Trackpoint L40 issue

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I know there are quite a few of you out there that have a Track Point L40 mouse, and I am curious if anyone else has had any problems with theirs?  I have two, and with one, I had dropped it at one time by accident and now it gets really poor tracking.  The other, when plugged into my Dell Dimension 4600, causes the computer to not boot up, it locks up after loading about 90% of BIOS.  Any ideas on fixes?

[kishy]

Generic assistance to the rescue.

Open and thoroughly inspect the mouse. Inspect the rollers and the way they mount for damage. Apply light pressure to all parts to check for movement in a direction the part should not move.

As for BIOS, the system is running a self test (POST) during that loading bar. If you let it sit for a while does it spit out an error or does it never finish at all?

I'd be curious to see what the error is if there is one. Dells can take a while to finally decide on the error to spit out so be patient (but it would never take >1 minute, I'm sure)

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

What happens is the BIOS just stops loading and the computer won't respond to any keystrokes made on the keyboard.  As for taking apart the L40, I would do that if I knew how, but these things really aren't designed to be taken apart.

[ch_123]

Has it always had this effect on the laptop, or is it something that has only started recently?

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

It is a desktop, and it is only that one trackpoint L40.  I have another one that doesn't do that, but that one has poor tracking ever since I dropped it.  I am fixing that one now though, I found out how to disassemble it.

[microsoft windows]

That trackpoint L40's probably drawing too much power.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

no, becasue they all draw the same amount of power, and it only does it with that one L40.

[microsoft windows]

Those old mice are flooky. Some draw more power than others. It's similar with my M5-2 at startup. Every once in a while, the mouse makes the keyboard fail when the computer starts up.

[ch_123]

For some reason, neither my Trackpoint I or my original PS/2 mouse work with the PS/2 pass-through on either my M4-1 or M13.

[kishy]

For some reason, neither my Trackpoint I or my original PS/2 mouse work with the PS/2 pass-through on either my M4-1 or M13.

That's gonna be mobo related. I can use either of my original PS/2 mice on the M13 without issue.

I'm gonna go with insufficient power being supplied.

[EverythingIBM]

It is a desktop, and it is only that one trackpoint L40.  I have another one that doesn't do that, but that one has poor tracking ever since I dropped it.  I am fixing that one now though, I found out how to disassemble it.

Yeah, there's a little sticker at the bottom which you pull off, and allows you to unscrew it. IBM does that with a lot of things, including L190 monitors and thinkpads.

As for your "dell" not powering on. Well, all of my IBM computers run it fine, so, it could be something wonky with the dell itself.

If it IS a power issue, you shouldn't be able to hook a model M in the dell (or at least have issues with it now and then). Try switching the L40's mode when you boot up. I presume you have it in trackball form while booting, so convert it to mouse mode and see what happens.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I'll try all these ideas, thanks.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Well I seemed to have fixed the tracking issue on one of my Track Point L40's.  Now I just need to try rebooting the computer with one plugged in.  Also, If there is anyone who needs to know how to disassemble their Track Point L40, I have added a page to the Geekhack Wiki.  Thanks for the help!