Mouse not working in XP (guest) with Vista Ultimate x64 (host)

[Defenestrator]

Hi,

I've just converted an MS VirtualPC machine into VMWare format because I'm told that VMWare Player (VMWP) has support for USB devices.

Anyway, I've got the new VMWP machine* running, but it doesn't seem to register the mouse at all. The mouse cursor does move around, but clicking on things either produces no result or does something weird like just open the start menu. The keyboard works just fine though, in fact it is only via keyboard commands that I'm able to log in to the machine at all and do anything.

The mouse and keyboard are a Logitech MX3200 cordless desktop and they share a common USB receiver, in case that makes any difference.

• (XP 32 bit is guest, Vista Ultimate 64 bit is host)

When I've got the mouse over the VMWP window a message in the bottom left of the frame says "to return to your computer press ctrlalt", when the mouse cursor is outside of the VMW Player window it says "To direct input to this virtual machine, press ctrlG", but only when VMWP has focus in the host. There is no message when it is not the focus app. Pressing ctrlG doesn't seem to do anything, nor does pressing ctrlalt.

Clicking with the mouse (inside the guest) does not select any apps, but a right click does bring up the usual right click menu you get when right clicking on an empty area of the desktop. Sometimes a left click brings up the start menu, but that's all.

I'm hoping there is some relatively trivial error I'm making so it can be relatively trivially fixed, but the help menus don't say much of assistance with this.

[asatoran]

Did you uninstall the Microsoft Virtual Machine Additions? MSVMA can cause mouse problems in VMWare virtual machines.

[Defenestrator]

There was no MSVMA in either the guest's or the host's add/remove programs list (the guest does have VMWare Tools though, presumably installed when I ticked the appropriate box in VMWare converter after I looked up this problem in Google and found a lot of people saying VMWT needs to be installed.)

So to be safe I uninstalled MS Virtual PC 2007 off the host.

The mouse still doesn't work though...

[asatoran]

Converter doesn't install VMWare Tools unless your destination is a ESX server. So I don't know where the VMWare Tools came from. Try uninstalling Tools, reboot, then reinstall Tools. The version of Tools you have may be an older version or if it was already there when the virtual machine was in VPC, Tools may have become corrupted.

[Defenestrator]

Well removing VMWT fixed the problem with the mouse, but it came back when I reinstalled it.

I'm using Workstation 6.0.

[admin]

Can you post the vmware.log file for the VM? It should be in the VM directory along with the disk files and config file.

Also, can you try shutting down the VM, adding vmmouse.present = "FALSE" to the .vmx file, and then powering it on again?

[R-I-P]

This will probably work for you. I hope it does.

http://www.desertblizzard.com/?p=165

[a2ashraf1]

First of all,

Microsoft Sucks ass.

Secondly to get your mouse working in the guest, i landed upon a trick that worked for me.

Manually using the keyboard go to the mouse window (start-control panel-mouse)

Third tab: pointer options

Visibility section, enable the check box: Display pointer trails (first one in that section)

Boom! you should have mouse with right click working, reduce the trail size to zero. Now you can use your mouse to trouble shoot your problem.

[gazman2]

did this ever get solved. have pretty much the same issue. It works in microsoft virtual pc great. USed workstation 7 to convert to vmware machine. Loads but have the moiuse issue - can use keyboard - oh yeah great

[gazman2]

Had the same problem about a year ago in windows XP though.  Cant rememebr exactly how i did it, but after i got VMtools installed and working everything seemed to work fine.  Now creating XP machines with no problems .  Admittedly these are 32 bit machines but i am running on windows 7 64 bit.

Hope this helps - but as i said if i remember right i needed vmtools installed and working.

Gazman2