How should I shut down when the mouse pointer freezes!

[Craigmill]

I just had my mouse pointer freeze on the screen. I switched my pc off
at the mains, switched it back on again and everything was OK. Was
this the best way to recover or is there a better/preferred method?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I just had my mouse pointer freeze on the screen. I switched my pc
off at the mains, switched it back on again and everything was OK.
Was this the best way to recover or is there a better/preferred
method?

Did your keyboard fail too?

 

[SC Tom]

I just had my mouse pointer freeze on the screen. I switched my pc off
at the mains, switched it back on again and everything was OK. Was
this the best way to recover or is there a better/preferred method?

Would probably be better to use Ctrl+Esc, u or Winkey, u to shut down.

SC Tom

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:06:27 PM, and on a whim,
Craigmill pounded out on the keyboard:

I just had my mouse pointer freeze on the screen. I switched my pc off
at the mains, switched it back on again and everything was OK. Was
this the best way to recover or is there a better/preferred method?

Hi Craig,

If you still had a keyboard, I would use ALT-F4 to close windows until
you get the Shutdown dialog. Then use ALT-U.


Terry R.

 

[Craigmill]

Many thanks for your replies.

I don't know if my keyboard was working because I was unaware of of
these keyboard short cuts.

Next time it happens I will give it a try!

Thanks again!

 

[Twayne]

Many thanks for your replies.

I don't know if my keyboard was working because I was unaware of of
these keyboard short cuts.

Next time it happens I will give it a try!

Thanks again!

If ALT-F4 doesn't seem to work, press ESCape key and then try it again.
Sometimes the system carat won't move and ALT-F4 will seem to fail. ESC
will cancel that and allow it to function.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Tuesday, June 16, 2009 6:43:21 PM, and on a whim,
SC Tom pounded out on the keyboard:

Would probably be better to use Ctrl+Esc, u or Winkey, u to shut down.

SC Tom

Neither of those worked here. Ctrl-Esc+u pointed to a program starting
with U in the Start list and Start-u brought up the Utility Magnifier.


Terry R.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Wednesday, June 17, 2009 4:33:50 AM, and on a
whim, Craigmill pounded out on the keyboard:

Many thanks for your replies.

I don't know if my keyboard was working because I was unaware of of
these keyboard short cuts.

Next time it happens I will give it a try!

Thanks again!

You're welcome Craig. It's always a good idea to know how to maneuver
through Windows without a mouse.


Terry R.

 

[SC Tom]

The date and time was Tuesday, June 16, 2009 6:43:21 PM, and on a whim, SC
Tom pounded out on the keyboard:


Neither of those worked here. Ctrl-Esc+u pointed to a program starting
with U in the Start list and Start-u brought up the Utility Magnifier.


Terry R.

Hit ctrl+esc, turn loose, then press u (or the Windows key, turn loose, then
press u). In either case, the first brings up the Start menu, then when I
press u the "Turn off computer" screen comes up. I left out "press u again
to shut down or r to restart." (XP Home)

SC Tom

 

[ANONYMOUS]

Ignore everything you have read on this topic because the easiest way is
to unplug the mouse and plug it back and it should work. If you have a
USB version then it is even better because USB is highly sensitive to
unplug and plug in any devices. It is called Plug n Play!!

Hope this helps.

 

[John John - MVP]

It would be best to ignore *your* post as it appears that you don't know
the difference between Plug and Play and Hot-Pluggable. USB is
hot-pluggable, PS2 is not.

John

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Wednesday, June 17, 2009 3:00:53 PM, and on a
whim, SC Tom pounded out on the keyboard:

Hit ctrl+esc, turn loose, then press u (or the Windows key, turn loose, then
press u). In either case, the first brings up the Start menu, then when I
press u the "Turn off computer" screen comes up. I left out "press u again
to shut down or r to restart." (XP Home)

SC Tom

What does "turn loose" mean? In all my years of computers, I have never
heard that term used.


Terry R.

 

[SC Tom]

The date and time was Wednesday, June 17, 2009 3:00:53 PM, and on a whim,
SC Tom pounded out on the keyboard:


What does "turn loose" mean? In all my years of computers, I have never
heard that term used.

Let me see if I can make it a little clearer for you:

Press down and hold the Ctrl key, then press down the Esc key. Raise your
fingers up until those two keys are no longer being pressed down. Then press
down on the U key. Raise your finger up, then press down on the U key again.
Raise your finger up and the PC will turn itself off.

