Computer, Why Do You Hate Me?

[queerbychoice]

Have I mentioned that I'm extremely clumsy and somehow manage to fall on my face at least once every few months? Well, this evening I tripped over my mouse cord and yanked it out of the computer port. Since then I have plugged it back in, rebooted the computer, plugged it into several other ports, rebooted again, rebooted without any mouse at all, plugged it back in, rebooted again, turned off my surge protector and unplugged the computer entirely from the wall, rebooted again a dozen more times, but my stupid computer insists it no longer recognizes my mouse's existence. So now I'm stranded having to do everything entirely via keyboard. I am not happy at all. I foresee an emergency mouse-shopping trip after work tomorrow.

NOT HAPPY.

Have I also mentioned that I am an internet addict fully capable of severe withdrawal symptoms after less than five minutes without a mouse to click on links with?

Comments

[freeze-dried.livejournal.com]

Look at the serial plug on the end of your mouse and see if the pins are bent. If they are, you can straighten them with tweezers and it should work again.

:)

[limenal.livejournal.com]

You might also try re-installing the mouse driver software if you have it. Sometimes that works - I had a similar thing happen to me once and that solved it.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, the mouse only came with a note saying "the drivers are already included on your Windows installation disk," and I don't know how to figure out which of the many drivers on that disk are the right one except by persuading the computer to recognize my mouse's existence so it will tell me which drivers are the right ones.

[limenal.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is so diabolical! Well, huh. I guess you could do a custom Windows install, but that seems...unnecessary and possibly useless/disastrous. Never mind.

Good luck fixing this!

[cleanlikegod.livejournal.com]

Stupid Computer, You Go Squish Now!!!

[inkstained.livejournal.com]

If you go into your control panel and mouse there's an option you can turn on to make the arrow keys move the cursor. It's a bit slow but it's better than no mouse at all.

Didn't you already replace one mouse in the last few months?

-ink

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's somewhat helpful. Yeah, I bought my current mouse in early July. And I bought the one before that the previous fall, and its packaging said it would last five years. Never believe a mouse's packaging.

[ex-doubleplu570.livejournal.com]

i'm a total klutz myself--

at my poetry reading last month, i walked into a plate glass window.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

I remember. Perhaps you are a bird?

[ex-doubleplu570.livejournal.com]

i totally am,
but i'm trying
to quit.

[gnostalgia.livejournal.com]

If you have USB ports on your system (which you probably do)you can get a serial -> USB adapter for a couple of bucks which might solve your problem. Look at any CompUSA or equivalent.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

It is a USB mouse, and is already plugged into a USB port. I have numerous random adapters to adapt practically any round port to practically any other round port, but my computer does not possess any PS/2 ports or any other type of round port except a keyboard-only port (um . . . don't ask how I happened to collect all the useless adapters), and I do not have any adapters that will adapt USB to a rectangular port. So that leaves me stuck.

I did switch it from one USB port to a different USB port several times, but that didn't help.

[gnostalgia.livejournal.com]

Oh, ouch. That means it's probably one of those damn USB quirks. What edition of Windows do you have on the box, and how old is the PC?

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

It's a 1998 PC with Windows 98, and it didn't originally come with any USB ports but I manually installed them. Today I determined that the little green USB port had popped out of its slot when I knocked the computer over by tripping on the cord - so um, that would be why the USB mouse wouldn't work.

[gnostalgia.livejournal.com]

Rule #1 of tech: CHECK THE CABLE.

I have sworn that I would have this tattood on my forehead, backwards, so I can see it in the mirror every morning...

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

No, it wasn't the cable though. It was the little green card deep in the innards of the computer hard drive's case. I had to unscrew the computer case and open the whole thing up with all the wires exposed in order to get to it.

[gnostalgia.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a metaphor for everything hardware-related that can be fixed by making sure Tab A is firmly seated in Slot B. :)

[theobscure.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough I have the same falling tradition. You know, you're not that easy to reach outside of LiveJournal? I tried sending you an email the other day, and after searching and searching, it bounced back at me.

Anyway, sorry that your computer is evil. That particular David Bowie song, however, is not. ;)

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Did you send to "gayle at davidbowie" or "gayle at queerbychoice"? Both of those addresses are mostly functional, but I'm aware that the davidbowie servers bounce back mail occasionally. They appear to be functional right now though - I mean, I got your LJ comment through them.

If you sent to one of my hotmail addresses then yeah, those are too overfilled with spam to ever work, and I don't bother checking them more than once a month anyway. Ignore those. Send to davidbowie or queerbychoice.

Resend please?