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This fix worked on a Win98se/Athlon rig. I don't know if the either the bugs or the fix apply to a WinXP machine. If you happen to know, please say so.
I just purchased a Logitech Dual Optical 4-button mouse for gaming (I use a trackball for everything else). The hardware works well, but the latest version of their Mouseware software is total crap, at least if you're a gamer. There are problems getting the scrollwheel to work in games, but there is a workaround and a registry fix for that. Two other bugs are the real deal-breakers:
1. If you want to use button #4 in games, you must assign it either to SHIFT or CTRL in the Mouseware control panel. Other assignments will work in desktop applications, but not in games. Also the Mouseware software must be loaded in order to use this button.
2. Even if the #4 button is working, there is about a 2-second lag after you press it before the button will function again.
!! WARNING !! Do not install the Mouseware software at all unless you have some sort of rollback program running. The Uninstall routine did not return the system to its previous state. !!WARNING!!
What seems to be working for me (so far so good) is to install only the drivers for the Logitech mouse and to use Microsoft Intellipoint software for the button assignments. Here's how:
1. Beg or borrow a Microsoft 4 or 5 button mouse. I used an Explorer, but I suspect anything with at least 4 buttons will work. Boot up the computer and plug the mouse into a USB port. Point the New Hardware wizard at your Windows CD if necessary.
2. Install the Microsoft Intellipoint mouse software, v3.1a or better. You can download it for free if you don't have it. It will ask you to specify what model of Microsoft mouse you are installing (there are pictures). Reboot.
3. Go into Device Manager and open up the Intellipoint panel to make sure the mouse is installed as a 5-button mouse. Now unplug the Microsoft mouse. The Intellipoint software seems to retain the 5-button configuration even if you later plug in a 3-button mouse, so you should only need the 5-button MS mouse for this one install routine.
4. Plug in the Logitech mouse. It will be detected as a generic HID-compliant mouse. Go into Device Manager and find that entry. Click on Properties, then the Driver tab, then on Update Driver. When the wizard comes up, click on "Have disk" and point to the proper drivers folder on the Logitech CD that came with the mouse. In my case the folder was \MW\Win98.
5. Reboot, then if you go into Device Manager, you should see the Logitech mouse listed under its proper name. Now you can open up the Intellipoint control panel and assign whatever you want to button 4. The defaults for the other three buttons seem to work fine (#3 is Auto-scroll).
So far, I have not had any more problems since I did this installation, but it is early times yet. At the moment, I have three pointing devices plugged into my computer: the Logitech Dual Optical on USB, the Microsoft Explorer on USB, and a Kensington trackball in the PS2 and they are all co-existing happily (me likes to have flexible options).
Depending on the game, you may or may not have to load the Intellipoint program to enable button 4 (I like to keep my system tray as lean as possible). Unlike the Logitech software, which must be loaded at bootup, the Intellipoint software can be loaded from the Start menu. The button assignments seem to be stored in the mouse itself, rather than in software.
Comments?
Last edited by redkitty at Today at 8:27 am
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Hybrid Mode
