Not an actual mouse, just a computer mouse.

I'm doing some computer work for an organization, and they're having a weird problem with one of their servers. About half the time they boot the machine up, when it gets to the login screen, the mouse starts going batsh** crazy. It constantly jumps all over the screen. It even appears that it's clicking, as occasionally it moves the login window around if it lands on the title bar.

The only thing to do is a hard reset of the server, and pray that it doesn't come up the next time it boots. Which seems to be about a 50/50 chance.

So far, I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the mouse a couple times, and I've even tried disabling the PS/2 ports in the BIOS. Any other suggestions?

Is it an actual, real server hardware wise? If so, check any remote management devices, like a remote insight board (HP) or DRAC (Dell). Some of the older ones had some odd cables that had to be hooked up just right. Also check for VNC or any other remote control programs (outside of Terminal Services).

Also, is it attached to a KVM of some kind?

I think the obvious thing, after resetting any attached KVM switch, is to remove the PS/2 mouse entirely, disable it in the BIOS, and attach a USB mouse instead.

Cheers

It's hardware, a Dell. What's this "remote insight board?" No, there is no KVM, the keyboard and mouse are plugged directly in. I'll check for remote software tomorrow morning, but I would assume that wouldn't start before the computer is logged into. The behavior starts the instant the mouse cursor appears, before "Windows is loading your settings" or whatever.


Yes, and that's what I did. I only mentioned disabling the PS/2 ports, but I also attached a USB mouse.

Remote Insight Board was HPs name for a "lights out" option, Dell calls it DRAC (for Dell Remote Access Card). It can be either a PCI board, or on newer boxes something integrated to allow full remote management of the server usually via a web browser. It will hook into the video, and keyboard/mouse to allow full control even when an OS isn't running.

As for a program like VNC, it can start just like any other windows service can. And that means it can be a boot time service that starts prior to any user logging in.

I had this problem with a Compaq with ATI video. It seems that Winders uses the vid driver in some way for mouse display (and entry, it seems). The vid drivers that came with the Compaq had this problem, but when I installed the drivers from the ATI web site, it cleared up. It was interrmittant on this 'puter too.

I'll try that too, thanks.

Download a LiveCD and boot that to see if you get the same issue

So far no one in this thread has said anything about the following sanity checks:

- loose cord?
- bad cord?
- loose ps2 port or broken traces on ps2 port from cord strain?
- bad mouse (try different mouse)?

Those are the first things I did. Right off the bat I asked them for a new mouse, then I disabled the PS/2 port in the BIOS so as to take it out of the equation.

I tried troubleshooting it again this morning. Didn't have any solid conclusions. They did have a remote control application installed called "LogMeIn," so I disabled that since they're not using it at the moment. The program had added a second display adapter of its own, which I disabled, and I unchecked the component that loads at startup via msconfig. We'll see if that has an effect.