Here we go again - 'puter problem - dead mouse.

[NikFu S.]

Ok I had to go back over everything, looks like it's almost all been covered before I got here.

Was Windows Update active or something similar being performed the night it was left on? A recent update could have disabled your mouse.

Other than a random registry error I'm really stuck on identifying the problem. Have you tried booting into Safe Mode?

[Ron Mummert]

Originally Posted by NikFu S.

Ok I had to go back over everything, looks like it's almost all been covered before I got here.

Was Windows Update active or something similar being performed the night it was left on? A recent update could have disabled your mouse.

Other than a random registry error I'm really stuck on identifying the problem.

Thanks for your indulgence, Nik. The updates, I guess, are always on, so nothing new there. Looks like it's "finger-pointing" for the time being, which I detest, but at least the 'puter "works".

Ron.

[NikFu S.]

I'm still looking.

Try disabling the "Synaptics PS/2" device. That is your touchpad driver. There could be a conflict.

If that fails [re-enable touchpad] go down to "Universal Serial Bus controllers" and uninstall your "USB Root Hub", then reboot and they should reinstall hopefully after correcting an error.

I'm finding a lot of people with your exact problem, and the only commonality between them is an up-to-date Vista. For the record I have a Vista machine that has been running for 5 years or so without much of a problem, but the difference in my machine is it is still on Service Pack 1.
This has always been something of a peeve of mine, but I don't like Windows automatically updating itself. When something goes wrong it makes it so much harder to diagnose when the update causes a conflict.
Generally I turn off Update and leave it alone until there is a problem. I think there is a good chance a recent update crashed your mouse.