How to use keystrokes to troubleshoot mouse problems

How to use keystrokes to troubleshoot mouse problems

Document number: 39030

This document provides the keystrokes to troubleshoot and resolve mouse problems. If your mouse is not working there are a number of steps you can take to try to resolve the problem. You can follow the steps below even if you do not have a working mouse by using key strokes. You can navigate from link to link by pressing the { Tab}key. Pressing { Enter} allows you to select the link. If you accidentally Tab past the link you want press and hold the{ Shift} key, then press the { Tab} key to back up. For more tips on navigating without a mouse see 39017 — How to navigate without a mouse.

To troubleshoot mouse problems take the following steps:

If the internal mouse (little "eraser-head" "AccuPoint" on the keyboard) isn't working your machine may need repair. Click here for more information.
If you plugged in your mouse after you turned on your machine then your operating system may not recognize it. Shut down your machine and reboot it with the mouse attached.
Make sure the mouse type and the port you are using match. For more information on checking the mouse type and port, see document 32006 — External mouse not working - use correct mouse type

For NT4 only: Check that the "mouse properties" match the kind of mouse you are trying to use, for more information click here

If you are trying to install a serial mouse, or if the serial mouse sometimes doesn't work on start up see document 39002 — External mouse not working, add serial mouse device.
Check the condition of the cord. Are there any kinks or tears in the cord? Are any of the pins in the plug or socket bent? If you see any of this kind of damage you may need a new mouse. For information on getting a new mouse see document 75025 — How to order a computer mouse.
Borrow a mouse that you know works. Shut down your machine and reboot it with the borrowed mouse attached. If the borrowed mouse works then you need a new mouse. For information on getting a new mouse see document 75025 — How to order a computer mouse.
Check that the correct drivers are enabled. For more information, click here.

In most cases the above steps will result in a properly working mouse. If the above steps did not correct the problem then open a NorthStar ticket to make an appointment for service. Be sure to include your contact number. Describe the problem in detail, especially the steps you took to try to correct the problem. You will be contacted by the appropriate party. For more information on creating the NorthStar ticket, see Eureka! document 39068 — How to submit a computer or peripheral for repair.

Check your mouse properties

Make sure your "mouse properties" match the kind of mouse you are using:

Note: the instructions below are specific to Windows NT4.

To open the Start menu, press and hold the { Ctrl} key, and then press the { Esc} key.
Press the letter " s" key to select Settings, then press the letter " c" key to select Control Panel.
Use your arrow keys to navigate to the Mouse icon then press { Enter}to open it.
Use the { Tab} key to move the selection box to the page tabs, then use the right arrow key to move to the General tab.

See the dotted box around "Right-handed"? That is the active selection. The current page is "Buttons". To check the mouse type you will need to move to the "General" page.

If you had a mouse you would just click on the "General" tab. Here is how you do it without a mouse:
Press the { Tab} button several times. When the dotted box appears around the " Buttons" tab, press the right arrow key to move the dotted box from one page tab to the next.

Under Name look for a mouse device that matches the type you are using:

PS/2 Port Mouse (the specific type - Logitech, Microsoft, or Standard should not matter) on the PS/2 port or
Serial Mouse (the specific type - Logitech, Microsoft, or Standard should not matter) on the Serial port .
If there is more than one pointing device (mouse) defined for your machine you may need to look in the drop down box to see that the correct mouse type exists in Mouse properties. Which device shows in the box doesn't matter as long as the correct one is listed in the drop down box.

To check the drop down box press and hold the { Alt} key and then press the letter " n". That will highlight the current selection showing in the box.

Once any item in the list is selected press the up arrow key or the down arrow key to see what else is in the list.

If you need to make a change pressing and holding { Alt} key then pressing the letter " c" will open the change window.

If the mouse properties are correct, return to the troubleshooting list above. If the mouse properties are incorrect change them. For instructions on changing to the to the correct mouse type, click here.

