Does XP detect a serial mouse?

[Sher]

I reformatted my harddrive and now have no mouse. I've
installed the correct XP compatable drivers from the
manufacturer but still no mouse.

I think it's not detecting it on the serial port. How do
I work around this and get it to look for the mouse on the
serial port on boot up?

Thanks
Sher

P.S. Please don't tell me to buy a new mouse, I know that
is a solution, but I'm on a very limited income due to
disability, so I'd actually have to "save up" to buy a new
USB mouse.

 

[Rocket J. Squirrel]

Contact the technical support group from the manufacturer of your mouse.

Rocky

 

[Chuck]

I reformatted my harddrive and now have no mouse. I've
installed the correct XP compatable drivers from the
manufacturer but still no mouse.

I think it's not detecting it on the serial port. How do
I work around this and get it to look for the mouse on the
serial port on boot up?

Thanks
Sher

P.S. Please don't tell me to buy a new mouse, I know that
is a solution, but I'm on a very limited income due to
disability, so I'd actually have to "save up" to buy a new
USB mouse.

Sher,

How old is your computer and mouse? Is this really a serial mouse, or is it a
PS/2 mouse, with a serial adapter? Does your computer not have a PS/2 mouse
port?

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Sher]

It's not my mouse's manufacturer's technical problem. I
need to find out how to guide dos or XP to detect my mouse
on the serial port at start-up.

Thanks anyway. Perhaps someone else would know what I'm
talking about out there?

Sher

 

[D.Currie]

It's not my mouse's manufacturer's technical problem. I
need to find out how to guide dos or XP to detect my mouse
on the serial port at start-up.

Thanks anyway. Perhaps someone else would know what I'm
talking about out there?

Sher

You shouldn't need drivers for any mouse under XP; drivers may give you
extra functions, like changing what certain buttons do, but as far as basic
mouse use, it's not an XP issue. Unless you have a very strange mouse with
odd requirements. Which is why Rocky suggested that you contact the mouse
manufacturer; they'd know of specific things that might cause the computer
or OS to refuse to detect the mouse.

The other possibilities are that the mouse has died, the serial port has
died, or the serial port is turned off. You can try the mouse on another
computer to see if it's functional, and try another serial device on the
same port on your computer to see if the port is functional.

There is no "how-to guide" to get XP to detect the mouse. If the mouse and
the port are working, XP should simply see the mouse and use it.

 

[Sher]

The computer is about 5 years old and yes, it's a PS/2
Logitech trackball mouse with a serial adapter.

Sher

 

[Chuck]

It's not my mouse's manufacturer's technical problem. I
need to find out how to guide dos or XP to detect my mouse
on the serial port at start-up.

Thanks anyway. Perhaps someone else would know what I'm
talking about out there?

Sher

Sher,

USB devices are automatically detected at startup. Serial, parallel, and PS/2
connected devices have to load a driver at startup to be detected. You may have
to get the driver from the manufacturer - Windows won't detect the mouse
automatically, and magically find a driver, like it will for USB.

What make and model mouse is it? And, as I asked before, is it a natively
serial mouse, or a PS/2 mouse with a serial adapter?

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Sher]

The computer is about 5 years old and yes, it's a PS/2
Logitech trackball mouse with a serial adapter.

Sher

 

[Sher]

It works on my laptop and it works on someone else's
desktop.

Where on windows site can I read the doc you mentioned
about how to detect the serial port?

Sher

 

[D.Currie]

Sher,

USB devices are automatically detected at startup. Serial, parallel, and PS/2
connected devices have to load a driver at startup to be detected. You may have
to get the driver from the manufacturer - Windows won't detect the mouse
automatically, and magically find a driver, like it will for USB.

What make and model mouse is it? And, as I asked before, is it a natively
serial mouse, or a PS/2 mouse with a serial adapter?

Huh? I can't remember the last time I installed mouse drivers, unless the
mouse had special functions. Give it a try. Unplug whatever mouse you have,
plug in a serial mouse, and as soon as the computer boots, you'll have mouse
function.

 

[Chuck]

Huh? I can't remember the last time I installed mouse drivers, unless the
mouse had special functions. Give it a try. Unplug whatever mouse you have,
plug in a serial mouse, and as soon as the computer boots, you'll have mouse
function.

As a PS/2 mouse, I'd agree with you. I'm not sure about the serial bit.

Sher, your computer being 5 years old should have PS/2 ports (PS/2 ports were
totally standard until a couple years ago, now fast becoming legacy). Any
reason why you don't use the PS/2 port with your PS/2 mouse?

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Chuck]

The computer is about 5 years old and yes, it's a PS/2
Logitech trackball mouse with a serial adapter.

Sher

Sher,

Your computer being 5 years old should have PS/2 ports (PS/2 ports were totally
standard until a couple years ago, now fast becoming legacy). Any reason why
you don't use the PS/2 port with your PS/2 mouse?

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Miss Perspicacia Tick]

It works on my laptop and it works on someone else's
desktop.

Where on windows site can I read the doc you mentioned
about how to detect the serial port?

Sher

Erm, suggest you read D's post again. Where did he say anything about a "doc
about how to detect the serial port"?

 

[Sher]

You are correct, I got interupted and misread. He
said "there is NO How-to-guide".

Thanks for pointing that out to me. I'll try to be more
careful in my reading.

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----


Sher,

Your computer being 5 years old should have PS/2 ports (PS/2 ports were totally
standard until a couple years ago, now fast becoming legacy). Any reason why
you don't use the PS/2 port with your PS/2 mouse?

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
.

 

[Chuck]

It works on my laptop and it works on someone else's
desktop.

Where on windows site can I read the doc you mentioned
about how to detect the serial port?

Sher

Sher,

It's a lot easier to follow the conversation if you reply to each previous
article. Quoting the previous article helps too.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Sher]

I don't have one available. My PS/2 port is used by my
keyboard.

Sher

 

[Chuck]

??

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Chuck]

I don't have one available. My PS/2 port is used by my
keyboard.

Sher

Sher,

That's interesting. Most PS/2 ports come in pairs, and have to be used by a
specific device (one for the keyboard, the second for the mouse).

One of the earliest problems with the PS/2 ports was caused by a dead keyboard,
when the mouse was plugged in to the keyboard port and vice versa, the computer
would boot but no keyboard input. Then somebody would try to hot swap the two
connectors, and fry the motherboard (really this would happen!).

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Chuck]

I don't have one available. My PS/2 port is used by my
keyboard.

Sher

Sher,

Is this the keyboard that came with the computer originally? Some computers had
only one PS/2 port, and the mouse plugged in to a PS/2 connector on the bottom
of the keyboard. Talk about a pain - had two keyboard models as spares - this
one computer couldn't use a standard keyboard cause it had only one PS/2 port.

Is that your problem. You're using a standard keyboard (no mouse port) on a one
PS/2 port computer? Ugh. :-(

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.