HTH,
SC Tom

 

[M.I.5¾]

Ignore everything you have read on this topic because the easiest way is
to unplug the mouse and plug it back and it should work. If you have a
USB version then it is even better because USB is highly sensitive to
unplug and plug in any devices. It is called Plug n Play!!

And if the OP has a PS2 mouse, he stands a better than sporting chance of
effectively destroying that part of his motherboard if he follows your
advice.

 

[Jose]

I just had my mouse pointer freeze on the screen. I switched my pc off
at the mains, switched it back on again and everything was OK. Was
this the best way to recover or is there a better/preferred  method?

If you find a way to shutdown without the mouse, your mouse remains
broken.

You should figure out why your mouse freezes and fix the problem - not
figure out some way to work around the problem.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7:22:19 PM, and on a
whim, SC Tom pounded out on the keyboard:

Let me see if I can make it a little clearer for you:

Press down and hold the Ctrl key, then press down the Esc key. Raise your
fingers up until those two keys are no longer being pressed down. Then press
down on the U key. Raise your finger up, then press down on the U key again.
Raise your finger up and the PC will turn itself off.

HTH,
SC Tom

I had no idea "turn loose" suggested that. Not that it's anything I'll
ever hear again (or use in my own terminology), but thanks for the
explanation.

This is a different keystroke sequence than you stated before, so it's
far from a method you could suggest to others, because of the variables
involved. And the Start-u method is inconsistent also. That's why I
suggest using Alt-F4 and then Alt-u.


Terry R.

 

[Jose]

The date and time was Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7:22:19 PM, and on a
whim, SC Tom pounded out on the keyboard:







I had no idea "turn loose" suggested that.  Not that it's anything I'll
ever hear again (or use in my own terminology), but thanks for the
explanation.

This is a different keystroke sequence than you stated before, so it's
far from a method you could suggest to others, because of the variables
involved.  And the Start-u method is inconsistent also.  That's why I
suggest using Alt-F4 and then Alt-u.

Terry R.

So far, all alternate methods are workarounds and do nothing to
identify and fix the real problem.

Maybe workarounds are okay for the OP though...

 

[Robert Macy]

So far, all alternate methods are workarounds and do nothing to
identify and fix the real problem.

Maybe workarounds are okay for the OP though...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Many times this has happened to me while using PS2 mouse(s) on several
machines. It has turned out to be the normal failure mechanism of the
mouse cable. The cable is starting to break and the intermiitent
connections confuse the OS. Usually, the mouse has come back after
reboot and worked for another month before it happens again. Over
time it just got worse and worse, started freezing the keyboard, too.
Then nothing brought it back but investing in a $1 cable from Weird
Stuff.

DO NOT plug and unplug the mouse while the PC is powered up if it is
PS2. There are several potential failure mechanisms that can destroy
the mouse, the main PCB, and/or both.

Try gently flexing the cable to the mouse and see if you can duplicate
the lock up. For example, gently pulling, extending the cable often
will exacerbate the intermittent connection. If you do lock it up
doing this, don't try to simply recompress the cable to get it working
again. Instead, use the keyboard to immediately shut down and go get
a new mouse [cable].

Robert

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Thursday, June 18, 2009 7:46:21 AM, and on a whim,
Jose pounded out on the keyboard:

So far, all alternate methods are workarounds and do nothing to
identify and fix the real problem.

Maybe workarounds are okay for the OP though...

Actually, we were answering the question. The OP never asked "why"
their mouse was freezing. Maybe they know!


Terry R.

 

[SC Tom]

The date and time was Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7:22:19 PM, and on a whim,
SC Tom pounded out on the keyboard:


I had no idea "turn loose" suggested that. Not that it's anything I'll
ever hear again (or use in my own terminology), but thanks for the
explanation.

This is a different keystroke sequence than you stated before, so it's far
from a method you could suggest to others, because of the variables
involved. And the Start-u method is inconsistent also. That's why I
suggest using Alt-F4 and then Alt-u.


Terry R.

The only correction I made to my original post was the additional key press
of u to shut down or r to restart.
That sequence works on mine every time. The only disadvantage I see to it is
that any programs that are open remain open while it's shutting down. In
that respect, your sequence would be more desirable since it shuts each
program down first.

SC Tom