Return to the troubleshooting list above.

Change your mouse properties to correct mouse type Do not use these instructions for the Tecra 8100, instead see document 39056 — Mouse not responding on Tecra 8100, Portege 3440 or 3480, Deskpro EN.

Note: the instructions below are specific to Windows NT4.

From the " General" page of the Mouse Properties menu select Change by holding down the { Alt} key and pressing the letter " c" If you need instructions on getting to that page, click here
Hold the { Alt} key down and press the letter " a" to select the Show all devices radio button. A select device window will open.
Hold the { Alt} key down and press the letter " m" to select Manufacturers use your down arrow key to select " Microsoft" to select it. Hold the { Alt} key down and press the letter " d" to select Mo dels use your down arrow key to select the Microsoft PS/2 Port mouse or Microsoft Serial Port mouse entry depending upon what type of mouse you are using..
Press the { Tab}keys several times to select OK, then press { Enter}.
(the dotted lines tells us that "OK" is selected)
Hold the { Alt} key down and press the letter " y" to answer Yes to the driver question.

NOTE: If you get an "Insert Disk" message it means you do not have the correct file in your winnt\system32\drivers folder. To get the correct file:

(the dotted lines tells us that "OK" is selected) Press { Enter}
Hold the { Alt} key down and press the letter " b" to select Browse
Hold the { Alt} key down and press the letter " i" to select Look in, then use your down arrow to scroll down to the " P" drive and press { Enter}.
Press the { Tab}key to enter the folders list, then use your down arrow to scroll down to the build folder and press { Enter}.
Use your down arrow to scroll down to the ntfiles folder and press { Enter}.
Use your down arrow to scroll down to the i386 folder and press { Enter}.
Hold the { Alt} key down and press the letter "o" to select Open. If you get a "Files Needed" window, Press the { Tab}keys several times to select OK, then press { Enter}.
(the dotted lines tells us that "OK" is selected)

Press the { Tab}keys several times to select Close and press { Enter}.
(the dotted lines tells us that "Close" is selected)
A " Systems Settings Change" window will open asking you to restart your computer. Hold the { Alt} key down and press the letter " y" to select Yes.

Your mouse properties should now match the mouse type you have connected.

Return to the troubleshooting list above.

Check that your mouse drivers are enabled

Note: the instructions below are specific to Windows NT4.

To open the Start menu, press and hold the { Ctrl} key, and then press the { Esc} key.
Press the letter " s" key to select Settings, then press the letter " c" key to select Control Panel.
Use your arrow keys to navigate to the Devices icon, then press { Enter}to open it. The Devices window will appear.
The De vice box has three columns. The first column identifies the device, the second column identifies the status of the device (it will be blank, "started" or "stopped") and the third column identifies the startup type (system, manual, automatic or disabled). You will need to check the status of both the Mouse Class Driver and the driver for the type of mouse you are using (serial or PS/2). Hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " v" to enter the Devices list, then use your arrow keys to scroll up and down the list.
- Look for Mouse Class Driver in the Device column.
- If you are connecting to the serial port look for Serial Mouse (or SERMOUSE) in the Device column. If you have Logitech drivers installed (such as on the Tecra 8100) look for Logitech Serial Mouse Driver.
- If you are connecting to the PS2 port look for i8042 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Port in the Device column.
Press the { Tab} key several times to select Close then press { Enter}to close the Devices menu.
(the dotted lines tells us that "Close" is selected)
Shutdown and restart. To shutdown open the Start menu, press and hold the { Ctrl} key, and then press the { Esc} key. Press the letter " u" to select Sh ut Down, press the letter " s" to select Shut down the computer, then press { Enter}

Return to the troubleshooting list above.

