Weird mouse problems. Accidental double-clicking, selection, drag-n-drop problems

Question

My mouse has started to double click or not keep a selection. Middle click works on the 2nd-3rd try, it ruins drag-and-drops and confuses selecting with opening things. It feels like little "refreshes" that cancel ongoing selections/drags/etc. This makes the pointing device entirely unreliable to the point of driving anyone insane. You think you know, but you have no idea. I would rather it not work at all.

I thought it was a hardware issue, but the mouse works fine on other PCs. This is a brand new HP mouse, a replacement for a previous one which died spectacularly (cursor all over the place, random clicks) some months ago.

I've tried:

• rebooting
• switching to another mouse
• messing with double-click speed in Mouse Settings
• a debouncing application
• uninstalling drivers
• using a different USB port

What's weirder is that certain things slow down the return of the issues:

• unplugging and re-plugging the USB cable
• switching the mouse buttons around in Mouse settings

I suspected some mouse filter drivers my anti-virus installed, but that turned out not to be the source of the problems after all... I also believe it may not have anything to do with HIDs at all, but with something else entirely that manifests like accidental clicks. Selecting text with the keyboard works fine.

Any ideas? I wouldn't like to re-install Windows for this.

SOLVED (?): The problem suddenly vanished, everything has been fine for several hours. I believe uninstalling UxStyle made it go away - that's the only change to my system I can recall. Nope.

Solution 1

I checked again and it turns out that it is indeed a hardware issue.

When I initially checked there probably wasn't enough time for the problems to surface, or it had good days and bad days. But now as it progressed, it's obvious that the mouse is bad. It's evident in Safe Mode, as well as on another machine running Ubuntu.

The mice have been damaged permanently, perhaps due to faulty USB ports on the motherboard. I say this because this is the 3rd mouse I've had develop this problem.

I'm reluctant to plug in any fresh meat until I get this question sorted:

Can a faulty USB port damage a mouse?

If so, can I verify? How would I do that?

Solution 2

It's most likely a problem with the switch (most likely Omron brand). I've had this problem on many Logitech mouses (expensives ones). To save money I had to change the Omron switches myself and now it's ok. You can also just try to fix the switches (you have to rebend a small piece of metal inside, it's not easy and won't last long).

Look on Youtube and you'll find tutorials.

Your USB port most likely doesn't have anything to do with your problem.

Comments

[Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007]

Does it work as expected when you boot into Safe Mode? how about if you boot into another OS (like say a Linux LiveCD)?

[Leeroy]

The mouse works smoothly otherwise, and no other devices have any issues. There could be a virus on, although there are no other symptoms, and I have had (and recently upgraded) an anti-virus suite, which would get fussy if having to install on a compromised machine.

[Darron]

I wouldn't assume that the Anti Virus suite would not install or complain if there is a virus - they are sneaky buggers! the only way to be sure (and my next suggestion) is to download an offline antivirus tool that boots from a USB stick to do a thorough scan. i'll dig out a link...

[Darron]

Try this for a few options link. i have personally used an (older) version of the F-Secure tool, and the Dr.Web tool and cannot remember having any issues with either.

[Leeroy]

Thanks for the suggestion, I've already scanned my PC from a USB CD-ROM with Kaspersky & BitDefender Rescue CDs, it turns up nothing.

[Joachim Wagner]

You are implying it is the mouse but the op that the mouse works fine on another machine and the same issue occurs with another mouse on the first machine. Can you shed some light on why your answer may work?

[Joachim Wagner]

How would storing one mouse in a "wrong" way cause the mouse to not work with the machine it normally is attached to but work with any other machines in the house and how would this mouse be able to cause all other mice (6 in my case) on this machine to also show the same error behaviour, including a brand new mouse fresh from the box?

[Joachim Wagner]

In the initial question, you wrote "the mouse works fine on other PCs". Is this still true for your "damaged" mice? Also, I see it's been a while. Did you find an answer somewhere else?