What to do if the mouse does not work

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Most importantly, don't panic. In most cases, the problem is solved by changing the settings.

What to do first

Eliminate mouse breakage

First of all, you need to figure out what the cause of the problems is: in the device itself or in the computer. To do this, connect your mouse to any other desktop or laptop. If it works, then the problem is in your PC, if not, the mouse itself is faulty.

You can do the opposite. Find and connect a known working mouse to your computer. If it doesn't work, it will confirm the problem with the PC.

Another way to make sure that the manipulator is working is to check its functions outside the OS. This can be done in the UEFI settings on modern computers, and when booting from the installation or Live CD on older computers. If everything is in order with the mouse, the problem is definitely with the OS or drivers.

It is easier to replace a defective mouse with a new one than to repair it. The only exceptions are expensive game models that you can try to fix. Computer problems can be easily fixed using one of the methods below.

Check the wire

The cable is the weak point of wired mice, so it's best to start troubleshooting with it. Carefully inspect the insulation for kinks and other damage: the cable may have been pinched or chewed by animals.

If, when the wire is moved or in a certain position, the mouse starts to work, it means that the contact in the conductors is broken. There are two options here: do not bother and just replace the manipulator with a new one or tinker, strip the cable cores and solder them, insulating the connection.

Replace battery

For wireless devices, the reason for the lack of communication with the receiver may be a dead battery. If this is true, then the problem can be easily solved by replacing it with a new and high-quality one. When using the battery, it will be enough to charge it.

Make sure the port is working

The next step is to check the functionality of the port to which the mouse is connected. If it's a USB connector, try inserting a USB flash drive or other device into it and see if it works. Alternatively, you can simply plug the pointing device into a different port - preferably on the back panel or at the very top.

There is only one PS / 2 mouse port on the motherboard, so you can try connecting to USB using a special adapter. It also makes sense to check the contacts of the connector itself - they are in the form of pins and sometimes bend. They can be easily straightened with tweezers or a thin screwdriver.

By the way, check if the mouse is accidentally plugged into the keyboard connector. The ports are not interchangeable, so nothing will work.

Reset your laptop battery

The failure of mice on portable devices is often due to software glitches, which can be corrected by doing the initialization procedure. Proceed like this:

1. Power off the laptop completely and unplug it from the power adapter.
2. Remove the battery if it is removable.
3. Press and hold the power button for 30-60 seconds.
4. If you removed the battery, replace it.
5. Turn on the laptop and plug in the mouse, it should work.

Change the settings

Sometimes the manipulator works, but behaves strangely. For example, the cursor moves too slowly or is jerky. In this case, you should check the sensitivity settings and other parameters of the mouse.

Windows

1. Launch Control Panel, go to the Hardware and Sound section.
2. Open Mouse and switch to the Pointer Options tab.
3. Pay attention to the option "Pointer speed". Set the average value and change it little by little. But don't overdo it: too high a speed can degrade accuracy.
4. Enable Enhanced Pointer Precision - This setting often causes problems. Try to enable or disable it and check the operation of the manipulator.
5. "Show mouse trail" - when this option is enabled, a long train trails behind the cursor, which many people take for system slowdown. Check and disable this option.

macOS

1. Open system preferences.
2. Go to the "Mouse" section.
3. Try changing the values of all parameters. Move the sliders and evaluate the result.

Linux

1. Bring up the main menu and open system settings.
2. Go to the item "Mouse and touchpad".
3. Turn on the toggle switches "User-defined acceleration" and "User-defined sensitivity".
4. Experiment with changing the settings.

How to fix system problems with your mouse in Windows

Check your computer for viruses

The mouse may not work due to viruses or other malware. To make sure that they are absent, you need to perform a full scan of all disks using antivirus.

To start, open the Start menu with the Win key and, navigating through it using the arrows, find the application you need and open it by pressing Enter. You can also call the search by pressing Win + S and enter the name of the program. Use the same arrows and the Tab key to navigate the application window.