Start the Mouse Port device

To force recognition of either the i8042 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Port or Serial Mouse Port device on your Win NT 4.0 machine, follow these steps:

To open the Start menu, press and hold the { Ctrl} key, and then press the { Esc} key.
Press the letter " s" key to select Settings, then press the letter " c" key to select Control Panel.
Use your arrow keys to navigate to the Devices icon, then press { Enter} to open it. The Devices window will appear.
Hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " v" to enter the Devices list, then use your arrow keys to scroll up and down the list. Scroll down to the mouse type you are using, either (PS/2 Port) i8042 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Port or (Serial Port) Sermouse (or Serial Mouse).
Hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " t" to select Star tup.
For Startup Type hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " s" to select System and press the { Tab} key several times to select OK then press { Enter}. (the dotted lines tells us that "OK" is selected)
Check the Mouse Class Driver. Click here for instructions on checking the "Mouse Class Driver"

Return to the troubleshooting list above.

Check the Mouse Class Driver

To check the Mouse Class Driver on your Win NT 4.0 machine, follow these steps:

To open the Start menu, press and hold the { Ctrl} key, and then press the { Esc} key.
Press the letter " s" key to select Settings, then press the letter " c" key to select Control Panel.
Use your arrow keys to navigate to the Devices icon, then press { Enter} to open it. The Devices window will appear.
Hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " v" to enter the Devices list, then use your arrow keys to scroll up and down the list. Scroll down to the Mouse Class Driver.
The startup type for Mouse Class Driver should be " system" and the status should be " started."
If it is correct then press { Tab} several times until the Cancel button is selected. Press { Enter} to return to the devices menu.
the dotted lines tells us that "Cancel" is selected) .
If the startup type or status are not correct then hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " v" to select Star tup.
For Startup Type hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " s" to select System and press the { Tab} key several times to select OK then press { Enter}
Press the { Tab} key several times to select Close then press { Enter}to close the Devices menu.
(the dotted lines tells us that "Close" is selected)
Change your "mouse properties" to the correct mouse type, click here for further instructions.

Return to the troubleshooting list above.

Load the mouse driver Do not use these instructions for the Tecra 8100, instead see document 39056 — Mouse not responding on Tecra 8100, Portege 3440 or 3480, Deskpro EN.

To install the mouse driver on your Windows NT 4.0 machine, follow these steps described below. You can install them directly from the directions below, or you can find them on P:\Build\NTFiles\i386.You may find it easier to print this page before beginning. If you have a Tecra 8100 do not install these drivers. Instead see

Save either the new PS/2 mouse driver to your machine by clicking here (i8042prt.sys) or the serial mouse driver to your machine by clicking here (sermouse.sys)
The Save As window will open. Hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " i" to activate the "Save in" window. From the Save In drop down list, press your down arrow then use your arrow keys to change to your "C:" drive. Press { Tab} and use your arrow and { Enter}keys to navigate to the C:\WINNT\System32\drivers folder.
Hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " s" to select the Save button.
Save the new mouse class driver to your machine by clicking here (mouclass.sys)
The Save As window will open. Hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " i" to activate the "Save in" window. From the Save In drop down list, press your down arrow then use your arrow keys to change to your "C:" drive. Press { Tab} and use your arrow and { Enter}keys to navigate to the C:\WINNT\System32\drivers folder.
Hold down the { Alt} key and press the letter " s" to select the Save button.
Change your "mouse properties" to the correct mouse type, click here for further instructions.

Return to the troubleshooting list above.

Problems with the internal "AccuPoint" mouse.

If your internal "mouse", the one that is part of the keyboard, doesn't work then your machine most likely needs repair. Before sending the machine for repair try removing non-standard devices that may be causing a conflict. For example a Palm Pilot, scanner, graphics tablet or other similar device that attaches to your machine may conflict with your internal mouse. The first step is to just disconnect the device and see if that restores function to your internal mouse. If that does not work try uninstalling the device. For more information on uninstalling see document 69004 — How to uninstall and install software.

If you have no non-standard external devices installed, or if the above steps did not resolve the problem then your machine needs repair. Click here for more information.

Return to the troubleshooting list above.