Windows 10: New Mouse has PITA method for highlighting text & Moving scroll bar

I've just bought a Microsoft Comfort 4500 wired mouse. I chose it because it's Microsoft and according the MS Store blurb it has "five customizable buttons that help ensure confident navigation and peak productivity". The booklets that came with it were in size 4 (?) font and covered dozens of languages - But there were no operating instructions. Two routes were on the packaging: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/downloads and http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/support. The first said "Sorry - this download is no longer available" and the second said "page does not exist". Ah well, such is the pace of change nowadays that it was no longer the most recent product by the time it reached me!

(1) To highlight text with my old mouse I simply position the cursor at the start of the text, left-click, highlight, right-click at the end of the text and press COPY. With the Comfort 4500, when I position the cursor at the start of the text and move it to the end, the highlighted text than changes as my mouse moves. I have to left-single-click once when I reach the end of the text to anchor it and then press Copy.
(2) Same kind of problem with the vertical slider bar on the right of internet pages. If I click on it at the top and move to the bottom it just goes up and down all over the place! Again, when I reach the position on screen that I want to look at, I have to left-single-click it to anchor the slider bar.

Not world shattering but a PITA, and an unexpected one thanks to MS' failure to provide operating instructions. And I've still no idea how to get to the promised "five customizable buttons".

I'd appreciate your thoughts please. I don't think I can blame a failed major WU this time nor Brexit.

You can download the Manual and the drivers from here: https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-us/products/mice/comfort-mouse-4500/4fd-00025#techspecs-connect

https://www.microsoft.com/accessorie...ort-mouse-4500 appars to have access to the manual you need.

Now this is a UK based location so you may be redirected to it's equivalent in your local market

Although you can use this mouse as a standard mouse to access the extra features you will likely need to install Intellipoint drivers also available on the page

Standard way to highlight text with a mouse is to click and drag or click to start and Ctrl-Click to mark end point have never heard of a right click option, must have been a Feature of you previous mouse

I've just got my older Microsoft mouse to work. The same thing is happening on that too so I was wrong to blame my new Microsoft Comfort 4500 - - sorry Microsoft., Spunk and Barman58.
@Barman58 - in one of the other threads here (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.o...%3D&reserved=0) three days ago you said that "It's been normal practice for as long as I can recall for an Upgrade to reset the registry and other standards to default".

Might this be the cause of my my problem? I've checked the mouse settings but can't see anything there that appears to relate to the 'highlighting text' problem.

further update: I bought a bottom-of-the-range Acer laptop months ago as a back-up in case a WU trashed this laptop. (I'm glad that I did as the BSOD got me in the October Fall Creators & I used my Acer to get help = Clean Install.)

I've just got it out to do this week's WUs and both mouses work 'normally' on it, even post-WU.

So the problem of highlighting text is only on this PC. Must be in settings - should I roll back to default?

The recent upgrade could indeed be the cause of the changes to mouse behaviour, however as I do not know what is causing your mouse to use a non standard procedure for marking text - the normal method would be as I previously stated, and I have never seen the left click /right click method you describe, so this can only be some 3rd party tweak maybe as part of some program or driver that loads automatically, You could check the task manager start-up tab for anything that is loading on the systems that are "working correctly" and not on the one that is not.

I don't think a rollback will be the best way as It's a bit much to correct a small issue. (I know it's important to the way you work, but it's not causing BSODs or crashes ) This change from the standard is something that must have been added, (likely not specifically),

I will see if I can find any data on possible sources

I have a HP laptop here and my mouse does not work the way you describe so it's not likely to be a HP thing

Edit

I have just tried your selection method again and I can get it to work the way you state, (sorry misread your method ) - I think the issue with the MS Mouse is related to the intellipoint driver check if MS automatically added the driver when it saw the mouse on your system ( click the Windows key and type intellipoint If that works click on the option to open the driver and change the default actions to ones that are acceptable to you - the Driver may have also added an entry in the control panel winkey then Control should give access). If the intellipoint driver/applet has not been added it may be worthwhile installing it from the link posted earlier in this thread. so that you can switch of the "helpful" options it appears to have enabled

