Nghh... Windows annoys me as much as the next guy, but for the most part I don't have computer problems often. My system is about 6 years old overall, and being selective with patches (about once a month at most) keeps my system working in top condition. Just to give you an idea, I haven't seen a blue screen on this machine since I built it, and my previous machine running XP gave me a BSOD about once every two years. Things rarely go wrong, and every time I've tried to switch to Linux over the last 15 years, I end up coming right back to Windows because, ironically, it gives me fewer problems than anything else I've tried. Even my Macs gave me a ton of problems that Windows never has. My PCs have all worked, and they are always rock solid stable. No viruses or malware, a proper firewall, and nothing running in the background I don't know about. Clean as a whistle!
So when things do go wrong, I panic.
Yesterday, my machine just stated doing weird stuff where I couldn't close windows, and window focus just seemed to be totally random. The taskbar didn't work at all, and applications had a mind of their own. I could navigate with the keyboard, but mouse control was all screwed up. I quickly ruled out both mouse buttons as being faulty. I disabled software services, swapped out drivers, did a system integrity check, and outright cussed Windows for doing something stupid again. Yet, everything tested out just fine. I plugged in and tested some alternate hardware, too, to no avail.
I was tearing my hair out trying to find what kind of software problem was making my computer unusable, and wasted an entire day trying to fix this. Finally, I broke down and accepted I'd just have to re-install my PC again, which is the nuclear option I never want to do, since it takes FOREVER to re-install all my development tools.
Then, I finally figured out what the problem is. My mouse, which is not quite a year old, has a sticking mouse wheel switch. My PC thinks I'm constantly holding down the 3rd mouse button.
I'm not sure what's worse. The fact that Windows doesn't make it obvious that the infrequently-used 3rd mouse button is always engaged, or that so much havoc could be caused by one tiny little switch. Seriously, who actually uses the mouse wheel to click? It's a button with usability so terrible, that just shouldn't exist at all!
Nonetheless, I feel stupid for being duped so long by something that should be so obvious, and yet again blaming software for a silly little hardware problem.
So, yeah, I lost a day of productivity and will have to get out my soldering iron tomorrow to rip that little sucker out, since I don't need it. At least fixing a mouse won't take the 2-3 days it would normally take me to reinstall Windows7.
What can I say? Yes, I do expect computers to be perfect. But clearly I am not. 8)
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5 years, 9 months ago
14 Jul 2018 12:40 CEST
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