MYSTERY USB MOUSE(S) INTERMITTENTLY WORKING NOW STOPPED WORKING

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This is an ongoing problem. I have been all over google, microsoft forums, and even the 4 year olds on youtube. Nothing works so far. Here is the situation:

 

 

Dell Insprion 64-bit about 4 years old, Windows 7. Was using my original infallable Dell USB corded mouse. Then it started to only work intermittently, and stop for periods of time, on and off. So I bought a new (cheap) wireless mouse and it would jump around crazy and/or delay uselessly so I set it aside. Then the Dell worked again just fine for a period of time. Then it stopped. So I bought another (cheap) corded mouse. It worked great until it, too started working only intermittently and stopping for periods of time. I would change between the Dell and newer corded mouse when one would stop working.

 

 

I found that the USB connection seemed to be loose - I could jiggle the connection and the mouse would work until I bumped it and then some more jiggling would fix it again. The sound the computer makes to signal a new connection would go on as it jiggled in and out. This worked for awhile trading between mice when one just wouldnt jiggle right anymore. Though the USB connection seems to be loose, everything else I plug into the USB ports works fine.

 

 

Now no mouse works at all ever. They don't work in any of my 3 USB ports. I changed the battery on the wireless. Even tried a borrowed wireless mouse. The light goes on all of the mice but the pointer just sits there. The corded mice and the borrowed wireless do work in other computers.

 

 

I have had several opportunities to reboot the computer with a mouse connected and/or disconnected.

 

 

Everything the computer says shows that the device and USB are all working properly. There are never any error messages.

 

 

I tried unchecking the box to "allow computer to turn off the device to save power" under USB Root Hub in device manager. Rebooted. Didn't fix it. Checked it again, rebooted, same.

 

 

I did the mouse driver update and it is all up to date.

 

 

I scanned to verify if the systems (using command - smf/scannow, but only did the verify part first) and it said it found nothing wrong.

 

 

I took the battery out for 15 minutes and put it back in. No change.

 

 

I have not made any major (or minor) changes to my computer nor changed the antivirus, which is all scanned up to date, and this problem started about a year ago. (No, my hair isn't quite all pulled out yet.)

 

 

I have read other suggestions but don't know what applies to my strange situation and am scared to start changing things in BIOS, deleting things in device manager hoping they will reinstall themselves, making any changes to the registry or messing in these digital worlds that are foreign to me. I have backed up the registry, the part that says HKEY LOCAL MACHINE but am scared to proceed. (I did search for the mouclass entry but didn't find it)

 

 

Is this weird problem familiar to anyone? The loose connection thing has me baffled - it used to work by jiggling the cord at the connection and now it doesn't, but other devices all work fine in the USB ports, no jiggling required, ever. It seems to me it's a physical problem with the USB port but for some reason the mice are more sensitive to it as the other devices (external HD and thumb drives) are fine. Is that possible? If so, fixing loose usb ports is a whole different subject! Suggestions??

 

 

Thanks!

 

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