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Question

Corrupt mouse

Oct 24, 2014 11:44PM PDT

I'm having weird problems with my MSI GS-502 mouse I have been using since ca. 2008. The mouse suddenly seeems to corrupt whichever computer it is connected to (I tried 3 PCs running Win Vista, 7 and 8.1).

The cursor moves nomally but mouse clicks are only registered within one app or window that is open - eg. I have File Explorer open in a scaled down window and I can click within the window but mouse clicks (or even hovering the cursor above an icon/button) aren't registered in other parts of the screen, eg. on the desktop or the taskbar. When I press the mouse button REALLY hard when pointing the cursor to a different part of the screen, the "focus" changes to that part so that I can click within it but not elsewhere. Also, after a while with the mouse connected, sounds stopped working (I can change the system volume but no sounds come out - both within Windows, in games etc.). The problems persist even when I disconnect the mouse and use a different one or the touchpad - the only solution is to restart the PC which changes things back to normal - until I connect the mouse again.

Any idea what this could be caused by? I'm ready to throw the mouse away but I'm pretty curious about what causes the problem. Could the mouse be somehow "corrupt" and cause a problem with system drivers?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Mouse
Oct 25, 2014 1:24AM PDT

So this occurs on 3 different computers, is this a network set up? And it happens even if you use a different mouse...on all 3 systems? A little clarification on this might help.

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Mouse
Oct 25, 2014 5:37AM PDT

Everything works normally UNTIL I connect the "faulty" mouse - then the problem appears and persists - even when I disconnect the "faulty" mouse and connect a different mouse or use the touchpad - until I restart the PC. The behavior is the same on 3 different PCs I tried.

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Sounds like good sleuthing.
Oct 25, 2014 5:55AM PDT

But once in a while folk will hang on to a dead mouse. Even our cat brings them to us. Don't know why.
bob

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Re: mouse
Oct 25, 2014 6:30AM PDT

Why the quotes around faulty? It's clear that you can better call Bob's cat to kill it (or throw it away yourself).

Kees

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Mouse
Oct 25, 2014 6:58AM PDT

Then, obviously, scrap the thing and get something functional..I was under the impression that you HAD tried an alternate mouse with the same result, which would lead us in a totally different direction. Enough said.

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Mouse
Oct 25, 2014 9:09AM PDT

Yeah, I'll get a new one. I was just wondering HOW something like this could happen, ie. a mouse not just working incorrectly but rather changing a computer's behavior, even after being disconnected...

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corrupted driver files can cause it
Oct 25, 2014 12:03PM PDT

but like Bob, I suspect it's just the physical mouse itself.