USB mouse freezes when flash drive inserted

Bfavre444

Senior member
Mar 6, 2001
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I have a Microsoft USB optical mouse and a Sandisk Cruzer Mini flash drive. The PC is a compaq 900Z laptop. Whenever I plug in the flash drive, my windows XP makes the usual "dingdong" sound indicating it detects something, and then my mouse freezes. When I check My Computer icon, there is no flash drive listed even though Windows had made the sound before. I've tried another brand flash drive as well, and the exact same thing happens.

So that is when I insert the flash drive when WindowsXP is already on. However, if I start the computer and it goes into Windows with both the mouse and flash drive already connected, then all is well. Meaning flash drive is first detected, ready to be used, My Computer icon lists the drive, and mouse works too.

Might this be power related? There are only 2 USB 1.1 ports on my laptop, and when I plug in the pen drive, the mouse freezes but the optical red light shuts off too, indicating the mouse has lost power. The pen drive however is lit. After unplugging and plugging back the mouse and pen drive, nothing changes. There's no re-detection of mouse nor pen drive. I must reboot.

Has anyone had a similar problem?



UPDATE

Never mind. I have found a resolution. I went out and bought a Lexar flash drive and plugged it in, with absolutely no problems. It works perfectly. So I guess the problem was with the Sandisk Cruzer flash drive not coorporating with my USB port. Though this is the solution, I think I might have a guess at what the original problem might be.

The Sandisk flash drive was requiring 200 mAH. I'm guessing that my laptop's USB port can't handle a 200-mAH device. When I checked the mAH required by the Lexar drive in USB Root Hub in Device Manager, it was only requiring 100 mAH. The 200-mAH Sandisk however worked just fine on a desktop PC so maybe the desktop's USB ports supplied more power. So it kind of adds up that it might have just been my laptop's USB port or controller.