Member Avatar for Psyrick

I just reformatted my PC and installed windows XP Pro. Everything went fine and the computer was working. Suddenly my USB mouse broke so I have to change the mouse. Unfortunately there was no USB mouse available so I shut down the PC and plugged in my PS2 mouse. It didn't work. I tried testing the mouse on a different PC and it works Ok. So I tried to plug it in again and it did nothing. Is there a olution for this? I don't think my computer detects that there is a mouse plugged in my PS2 port. Is there a way I can correct this without having to re-install windows XP? :rolleyes:

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Rude

Dani AI

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Short diagnostic summary and practical next steps. PS/2 mice are initialized by the motherboard at POST (they are not reliably hot‑pluggable) and use a very simple, BIOS‑level interface that Windows then uses. If the exact same PS/2 mouse works on another PC but not on this one, the likely causes are a faulty PS/2 port (bent pins, wiring, or motherboard fault), a wrong port (keyboard vs mouse), or a BIOS/firmware setting; software in Windows is rarely the root cause. In this thread ultimately replaced the mouse and ’s suggestion to go straight to a low‑cost replacement was a pragmatic fix.

Quick, ordered troubleshooting (easy checks first):

  1. Fully power off and unplug the PC, then reseat the round PS/2 plug carefully (align pins; do not force).
  2. Inspect the PC port for bent/broken pins or debris; also try the other PS/2 socket if present (color codes: green=mouse, purple=keyboard).
  3. Test a known‑good PS/2 keyboard in the mouse port (or the suspect mouse in a known‑good PS/2 port) to isolate port vs mouse.
  4. Boot with the PS/2 mouse connected and watch for cursor movement on early boot screens or in BIOS setup (some BIOSes support a pointer). If it never appears even before Windows loads, this is almost certainly hardware.
  5. In Windows check Device Manager -> Mice and other pointing devices; remove any unknown entries and reboot so the OS redetects devices.
  6. If using a passive PS/2<->USB adapter, note many mice require true dual‑mode support; passive adapters do not convert signals.

Final notes: Hot‑plugging PS/2 can damage pins; avoid it. If the motherboard PS/2 port is dead, the fastest options are a USB mouse, a PCI/PCIe PS/2 adapter card, or motherboard repair.

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Member Avatar for Rude

If it doesn't detect it in its state, I seriously doubt re-installing XP will do anything for the mouse anyway. You're better off just getting a new mouse, for which you can get great ones for under $20 anywhere, nowadays.

Member Avatar for Psyrick

If it doesn't detect it in its state, I seriously doubt re-installing XP will do anything for the mouse anyway. You're better off just getting a new mouse, for which you can get great ones for under $20 anywhere, nowadays.

Solved the problem... Just bought a new mouse.. hehe
Thanks! ;)

Member Avatar for Rude

Glad you got your problem worked out. :)

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