USB Mouse in Win95

VulcanSoulPatch

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OK, I did this once before, but I seem to have forgotten, or it is just not working this time for me.

I was assigned a crusty ol' P-II laptop at work w/Win95. I want to hook up my ergo keyboard and optical mouse. The laptop has one PS/2 and one USB port (as do most). I want to hookup the mouse to the USB port, but I know that Win95's USB support is 1) not native and 2) limited to low-transfer devices, such as mice (e.g., you can't hook up a PDA cradle to the USB port of a Win95 machine).

I ran Microsoft OEM USB Supplement ver 4.03.1214 that I found in C:\Install, rebooted, but it still does not seem to recognize.

Also on the machine is the USBSupp.exe file and USBHub.sys, as well as other assorted USB files.

<font color=red>Does anyone know how to get a USB mouse working in Win95?</font color=red>

Thanks.

VSP

<i>Whatever causes your water transportation vessel to maintain proper buoyancy.</i>
 

Toejam31

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Since you've got the correct files in the system, I'd yank the USB host controllers out of the Device Manager, and force Windows to reinstall the device.

Then I'd install the mouse driver, and hope that it was detected.

Make sure that the USB hub is assigned an IRQ in the BIOS.

Remember, this will only work if the the version of Win95 on the laptop is OSR2-B or C.

Toejam31

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VulcanSoulPatch

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Hey, <b>Toey</b>, thanks for the quick reply!

Well, I going to go backwards . . . ver is B (4.00950 B).

I can check the BIOS and see what it says.

However, this laptop is somewhat . . . restricted. I cannot access the device manager. Sys Props only shows General and Performance tabs. Guess they don't trust us (read: know).

This blows!

Any other recommendations, aside from throwing the POS out the window?

[rant]<i>Why I get the P-II and others get the P-III 866 is beyond me. Hardware here is given out based on popularity, not aptitude.

I feel like I am back in high school.</i>[/rant]

OK, going to see what I can do. Will return.

VSP

<i>Whatever causes your water transportation vessel to maintain proper buoyancy.</i>
 

VulcanSoulPatch

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I found another port on the back. What does this symbol mean?

_|¯|_|¯|_

¯|_|¯|_|¯

Does that mean serial? Maybe if I get the PS/2 to serial converter I have at home, I can go USB to PS/2 to Serial and <i>then</i> get the mouse to work. Does that sound plausible?

VSP

<i>Whatever causes your water transportation vessel to maintain proper buoyancy.</i>
 

Toejam31

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I'm not sure what that symbol means.

If I had a picture of the port, I could identify it.

I've never tried hooking a USB mouse to a PS/2 port converter, and then to a serial port converter. I think you're on your own with the experimentation on this one, Vulcan!

Let me know if that works, just for the heck of it. LOL!

Toejam31

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<font color=purple>"Procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."</font color=purple>
 

VulcanSoulPatch

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I think it is serial . . . it is 9-pin (5x4) male port and it has the same plug dimensions as the monitor port.

It has been sooooooo long since I have used serial. I actually have a PS/2 to serial adapter. It came with my VersaPad when I thought that touchpads were all the rage.

Some things just don't translate well from laptops to desktops . . . oh, well . . .

I just downloaded the Logitech driver for the mouse to the laptop, but I will wait for tomorrow since I don't want to set it up as PS/2 and then again tomorrow as serial, if it is indeed a serial port.

Will keep you posted.

VSP

<i>Whatever causes your water transportation vessel to maintain proper buoyancy.</i>
 

VulcanSoulPatch

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Oh, forgot to ask . . . do you know how to access device manager outside of System Properties? I would like to check on other things on the laptop, but they have my User access restricted.

VSP

<i>Whatever causes your water transportation vessel to maintain proper buoyancy.</i>
 

Toejam31

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You could try this:

Right-click the Start button, and from the context menu select Explore. Right-click an empty space in the right-hand pane, select New > Shortcut from the context menu. In the field labeled Command Line, type:

C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL.EXE Sysdm.cpl, System,1

(Replace C:\Windows\ with your Windows directory, if the Admin installed it in a different directory)

Click Next, type Device Manager when prompted for the name of this shortcut, and click Finish. This will place a shortcut to the Device Manager in your Start menu.

Note: If you have a "Microsoft Natural Keyboard" or any other keyboard with the special Windows keys, you can access the Device Manager directly by pressing the Windows + Pause/Break key.

If this doesn't work, you aren't going to get in, not without being the System Administrator. Rank hath it's privileges, ya know ... even they are jerks, and it doesn't seem fair!

Toey

<font color=red>My Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=6847" target="_new"><font color=green>Toejam31's Tantalizing Tantric Toy</font color=green></A>
<font color=red>Second Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=15942" target="_new"><font color=green>Toey's Dynamite DDR Duron</font color=green></A>
____________________________________________________________

<font color=purple>"Procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."</font color=purple>
 

VulcanSoulPatch

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Argh! . . . No dice! Same as right-clicking on My Computer and selecting properties. Just the General and Performance tabs.

Like I said, this blows.

I found the connector last night, but I had it backwards . . . it is a serial to PS/2 connector, as the VersaPad was serial native. So I threw that idea out of the window. I did bring in the old Microsoft serial mouse that I had laying around (i.e., attached to my wife's computer that she never uses because her laptop is newer), and the plug fits into that funny port, but it did not recognize. I may need to load a serial mouse driver to get it to work, I am not sure. So, for now, I am using the USB mouse through the PS/2 converter I have and not worrying about the keyboard.

[rant]<i>Now, if I had one of those new PIII laptops, then I would have no problems because it seems that they have not restricted access to the Device Manager on them. Moreso I would not have any problems as they are running Win2K . . . :mad: !</i>[/rant]

As for Rank . . . they are in a separate unit than I, so we do not rank over each other. They, however, have all access to our computers and treat us like we do not know s#!t from shinola. Worse than that, every time I make a suggestion to them, I hear it two weeks later in a memo as an idea coming from one of their managers.

Well, all this fooling around hasn't helped me get my work done any faster, so I am closing all distractions.

Let me know if you have any other good ideas . . . I don't want to give up on this just yet.

VSP

<i>Whatever causes your water transportation vessel to maintain proper buoyancy.</i>
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
The USB update does not have drivers for most chipsets. So the best thing you can do is reload the chipset drivers, then, if necessary, the USB support again.

Also, it doesn't have built in USB mouse drivers, so you'll have to load those as well.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Perhaps from the mouse manufacturer, or another mouse manufacturer, such as the Microsoft USB mouse driver, which installs by default whenever I try a USB mouse on my Win98 system.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?