Mouse Inactive in MS-DOS Apps After Exiting Windows 3.0

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.0
• Microsoft Mouse Driver for MS-DOS, versions 7.x and 8.x

SUMMARY

The Microsoft Serial Mouse may not work after you exit Microsoft Windows version 3.0 if the mouse is connected to a dedicated mouse port. This information applies to all versions of the Microsoft Serial Mouse and versions 7.0 through 8.2 of the Microsoft Mouse driver for MS-DOS.

WORKAROUND

If the customer is using PC Tools, try to initialize PCSHELL with a /PS2 switch as follows:

   pcshell /ps2

MORE INFORMATION

This problem may occur even if the MS-DOS version of the mouse driver (MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS) is correctly loaded into memory on the machine. A designated mouse port is reset upon entering a MS-DOS application. Upon exit, Windows performs a "soft reset," but some MS-DOS applications require a "hard reset" of the port. Consequently, the mouse isn't active in such an application even though the mouse driver software was installed in memory.

Possible solutions to this problem are as follows:

1. If you are using the Windows mouse driver version 7.04 (MOUSE.DRV, file size 3699 bytes) with PC Tools, call Central Point Software at (503) 690-8080 and request the files FIXWIN.BAT and FIXMOUSE.COM. These files will generate a hard reset on the mouse port.

   Note: PC Tools is manufactured by a vendor independent of Microsoft. We make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

2. If you plug the mouse into the COM1 or COM2 serial port and the problem disappears, there may be a problem with the mouse port other than specifically the need for a hard reset. If you plug the mouse into the COM1 or COM2 serial port and the problem persists, continue with the steps below.

3. In the subdirectory that contains the mouse driver, type "mouse" (without quotation marks). The message "Existing mouse driver enabled" is displayed. This causes a hard reset of the mouse port, and the mouse should then work.

4. Update your Windows MOUSE.DRV file to version 8.0 (file size 9216 bytes). This reportedly corrects the problem in most cases, but there are known to be exceptions. This file comes on the Microsoft Mouse version 8.0 driver update disk. To obtain this disk, call Microsoft Sales Information Center (MSIC) at (800) 426-9400.