Across the top of the screen are four tabs: General, Device Manager, Hardware Profiles, and Performance. Click the Device Manager tab to open it. A list of the computers' components appears on the left hand side of the screen. Click the + symbol beside Mouse to view the type of mouse Windows 95 is currently identifying. Click the mouse listed, then click the Properties button on the lower right hand side of the window. Across the top of the mouse properties window are three tabs: General, Driver, and Resources. Click the Driver tab to view these settings. In the Driver files window at the top of the screen the directory for the mouse drivers is listed. It should be listed as C:\WINDOWS\... with other directories listed after this.

If the directory listed is not C:\WINDOWS\..., click the OK button at the bottom of this window to return to the System Properties window. Click the mouse type again to highlight it, then click the Remove button at the bottom center of the window. The Confirm Device Removal window appears stating that the mouse is about to be removed from the system. Click the OK button to continue. Press the Tab key on the keyboard until the Close button is highlighted in the lower left hand side of the screen. Press Enter to continue. Press the Windows 95 logo key on the keyboard to open the Start menu. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight Shut Down. The Shut Down Windows screen appears. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight Restart the computer and press Enter to continue. As Windows 95 restarts, the New Hardware Found window appears as the system detects the mouse and installs the mouse. If the mouse still does not respond, continue to the next section of this document.
If the directory listed is C:\WINDOWS\..., click the OK button at the bottom of this window to return to the System Properties window. Click the Close button at the bottom of the screen and proceed to the next section of this document.

Mouse settings - If the mouse settings are changed, the mouse may behave erratically or not as expected. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Click the word Settings that appears on the menu. Click the word Control Panel to open it. Double click the Mouse icon to open the Mouse Properties. Across the top of the screen are four tabs: Buttons, Pointers, Motion, and General. The Buttons screen is open at the top. Make sure there is a bullet in the circle beside Right-handed in the Button configuration at the top of the screen. At the bottom of the screen, use the Test area: to adjust the Double-click speed of the mouse and use the slider bar to adjust the speed as necessary. Click the Pointer tab at the top of the window. In the Scheme box, click the down arrow beside the current setting. Use the scroll bar on the right hand side to scroll to the top of the list. Click the word (None) to select it. Click the Motion tab at the top of the window. Set the Pointer speed slider bar to the center setting. In the Pointer trail section of the screen, make sure there is not an X in the box beside Show pointer trails. Once any necessary changes are made, click the OK button at the bottom of the screen to return to the Windows 95 desktop.

Adjust the Advanced Graphics Settings slider indicator as needed - Adjusting the Advanced Graphics Settings slider can correct mouse problems ranging from error messages to erratic mouse movement. To get to the Advanced Graphics Settings slider indicator, right click the My Computer icon in the upper left hand corner of the Windows 95 desktop. Click the word Properties that appears on the menu. Across the top of the System Properties window are four tabs: General, Device Manager, Hardware Profiles, and Performance. Click the Performance tab to open that window. Click the Graphics button at the bottom center of the window. Use the following list to adjust the settings as desired.

• Full allows full utilization of the acceleration features available to the display driver.
• The 2/3 mark corrects some mouse pointer display problems.
• The 1/3 mark corrects some display errors.
• "None" corrects problems if the system stops responding to input or other severe problems.
• Microsoft Windows 95 Resource Kit by Microsoft Press page 571

Once the adjustments are made, click the OK button at the bottom of the window. Click the Close button at the bottom of the System Properties window. The System Settings Change window appears prompting to restart the computer. Click the Yes button to restart Windows 95.

Newly added hardware - If a new hardware device was recently added to the system, such as a modem, scanner, etc., remove the new device to see if the mouse functions properly. If the mouse starts working correctly, the new device is conflicting with the mouse. Contact the manufacturer for assistance configuring the device.

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