Fix That Frozen Mouse! Windows Vista Mouse Problems

One day you boot up Windows Vista, and everything works. Then another day, you boot it up again and find that the mouse is not working. Of course, the usual way to solve it will be used, like restarting in Safe Mode and doing a System Restore, or by going to the Windows Boot Manager and trying to use the “Last Known Good Configuration” mode, but still it doesn't work.

A freezing mouse (mouse arrest?{ is a recurring problem in Windows Vista. Some users bear with it and use the TAB key instead for navigating, but for some users, this is annoying. These are seven methods usable for the freezing mouse problem. If any of this could not solve the freezing mouse, then the problem should be hardware related, in which the device might be malfunctioning or the hardware producer hasn’t made the sufficient driver available. The safest way currently to avoid this problem is by using known brand-name devices which have the Windows Vista sticker on them.

In some cases, the reason why the mouse is not working is due to the mouse sampling rate. Newer mouses have a higher sampling rate, and Windows Vista seems to not allow this. While earlier versions of Windows did not any promblem here, Vista appears to be very picky about the sampling rate.Try changing the sample rate of the mouse to 60 reports/second.

For this, you will need a program called USB Mouserate Switcher 1.1 After installing the program, try changing your sample rate to 125Hz (8ms). Your mouse should work normally. If not, try using the next method.

Microsoft has released an update to Windows Vista (all versions) that should fix the problem with USB mouse drives. The update can be downloaded from Microsoft, and it's worth a try. Unfortunately, not many people fixed their mouse problem with this update. If this update is not working for you, try using the next method.

Some people have the freezing mouse problem during high-memory programs, such as games and memory-hog applications. Try using Task Manager to turn off unneeded tasks. Trying to decrease the number your startup programs might help, too, or you can try and use msconfig.exe to turn off some services (most services in Windows Vista are not vital for the Windows framework). If this is not your solution, try the next method.

Strangely, the freezing mouse problem only persists on PC that have Intel chipsets. The solution for this is, of course, installing the newest chipset drivers. This should help in every Windows Vista build, except for the Windows Vista Ultimate build. For Vista Ultimate, the success of this method is not guaranteed, although there are still chances of this working depending on the hardware you have. If you are using laptop, you could also try putting the power options to High Performance settings.

If you still have an old PS/2 mouse, you can try plugging it into your PC's PS/2 port and then uninstalling your USB mouse driver. Then, restart the computer, and insert your USB mouse again. Windows should try to find the driver for the mouse and install it. After installation, try to use your USB mouse again.

If that's not your solution, try the next method.

Go into the Device Manager and look under “Mice and other pointing devices.” Delete all records there and restart your computer. After restarting, try inserting your USB mouse again. Windows Vista should install the driver for the mouse. When the installing is complete, check again, and the driver should work.