Enable mouse in Safe Mode?

[Ron C]

Hi,

Win XP home, service pack 1, I got a pretty bad malware infestation a
few days ago and need to run some scans in Safe Mode, but my mouse does
not function in Safe Mode.

I normally use a touchpad, but from past experience with earlier Win OSs
I knew it wouldn't work in safe mode, so I replaced it with a generic
serial mouse, which works fine when I boot to normal Windows, but in
safe mode the cursor sits immovably in the center of the screen.

So I removed the serial mouse (in Device manager as well as physically
disconnecting), shut down (power off), booted to Windows and shut down
again, at which point I re-connected the mouse so Windows would
recognize it at bootup. Everythings looks good, but still no go in safe
mode.

I seem to remember that in Win95 and 98 the mouse worked in safe mode --
a bit sluggish or erratic sometimes, but at least you could point and
click with it. Is this not available in XP? Or have I missed
something?

Although some of the malware tools I have respond to the keyboard in
safe mode, the ones I most want to use require mouse input, so I'd be
grateful for any help toward a solution.

 

[Richard Urban]

Use a PS2 mouse, not a serial mouse. They haven't been available for many
years and are not a viable choice to use in Windows XP.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Alan Smith]

My mouse works in safe mode.
You can navigate without the mouse, read the help for keystrokes to get the
actions needed.

 

[Ron C]

Thanks Alan and Richard,

I searched all my boxes of miscellaneous computer gear but found no ps2
mouse, and didn't feel like driving the 14 miles to town to buy one <g>
I do see that it would be wise to pick one up next time I'm at the store
though, to have on hand when I need one (very happy with my Touchpad in
normal circumstances but Safe Mode doesn't load it's driver).

I did find some useful keystroke info, and although a few of my malware
scanners still don't respond to keystrokes of any sort, enough did
respond so that I was able to successfully complete the detection /
eradication processes.

Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated!