XP ignoring _some_ mouse-clicks

I'm running WIndows XP SP3. I've been getting some weird behaviour that started yesterday and is continuing today.

Windows is ignoring some of my mouse clicks, particularly on frame controls. For instance, when I click on minimize or maximize, those clicks are just ignored. Sometimes, but not always, clicks on the program icons on the blue bar at the bottom are ignored; that includes the Start button. When that happens, I can get them to start working again by doing a CTRL-ALT-DEL and then clicking in the Task Manager interface.

Yesterday, when this first happened, I tried a reboot but when then when I got to the Windows logon screen and tried to click on the appropriate login ID, that click was ignored too. Additional reboots had the same problem until I discovered that doing a CTRL-ALT-DEL on that screen would get me to a Windows Login screen that DID work.

I can't imagine why this is happening. Can anyone suggest a cause and a resolution for this problem?

I have two GB of memory. I have 82 processes running. CPU usage rarely goes over 5%. Available physical memory is around 230,000.

The computer has been running fine aside from this issue.

 

Have you tried the mouse on another PC? What sort of mouse is it?

 

I have a Microsoft Wireless 2000 Optical Mouse.

I just plugged in a Logitech wired optical mouse and the same frame controls that I can't click on with the wireless mouse work fine with the wired mouse. Also, when I unplugged the wired mouse and tried clicking on the minimize controls in my programs, the wireless mouse now works on those!

I'm not sure what to make of that. Is the wireless mouse failing but in a selective way so that only certain mouse clicks are ignored while other mouse tasks work fine?? Why is the wireless mouse "recovering" after using the wired mouse? (I should mention that I never disabled/disconnected the wireless mouse while using the wired one.)

One other thing I should point out: the scroll button on the wireless mouse has been a bit stiff for the last few days; I'm having to use more pressure to turn it than previously. Also, it frequently goes into "autoscroll" mode where the page I'm viewing starts scrolling when I didn't mean to scroll; a single right-click on the page stops that behaviour. What would make the scroll button start to jam like this? I have a lot of loose cat hair flying around due to my two cats but I don't see how the cat hair would have got into the mechanism. The cats do not lie on the mouse or even stand over it and I don't see how hair from the mousing surface would have gotten into the mouse wheel. The mouse about three and a half years old; could it be failing due to "old age"?

 

Sometimes things just break; it sounds like your mouse is on its way out if another wired mouse is not reproducing the same problem.

Have you tried changing the batteries (I'm not kidding, I had to ask). You could also try uninstalling and reinstalling the wireless mouse drivers.

 

I'll try replacing the batteries and replacing the mouse drivers but I'm starting to think there is something else going on that (probably) doesn't involve the mouse.

When I play video files, typically AVIs, I change their properties to "hidden" when I am finished viewing them so I know which ones I have already seen. Normally, it takes only a few seconds to right-click, choose Properties, then choose "hidden" and click on Apply or OK. Today, for some reason, it is taking MINUTES. I right-click then wait two or three minutes for the context menu, Then I wait another couple of minutes for the Properties dialog. Then I finally click on Hidden and Apply which still goes quite quickly. I only noticed this for the first time today although I do it several times a week so this is new behaviour. For what it's worth, I tried the right-click and change of Properties with my wired mouse and it still took a long time.

Two completely unrelated bizarre behaviours seem unlikely to me. I suspect these may be two aspects of the same as-yet-undiagnosed problem but it doesn't seem like the mouse would have anything to do with the new problem.

 

Presumably you have antivirus software (which one do you use)? Run a full PC scan. Also download and run Spybot Search & Destroy. You can get that here.

 

and just an addendum to what ripper said,download and run a hijack this scan.dont fix anything,just post a log.

 

weird behaviour is the first sign of a virus.
As for the mouse all i can think is its faulty or the wireless signal is faulty if its not the batteries or a virus related problem.

 

I have had a similar issue with my mouse in the past. I changed the battery and the issue went away. I have no idea why it only affected some clicks and not all.