GPS is NOT a mouse

[Lars]

Hi group,

Since some time I use a GPS receiver that plugs in to the
USB port and on which is run a USB-to-serial bridge thing.
This gives me an artificial com port 5 in W2K pro.

If I have the GPS plugged in during boot up Windows mistakes
this to be serial mouse. The mose arrow flies around the
screen opening and closing windows at random. I have to
unplug the GPS and reboot to straighten things out.

Is there some way I could tell Windows once and for all that
I do not use an external mouse at all?

This is a Thinkpad laptop and I use only the "IBM nipple"
for mouse things.


Lars
Stockholm

 

[Rick]

Hi group,

Since some time I use a GPS receiver that plugs in to the
USB port and on which is run a USB-to-serial bridge thing.
This gives me an artificial com port 5 in W2K pro.

If I have the GPS plugged in during boot up Windows mistakes
this to be serial mouse. The mose arrow flies around the
screen opening and closing windows at random. I have to
unplug the GPS and reboot to straighten things out.

Is there some way I could tell Windows once and for all that
I do not use an external mouse at all?

This is a Thinkpad laptop and I use only the "IBM nipple"
for mouse things.

You can try the /noserialmice switch in boot.ini, it may or
may not work. Please post back with your results.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q131/9/76.asp
(The same procedure works for NT/Win2K/XP.)

Rick

 

[Mike Brown]

Hi group,

Since some time I use a GPS receiver that plugs in to the
USB port and on which is run a USB-to-serial bridge thing.
This gives me an artificial com port 5 in W2K pro.

If I have the GPS plugged in during boot up Windows mistakes
this to be serial mouse. The mose arrow flies around the
screen opening and closing windows at random. I have to
unplug the GPS and reboot to straighten things out.

Is there some way I could tell Windows once and for all that
I do not use an external mouse at all?

This is a Thinkpad laptop and I use only the "IBM nipple"
for mouse things.


Lars
Stockholm

SOME laptops (I'm not sure about your ThinkPad) have ea function in the CMOS
setup that will tell the machine to use either built-in mouse, external
mouse, or auto-switch between the two. The easiest way to access your
ThinkPad's CMOS is usually to hold F1 while you power on the machine.



--

Mike Brown
Asset Forwarding Corp.
EPA-compliant Recycling
DoD 5220.22-M Data Elimination
http://www.assetforwarding.com

 

[Lars]

You can try the /noserialmice switch in boot.ini, it may or
may not work. Please post back with your results.

Thank you Rick,

The /noserialmice switch actually seems to work now.

Years ago when I first started meddling with connecting a
GPS to my computer I used Win NT, and was recommended the
noserialmice switch. It worked fine.
Later when I moved to W2k and had a GPS connected to a
"real" com port that switch would not do any good at all.
I asked in some W2k news group but got no comments
whatsoever on a noserialmice question. I had to remember
switching the GPS off when booting.

Now when I use a tiny GPS with no display and no buttons at
all on it the issue resurfaced. Maybe Windows understandning
of that switch is something that has been added with a
service pack?

Thanks for putting me on right track!


Lars
Stockholm

 

[Rick]

Thank you Rick,

The /noserialmice switch actually seems to work now.

Years ago when I first started meddling with connecting a
GPS to my computer I used Win NT, and was recommended the
noserialmice switch. It worked fine.
Later when I moved to W2k and had a GPS connected to a
"real" com port that switch would not do any good at all.
I asked in some W2k news group but got no comments
whatsoever on a noserialmice question. I had to remember
switching the GPS off when booting.

Now when I use a tiny GPS with no display and no buttons at
all on it the issue resurfaced. Maybe Windows understandning
of that switch is something that has been added with a
service pack?

Thanks for putting me on right track!

I did a little more research and discovered the /noserialmice
switch in NT is now called /fastdetect in Win2K. So to use
your GPS on COM1 you'd add:

/fastdetect:COM1

to boot.ini. See:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;833722&Product=win2000

Anyway, glad it worked for you.

Rick