Question:

I have a weird one…

I installed Vista Enterprise on my HP Compaq tc4400 Tablet PC. For the most part, it went smooth as silk. When I brought the unit into my office and installed it in the Advanced Port Replicator on my desk, the Microsoft wireless mouse I have (Wireless Explorer 2.0) goes absolutely bonkers. The mouse pointer jumps all over the screen and actual mouse clicks happen randomly. My initial thought was that the wireless mouse was the issue, so I shut down and attached a wired mouse to the port replicator. Unfortunately – same issue.

The odd thing is that outside of the port replicator, a wireless mouse works fine. I have a wireless laser notebook mouse and there is no problem there. The port replicator is OK because it worked on Friday when I was running XP.

Any ideas?…Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks…

Answer:

I’ve seen that behavior from mouses with failed mouse hardware or failed ports before. Just to verify that it’s not the hardware, try plugging the mouse directly into the Tablet PC (without connecting the port replicator). If the mouse works, it’s a problem with the port replicator. Try connecting it to a USB port on the replicator if you’re currently using a PS/2 mouse port, or to a different USB port if you’re already using USB. If it fixes the problem, that port is flaking out. If not, there might be updated firmware for your port replicator that from the hardware manufacturer to work with Vista. Try installing it.

You should also verify that you have the latest Intellimouse software installed for Vista (Vista didn’t ship with these drivers, believe it or not):

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/windowsvista/support.mspx

If you already have that software, try uninstalling it (hey, it’s worth a shot). After that, verify that you have the latest firmware for your Tablet PC and the latest drivers for any other hardware components.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

Tony