Use the troubleshooting wizard

If you're on Windows, use the built-in hardware troubleshooter. It doesn't always help, but it's definitely worth a try.

1. Open the Run menu with the Win + R keyboard shortcut, type

control

and press Enter.

2. Use the arrows on your keyboard to highlight Hardware and Sound and press Enter to open it.

3. In the same way, go to the "Devices and Printers" section.

4. Select the mouse and press the context menu key on the keyboard or Shift + F10.

5. In the menu that opens, select the "Troubleshoot" item and follow the wizard's prompts. After that, restart your computer and test the mouse operation.

Install or update drivers

On Windows computers, a corrupted driver is another common cause of mouse problems. You can fix the problem by updating or reinstalling the appropriate software in Device Manager.

1. Using the Win + R combination, call the "Run" menu, enter

devmgmt.msc

and press Enter.

2. Use the up and down arrows on your keyboard to navigate to the Mice and Other Pointing Devices section.

3. Expand the list with the right arrow, find your mouse and open the context menu with the corresponding key or Shift + F10.

4. Select Update Drivers and wait while Windows completes this procedure.

5. If this does not help, try removing the device and restarting your computer. At the next start, the system will detect the mouse and install the driver for it.

How to fix system problems with your mouse on macOS

To do this, you need to install a driver.

Drivers for Apple's proprietary Magic Mouse are included with macOS and are never a problem. When using third-party manipulators with additional buttons, there may be problems. As a rule, basic functions work properly thanks to the standard driver, but advanced functions are not available.

Downloading specific drivers for your specific mouse helps you troubleshoot. To do this, download them from the official website of the device manufacturer and install, following the wizard's prompts.

How to fix system mouse problems in Linux

As with other operating systems, input device drivers are installed automatically in Linux distributions, but sometimes failures occur, leading to hardware problems. The most common method to solve the problem is to reinstall the drivers.

To do this, launch a terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt ‑ get install -reinstall xserver ‑ xorg ‑ input ‑ all

Restart your computer and everything should work.

How to temporarily fix a problem with a mouse

As a workaround, you can use the keyboard cursor function, which allows you to move the pointer using the keys on the numeric keypad. To enable it, you need to do the following.

Windows

1. Open the search with Win + S, type "Ease of Access Center" and press Enter.

2. Use the Tab key to highlight the Make Mouse Enhancement option and press the Spacebar or Enter.

3. In the same way, navigate to the Enable Keyboard Pointer Control option and select it.

4. Use the Tab and Enter keys to activate the Apply button and then select OK.

5. Now all buttons on the numeric keypad are responsible for cursor navigation. Using "/" you can select the left mouse button, "-" - right, and "5" - click. To drag objects, use "0" and ".", The first key is "grab", the second - "release".

To switch the digital block to normal mode, you need to press the combination of left Alt + Shift + Num Lock. Pressing it again will return the keyboard cursor function.

macOS

1. Press Option + Command + F5.
2. Use the Tab key to highlight the "Enable Control Keys"
3. Press Space and Enter.
4. Now, to move the mouse, use the keys 7, 8, 9, 4, 6, 1, 2, 3 on the numeric keypad or 7, 8, 9, U, O, J, K, L - on a regular one. Pressing the mouse button is responsible for "5" on the digital block or the "I" key, and for pressing and holding - "0" and "M", respectively.

Linux

In most distributions, keyboard cursor control works out of the box and is invoked by Alt + Left Shift + Num Lock, as in Windows, or just Shift + NumLock. In some cases, the function may be disabled by default. Then, to activate it, you need to enter the following command in the terminal:

setxkbmap -option keypad: pointerkeys

The movement of the cursor is carried out using the numeric keypad buttons located around the "5" key. The top row switches the mouse buttons, and clicks are performed with a five and a plus.