I had a few minutes before my helper got here for day two of the Paul Bunyan adventure so I went to Amazon and looked at their offerings. I agree, I don't think I would purchase a mouse without seeing/testing it physically for feel and comfort, but it was a one-stop look-see. Hopefully this is the last question as I feel lazy in not researching this myself. I just don't have the time right now and the old mouse is "circling in the bowl". I would hate to transfer a ten year old two-button mouse from the garage system onto this system. Their seems to be an extensive price range, $12.00 to $99.00. My thoughts are to stay around $30.00 or less. Am I on the right track? I have plenty of rechargeable batteries around so that will not be a concern. Cat, You missed out. In May the chainsaw and I were down your way doing our thing at my son's. If I had known I would have stopped by. I will be down again in three weeks as we have some more work to do inside. We are finally going to put up the shelves and install the doors on the walk-in closet I built in their master bedroom when he had his back surgery. Plus, a few other things. DA

I use a Logitech MX1000 laser mouse and I am very happy with it. The G7 linked below is the next generation but looks very similar. Mine has 8 buttons (I do not use them all) and the beauty is you can do so much more with the choices. Go back or forward a page is thumb controlled. The wheel can be rolled, pressed down for down scrolls or pressed sideways to move left or right of wide pages. It is a large mouse making life a little easier on arthritic hands. The only negative issue is more me than the mouse, I fail to place it in the charging stand and have on rare occasions had to walk away while it charges. Minor irritation easily corrected with a smarter operator. I have a Logitech roller ball controlled with the thumb. Again, great for arthritics but I found I never had close enough control when photo editing. Other than that I did like that mouse, still have it in fact. Here is a link that might be useful: Logitech G7 laser mouse

If you are running a regular mouse connected to the computer by a cord (mouse tail), the default drivers in Windows XP will work. However, if your mouse has other than standard features such as extra buttons or a wireless link, then you need to install the software that came with the mouse. If you are using a wireless keyboard (and) mouse combination, I'd expect to install new drivers for these. Also, make sure that the batteries are good in the wireless device(s). Sometimes the batteries supplied with equipment are poor, have low capacity, and are barely have enough charge to get the system going. These may soon expire. On the average, batteries need to be replaced about every 6 months in wireless mice and keyboards.

Bill, As stated above, there should be a Dongle (Nano Receiver) that plugs into a USB Port on your computer. Depending upon which Gearhead Wireless Mouse you have, the Dongle could be stored Under the Battery Cover or you may just have a Slot in the Bottom of the Mouse for Storage (no cover). To make the Mouse work: Remove Dongle and Plug it into an Open USB Port on your computer Remove the Battery Cover and place Fresh AA Battery/Batteries in the mouse (Make sure they are installed in the correct direction) Turn the Mouse to the On Position (Switch on Bottom of the mouse) Turn on your computer and allow Windows to Install Drivers for your mouse. If by some chance Windows Can't install drivers for you, go to the manufacturers website, download and install the drivers you downloaded Because you have not listed a Model Number for the mouse: Older Mice had Much Longer USB Dongles (hopefully the dongle hasn't been lost, there was NO On Mouse Storage). The Oldest Mice had a Box with a Cord that you set on your Desk (the mouse was still wireless though)! If by some chance you have one of the older mice, there might also be a Connect Button on the Dongle and the Mouse. If it does have a connect button; you'd First press the Connect Button on the Dongle and next the Connect Button on the Mouse.