At 01:42 PM 2/6/2006 -0500, Carl Hartung wrote:

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On Monday 06 February 2006 13:22, Istvan Gabor wrote:

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The mouse stops working but every other things continue to work. How could I trace the origin of this behavior and possibly fix it?

First test: Try another mouse (don't 'hot-plug' PS2 style!) This is a classic symptom of fracturing wire(s) at the strain-relief where the wire enters the mouse. They fatigue over time and start creating 'noise' (break/make/break electrically,) which confuses some drivers terribly.

You're absolutely right. One very cool solution is an optical trackball. I have a Kensington which I like a lot. Unfortunately, it has no middle button or scroll-wheel. (With a ball, a scroller is less useful, anyway.) But since you don't move the pointing device itself, wires won't break, and since there's practically nothing mechanical besides the ball itself, I expect it to last forever! --doug -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.2/251 - Release Date: 2/4/2006

Patrick Shanahan wrote:

* Doug McGarrett [02-06-06 14:40]:

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You're absolutely right. One very cool solution is an optical trackball. I have a Kensington which I like a lot. Unfortunately, it has no middle button or scroll-wheel. ...

I have had two of them, one two button and one four button and love them. Unfortunately, both died an early death, hardware. At us$100 a pop, I will not try again.

My wife and / /I each have a Logitech Trackman Wheel trackball, with 2 buttons and a scroll wheel which serves as the 3rd button. We love them, and wouldn't have anything else -- in particular no mouse. They cost about $40. A trackpad is a barely acceptable alternative, which serves as a necessary evil on our laptops, since laptops don't have trackballs any more. John Perry

On Wednesday 08 February 2006 04:40, Istvan Gabor wrote:

Thanks! I dragged the wire to different directions where it enters the mouse and the computer. The mouse did not freeze. I think that not a bad mouse is the cause of the freezes in my case, of course I don't say that it's not possible.

OK, maybe the wire isn't fractured, but there are other points of failure in the mouse. You want to rule them out. The best way to do that is to install a different mouse, preferably a another brand. If the problem remains, at least you have completely ruled out the mouse... which is nice from a long range troubleshooting perspective. Carl