Genius GM-6000 mouse on USB: a lost battle?

[meisteranker]

Hi fellow geeks, I have a Genius GM-6000 three button serial mouse I bought NOS on EBay.
The mouse works great on my Pentium 3 tower, that has a onboard serial port, and its sensitivity and smoothness is impressive. The clicking is silent and very responsive too.

However, I have a problem... Basically, I bought a el-cheapo transparent blue USB to serial adapter with a HL-340 chip set.
I struggled a bit to install the drivers for Windows 7 x64 but in the end I got it working and set it up to COM4,, and it let me set the RS232 parameters for the Microsoft mouse.

I have tested the adapter with a two buttons Logitech 82-9F mouse from 1987 and works like a charm; in fact it's the mouse I'm currently using on my laptop, an Asus K50ID from 2009!

The issues come when I plug the Genius instead. The mouse has a mechanical switch that lets you choose between Microsoft and Mouse Systems mode. When I plug it into the adapter, the mouse is detected as Microsoft Serial mouse, however the cursor doesn't move, but the buttons work! I can select stuff and open context menus, but no matter what I do, the cursor won't move.

I have tried different drivers, updating the laptop's chip set drivers, flashed the BIOS, no dice.
Is there a solution for this issue? Should I replace the adapter? I work in a computer repair store, and they sell a USB to serial adapter with a Prolific chip set. Shall I give it a go?

Thank you in advance friends, I love the GM-6000 and I would like to use it as my daily driver.

[Tactile]

Skip the Prolific chip and get something with an FTDI chip. I have one of these but they make several USB to RS232 converters.

There's a longer story but I'll just say I was having problems with a piece of equipment until I changed out the Prolific chip converter I was using for an FTDI converter.

I don't have any idea how difficult it would be to find one of these in Europe, though.

[meisteranker]

I have found several of them on Ebay, some are Startech branded. I also found several converters with the FTDI chipset that are cheaper. So you think it's just a chipset issue? In that case I will buy a FTDI chip and cross my fingers, hoping it will work with the Genius.

The one I'm using at the moment works only with the Logitech. Have you tried it with three buttons mouse such as the GM-6 and the GM-6000?
I've been searching on the internet about that kind of mouse connected to the USB port, but apparently seems nobody ever wanted to use that model on a modern laptop without serial ports... 

[davkol]

FTDI… wasn't that the company, that used a driver update to destroy hardware clones? Yeah, sounds familiar.

[Tactile]

FTDI… wasn't that the company, that used a driver update to destroy hardware clones? Yeah, sounds familiar.

Yeah, that's right. I won't get into the politics of that decision or how I feel about it. I bought my FTDI converter from FTDI so I've had no problems.

[meisteranker]

I have found these two converters that apparently have FTDI chips in them:

http://www.ebay.it/itm/1-8m-USB-to-Serial-Adapter-FTDI-CHIPSET-RS232-WIN-7-8-DB9-/122113903040?hash=item1c6e8e49c0:g:GMoAAMXQWzNSc3z4

http://www.ebay.it/itm/USB-to-Serial-Adapter-High-Gold-Quality-FTDI-CHIPSET-RS232-BT232-WIN-7-8-DB9-/390982958316?hash=item5b08667cec:g:XwsAAOSwg3FUcO9l

Anybody knows more about them? I've read that there are a lot of converters with counterfeit FTDI chips. I thought these could be a good alternative at a lower price, if their innards are genuine...

[Tactile]

I have found several of them on Ebay, some are Startech branded. I also found several converters with the FTDI chipset that are cheaper. So you think it's just a chipset issue? In that case I will buy a FTDI chip and cross my fingers, hoping it will work with the Genius.

The one I'm using at the moment works only with the Logitech. Have you tried it with three buttons mouse such as the GM-6 and the GM-6000?
I've been searching on the internet about that kind of mouse connected to the USB port, but apparently seems nobody ever wanted to use that model on a modern laptop without serial ports... 

I've never had any pointing device connected to my FTDI converter. I'm only saying that, from the point of view of the electronic device, the FTDI chip looks electronically and behaves more like a genuine RS232 port than anything else available.

[meisteranker]

I understand... I hope there's someone who has a Genius GM-6000 mouse and a FTDI chipset adapter who can do this little test... So I know if it works before I pull the trigger.

The strange thing is that the other three buttons mouse I have, a old Trust from the early '90s, that like the GM-6000 has the MS/PC switch, doesn't work at all. While the Genius at least detects the button action, the Trust is not detected and gives no sign of life, although it works on a real serial port.

The only thing I can think about is a chipset incompatibility, as I've read that many people have been unhappy with CH/LH-340 chipsets.

EDIT: I bought this adapter:

http://www.ebay.it/itm/122113903040?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

It says it has a FTDI chipset, so I guess the Genius should work with it, hopefully. I'll keep my fingers crossed!