Mouse Doesn't Work in Windows 9X/Me
Last updated: 7/20/01

Q. I have a PC that runs both Windows ME and Windows 2000. My serial mouse does not work with Win Me.  It works fine with Win 2K... What's the fix?

A. Residual registry entries in Windows 9x/Me from a previous mouse/pointing device installation are probably causing the problem.
Click Start, Click Run, and Enter “regedit” (without the quotes). In regedit click Registry on the menu and Select Export followed by Export Registry File. Save (backup) the registry files to a convenient location like My Documents.
Click plus signs as follows
+ Hkey_Local_Machine
+ System
+ CurrentControlSet
+ Services
+ Class
+ Mouse
Delete all <nnnn> entries, which are registry keys consisting of incremental four-digit numbers starting at 0000.
Likewise, delete the following keys if they exist:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum\Root\Mouse\<nnnn>
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum\Serenum (all keys like this)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Logitech\Mouseware
Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Manager, and remove all serial pointing devices.
Restart Windows.
Reference: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article ID: Q142405, Microsoft Plug and Play Pointing Device Not Detected. Do this at your own risk.

Windows FAQ Index

Also, see Windows Tips and Tricks.