Intellipoint does not seem to work with windows 10 ( version 8.2 was the latest I could find which is for windows 7 ) there is a Mouse and Keyboard centre that supposedly replaces it on this page https://accessories.trafficmanager.n...e-explorer-3.0 ( check correct 32/64 Bit is selected)

I read one thread on the MS forums and the Microsoft rep suggested they check with the manufacturer of the Microsoft Mouse, and another user stated categorically that the Intellipoint mice will not work correctly with Windows 10

Personally I have not used Intellipoint drivers since Windows 7 as I changed to a totally Logitech solution, (universal Wireless range) I have two Keyboards, an MX Master Mouse and a Trackball attached to this system at the same time and they just work

Barman58 said:

. . . Personally I have not used Intellipoint drivers since Windows 7 as I changed to a totally Logitech solution, (universal Wireless range) I have two Keyboards, an MX Master Mouse and a Trackball attached to this system at the same time and they just work

I installed MS's Mouse & Keyboard Centre and it looks good. But the problem I've found (for now) is as I mine down & select an option, after five or six of those moves I didn't have a clue where I was; as one option failed, getting back to where I'd selected that instead of another was impossible. (We need the computer equivalent of when actors in films look for the way to the treasure in caves, they tie a ribbon at each intersection so they can find their way out - if this makes sense). And I jumped out of my skin when I clicked the wheel and there were five screens showing. That's brilliant.

So I'll keep working at it and report back.
PS/Moan Corner - what I dislike most about PCs is that every time I'm looking into a solution, another problem smacks me on my nose. And it's happened again. My older mouse has just died again so I've bitten the bullet and have bought another Comfort 4500. When it arrives I'll check out your advice again to see if you've said how I can manually install it and prevent MS from doing it automatically. Then I can compare notes between the performances of the mouses.

PPS My PS (every time I'm looking into a solution, another problem smacks me on my nose) has happened again - before I sent this reply, I had another peep inside my laptop's workings just in case I found a relevant setting. Instead I found this:




Hand-on-heart, I can't say that this problem did or didn't exist before my Clean Install two months ago. I'll dig more when I've time and start a new thread here (after searching first of course). Your support is much appreciated. Thanks.

Missing drivers can always be an issue, more so on a very New or old device where they may not yet exist or the hardware has gone out of support. Some will state what hardware they relate too, some will not

If you know the hardware and it not working actually causes you an issue, (not all do, eg driver for an infraRed system that was fitted to some laptops at one time, but never caught on, and is never used), you can right click on the yellow triangle and try update driver, if this works fine if not you can check the Manufacturer's site.

If you cannot find the hardware, if you check the menu there should be a View by connection option this will sort the drivers by where they are so you can see there is a eg. USB device without a driver.

There are also ID codes issued by Microsoft that are shown in the properties and there are lists of these available online that can ID a device driver shown as Unknown. There are threads on the forum dealing with Unknown Devices,

Barman58 said:

Missing drivers can always be an issue, more so on a very New or old device where they may not yet exist or the hardware has gone out of support. Some will state what hardware they relate too, some will not . . . . . .
There are also ID codes issued by Microsoft that are shown in the properties and there are lists of these available online that can ID a device driver shown as Unknown. There are threads on the forum dealing with Unknown Devices,

Hello Nigel - I'll look into what you've advised me over the weekend (what's left of it). My second Microsoft Comfort 4500 has arrived - how can I install it manually please?

The Comfort mouse should work without specific drivers, so it should be Plug and Play, It will of course not have any of the "special" functions and Features, Which may actually be what you are looking for.
I always load the drivers to give me the option to switch on and off features that suit me, (sometimes I'll switch on or off a feature, just for a specific job - an enhanced scroll can be useful when you need to scroll through pages of data )
If you load the Mouse and Keyboard centre as you did with the first comfort mouse then that will load any drivers it needs as part of it's installation,

With the issue you had with getting "lost" in the settings menu, Microsoft often uses the Home/End/PageUp/PageDown Keys to navigate, the arrow keys are also used as is , surprisingly, the backspace for go back.

Also of course the default buttons on the mouse may also include a back button. Check the user manual (on the download page ) or try F1 whilst in the Mouse and Keyboard centre