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Mouse stopped working - baffled

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nc_mike

Experienced Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
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I am running PC DOS 7.1 and also Windows 3.1. My mouse was working fine in both but suddenly stopped working in both (I had been installing SW and adjusting my config.sys and autoexec.bat recently though. Its a serial MS Mouse COM1/IRQ4 and I haven't changed any of the IRQs so I don't think it has anything to do with an IRQ conflict. The mouse driver is installed (MOUSE.COM) in autoexec.bat (C:\WIN31\MOUSE.COM /Y) and during boot-up it says the driver is installed successfully. I don't THINK I deleted anything essential from CONFIG.SYS that was needed to enable the mouse....I am trying to determine how best to go about diagnosing why it stopped working.

Regards,
Mike
 
If the mouse is being identified by the driver on startup but the mouse pointer does not move, I would suspect the roller is dirty. Turn the mouse over, rotate the cover, and remove any gunk. Tweezers help.

Otherwise, check that the cables are securely mounted and haven't rubbed enough to have a short. The cable really isn't up to the demands of 20 years of being dragged around a desk.
 
If not a conflict or misconfiguration(most likely) there could be something wrong with coms port or even the mouse itself, worst case even the mobo. I've got a flakey 286 mobo which drops its serial ports after about 5mins use. I've tried various i/o cards and swapped out PSUs but no change.

Got a spare serial mouse and i/o card you use for trouble shooting? Any ol well documented generic 16 bit card will do. It's a good idea to have a look at any old backups of your config files.
 
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Try the mouse in a different machine. If it doesn't work there it's DEAD. If it does, try another serial mouse in your PC DOS 7.1, Windows 3.1 machine. If this mouse works, keep it there. :)
 
Tried a bunch of variations with mice, drivers etc. Finally, I pulled the SuperISA multifunction adapter and dropped in a different multifunction adapter and the mouse works fine now. I hadn't messed at all with the SuperISA card anywhere neat when the mouse stopped working - go figure. It seems apps like CuteMouse didn't balk when I fired it up, but the mouse wasn't responding, so I figured maybe the MF adapter COM port was the problem and when I swapped in a different one (same COM/IRQ settings), the mouse now works in DOS and Win31. Go figure.

Regards,
Mike
 
nc_mike said:
Tried a bunch of variations with mice, drivers etc. Finally, I pulled the SuperISA multifunction adapter and dropped in a different multifunction adapter and the mouse works fine now. I hadn't messed at all with the SuperISA card anywhere neat when the mouse stopped working - go figure. It seems apps like CuteMouse didn't balk when I fired it up, but the mouse wasn't responding, so I figured maybe the MF adapter COM port was the problem and when I swapped in a different one (same COM/IRQ settings), the mouse now works in DOS and Win31. Go figure.

Regards,
Mike
Click to expand...

I had the same issue with a parallel port on a multifunction I/O plus RAM card the just 'died' one day. Just one of the things with vintage electronics; they don't last forever.
 
I tend to think you are correct - I had changed nothing on the hardware side except some software over the course of a few days (I hadn't been using the mouse for a bit) and I didn't think the SW install changed anything in terms of files or the config/autoexec (I noticed the mouse was dead after I had installed both the Vouyera MIDI sequencing SW and OpenGEM), but I didn't think either of those made any mods to the base system configuration and didn't - but I had to rule those out in the process which was pretty easy since I duplicate my main CF drive before any SW installation (THAT is why I love having dual CF drives off of the XT-IDE!)

I guess Mr Spock took a few the circuits with him when he did his final beam-up :)

Regards,
Mike
 
I was having trouble with my serial ports a while back and received some help here on the forum. Here is the link to my discussion: http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?44298-5150-serial-port-not-working/page2

About half way down the page Modem7 provides a very helpful program he wrote to troubleshoot serial ports. I was able to fix the port, but recently broke it again by trying to install a mouse. It should've been obvious to me but I learned my lesson the hard way...

DO NOT hot swap any devices from the serial port! ALWAYS turn the machine off before plugging/unplugging serial devices. I hope this helps.
 
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