Mouse Failure – Symptoms and Troubleshooting Introduction As software packages evolved beyond simple menus and began to make use of the powerful graphics systems coming into popular use during the mid-1980s (i.e., EGA and VGA graphics, ever-larger amounts of information were presented in the display. Simple, multilayered text menus were aggressively replaced with striking graphic user interfaces (GUIs). System options and selections were soon represented with symbols (graphic buttons or icons, instead of plain text. Using a keyboard to maneuver through such visual software soon became a cumbersome (if not impossible) chore. Peripherals designers responded to this situation by developing a family of pointing devices. Pointing devices use a combination of hardware and software to produceand control a graphical screen cursor. A software device driver generates the cursor and reports its position. As the pointing device is moved around, hardware signals from the pointing device are interpreted by the device driver, which moves the cursor in a similar manner. By positioning the cursor over a graphic symbol and activating one, two, or three of the buttons on the pointing device, it is now possible to select (i.e., click or “doubleclick”) and manipulate (i.e., drag) options in the application program instead of using a keyboard. Three factors are needed to make pointing devices work the physical signal-generating hardware itself, a software driver (the device driver, and the application program must be written to make use of the device driver. If any of these three items are missing, the pointing device will notwork. This chapter looks at the technology, maintenance, and troubleshooting of two popular pointing devices the mouse and the trackball.