If not malware...then what?

Several days ago my computer started to have strange delays, changes in displays, and difficulties in recognizing my mouse commands.

At first I thought it may have been a problem with the mouse, itself, because it was seemingly not consistently responding when I would click on either the left or right button. I use a wireless Logitech laser mouse and have replaced the batteries (having battery tested them first) and I have reset the Logitech connections and mouse multiple times, but I continue to have frustration with non-responsiveness and inconsistencies.

Furthermore, I have found that it is not just that the mouse won't press stationary items, like buttons, but it will also not work when in motion such as trying press and drag the mouse to select sentences in a Word document. I am unable to get all the words to highlight no matter how many times I try, nor can I increase the success by changing the direction from which I begin the selection. Aside from Word documents, I have also found that the unresponsiveness is evident on my desktop, in games, and on my internet browser.

I have one other strange occurrence to report. Two days ago, as I was dealing with the worst delays yet, having to click upwards of 7, 8, 9 or 10 times and still not getting the mouse/system to respond, I began to worry that my computer was going to stop working so used the CCleaner and started to prepare to back everything up. After cleaning my history, I was surprised to see that there was an item remaining in my internet history list...but it was not from the internet, at all. When I clicked on the entry, it opened the most recent Word file that I had saved. This is unnerving because this file has no connection to the internet whatsoever; it is saved in My Documents and nowhere else.

At that point, I was really concerned that I may have something serious to address, even though the scans that I had run had not identified anything for me to address on my own. It was then that I posted my concerns on the Malware forum and spent the last 24 hours following the guidance of Kestrel13! until it was determined that nothing more could be done from the Malware end, and I was instructed to post a new thread on this forum. Since my problems remain, my hope is that someone here will be able to offer additional help!

Thank you very much!

 

Hae you tried a wired mouse (USB/PS2) to see if it displays the same type of issues? Did that Word document have a hyperlink in it?

 

Dear mdonah,

Sorry for my delay in getting back with you, I had not tried a wired mouse...until you just suggested it. I had to borrow the mouse, as I don't own one which is wired; but, in the few minutes I have had to test it out, it appears to have made a clear improvement.

I really don't know what this means in terms of my Logitech Laser mouse; is there a "fix" for the mouse or do I need to replace it? It is a mouse that came with the wireless keyboard I use; they were a set. I would be very grateful for any more information you could provide on how best to handle this situation.

Also, in answer to your question about the Word document, no, there was no link of any sort.

Thank you!

 

The keyboard and mouse interface with the computer via Bluetooth. Do you have the latest driver installed? If so, it could be a problem with the Bluetooth card itself and it may need to be replaced (they're inexpensive and easy enough to replace [one screw and one twin-lead connector]).

 

Dear mdonah,

Once you mentioned the driver, I was actually hoping that an outdated driver might be the problem because that sounds easy enough for me to fix with only a little help; but, sadly, that was not the case. I did a check and my computer indicates that I have the most recent Logitech driver.

Unfortunately, I am now left a bit confused by the additional information you provided about a Bluetooth card and twin-lead connector. I am embarrassed to say that I am not familiar with either of those things and I cannot find a place on the outside of the mouse that has a screw, only a sliding panel to replace the two double A batteries that power it, so I am not certain what would be required.

The coordinating keyboard has plenty of screws on the bottom; could it be that the Bluetooth and the twin-lead connector are housed in the keyboard? If so, that would be curious because the keyboard it is not having any troubles; it is only the mouse that is problematic. Could the Bluetooth or connector have an issue that would only effect the mouse? I apologize for my lack of understanding.

Thank you for your help!

 

What make (logitech) and model is this keyboard and mouse?

 

Hello theefool,

I believe that my set was called the Logitech - LX310 - Cordless Desktop Laser Keyboard And Mouse Combo when I purchased it. It was a combination of a wireless keyboard and mouse in a single package.

Thank you!

 

That's OK. The Bluetooth card would be inside the computer case and not the mouse or keyboard. Since you state the keyboard has no issues, the problem lies only with the mouse. Perhaps theefool can be of more assistance.

 

On the logitech site, I found a thread where two people had problems with the mouse for the LX310 combo.
This is what the tech said to try

 

This may not be the issue, but I have to keep my Logitech unifying receiver and my Logitech PS3 gamepad receivers separated. The active PS3 dongle interferes with the unifying receiever.

Do you have any wireless hardware which may cause a proximity issue?

 

I have a Logitech setup that had similar problems, I replaced the battery in both the keyboard and mouse and all was well again!

 

Dear mdonah, thee fool, plodr, the mechanic, and Ewen,

Please forgive the exceptionally long delay in getting back with each of you. I had a big project due and decided to simply take advantage of the wired mouse I had borrowed (at the suggestion of mdonah) to get the work done before I needed to return the mouse.

Now that I can turn my attention back to the problem with my own mouse, I will give an update to each of the unanswered posts that you left:

plodr - I really appreciate you searching the Logitech website! Unfortunately, even though I tried the reset protocol in multiple different usp ports, nothing improved the strange, slow, unpredictable and intermittent responses of wireless mouse. In fact, I also took the receiver, keyboard, and mouse to another person's computer and they checked the responsiveness on their set-up. They found that the mouse displayed the same results on their computer as I am struggling with on my own; the issue is only evident in the mouse, itself. I just don't understand what would cause a mouse to stop working with seemingly no explanation. ​

the mechanic - I do not have any additional wireless hardware, so I am still searching for the cause of this recent change in my mouse's response.​

Ewen - I certainly wish that the answer to my problem could have been simply the batteries! Sadly, I have already changed the batteries and have double and triple checked that they are full of charge, yet the mouse continues to be a true frustration!​

If any of you would have additional thoughts on how to identify what is causing this unusual situation...I would be most grateful for your help!

Thank you very much!

 

If you have a spare USB port, it might be easier to just replace the mouse with a different wireless one.

I own a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse combo for at least 7 years. The keyboard caused me so many problems that I packed it away, and replaced it with a wired keyboard. I'm using the wireless mouse on a KVM switch with 2 computers with no problems. (Mine is a PS/2 combo so you know it is very old).

 

I have no problems with my Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse.
But I keep a fairly fresh install of Windows. For some reason Windows keeps adding copies of my keyboard and mouse and then gets confused so I drop keystrokes. At that time I restore my system.
If you had a working setup and now do not; restore from an earlier time.

Or you can try to fix it which may take many hours and end in failure.