# Device manager is a mess, how can I clean it up



## wallypiper (Nov 30, 2008)

OK.
I don't really KNOW it's a mess but it sure looks like a mess. And I do have these random periodic issues with the keyboard and mouse that I'm guessing are driver/software related.

Both the keyboard (MS wireless) and mouse (Logitech wireless) occasionally just get unresponsive. Not totally dead but slow to respond or just seem to completely miss keystrokes or clicks. I've tried all the easy stuff - remove and reinstall, new batteries etc.

Here's what seems screwy to me. In device manager, there are 10 entries under Human Interface Devices. None of them are clearly identified as belonging to any particular device. 6 of the 10 have no driver files. If you click on the Driver Details button, you get a message that no driver files are required or loaded.
All of these are identified in the DM list as "HID-compliant consumer control device" or "HID-compliant device".
The four that have driver files listed are all identified as "USB input device". All four list the same 3 driver files.
In addition, there are separate sections in Device Manager for the mouse and the keyboard.
There is one entry in the keyboard section.
There are 2 entries in the mouse section, one that is just labeled "HID-compliant mouse" and one labeled "Logitech HID-compliant Cordless mouse".
The driver under the Logitech entry is fairly new with a date of March 2010. All the other drivers seem to be very old with dates in 2006.
Of course, removing keyboard and mouse entries from device manager is tricky since you must have one or the other functional in order to do anything, even reboot properly.
What are all these HID entries and are they needed? Can I get rid of them? Could they be creating conflicts that cause my herky jerky mouse and keyboard response?


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## wallypiper (Nov 30, 2008)

I tried disabling each of these entries, one at a time. I was able to disable all but two or three of them and both the keyboard and mouse continued to function. Some of them may relate to a multiformat card reader thing that has 6 different sockets on it. I don't use it a lot but it's handy when I need it. It plugs into a USB socket on the mobo.

At any rate, whenever I boot Windows, it repopulates the list. While the card reader may account for some, it still seems to be somewhat messed up. For example, I can remove all mouse related entries. The mouse of course quits working. Then when I reboot they all come back.

The mouse is a Logitech MX620 wireless. It uses a USB transceiver.

At this moment, in device manager, the following entries exist that can be clearly associated with the mouse:

HID-compliant Consumer Control Device, Location - on Microsoft Hardware USB mouse. This entry exists twice. Both entries say no driver file is required or loaded. On the other hand, both list a driver date and version - 6/21/2006, 6.1.7600.16385

HID-compliant Device, Location - on Microsoft Hardware USB mouse. This entry also says no driver files are required or loaded but lists the same driver info as above.

Microsoft Hardware USB Mouse, Location - 0000.001a.0000.001.000.000.000.000.000. This item does list loaded driver files and a newer driver date: 6/29/2010, 8.0.219.0

Then, under "Mice and other pointing devices" there are two entries.

HID-compliant mouse, Location - on Microsoft Hardware USB mouse. Driver info is 6/21/2006, 6.1.7600.16385

HID-compliant mouse, Location - on USB input device. Same driver information as the previous entry.

Are all these entries in Device Manager needed for a functioning mouse?


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## wallypiper (Nov 30, 2008)

bump?


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

If the mouse is functioning properly, leave the entries alone.

*6/21/2006* = a default date back to the days of Vista, which does show up in Windows 7, i.e., it is legit

*6.1.7600.16385* = Windows 7 build number - also legit

Does the Logitech mouse require drivers - or is it PnP?

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

`


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## wallypiper (Nov 30, 2008)

It seems to be PnP. I used Driver Sweeper to remove all Logitech drivers from the system and it still works. There is a mouse utility program that Logitech has, called SetPoint, that allows you to set/customize some mouse functions but it's not really any better than the one Windows 7 provides by default. Actually, Windows has some stuff I like and Logitech has some stuff I like. The thing is, it doesn't always work. It mostly does but every now and then it gets jerky and quirky. Then it gets OK again.

I used to have a MS mouse and it was fine and they it started to misbehave. The left button would get wonky, requiring you to hold it down a long time before it responded or sometimes click it several times on something. I decided to just get a new one and got the Logitech. The salesguy said I could probably fix the MS mouse by cleaning up the contacts in the left button but I wanted a plug in fix right now so I bought the Logitech. Now, I suspect is wasn't the mouse at all but some software issue that is still plaguing me.

I'd like to get rid of all the mouse entries and do a fresh install. I've tried but I'm not sure I'm really getting there. All of those multiple entries keep coming back.

On my laptop (Vista Business), there is ONE entry under Human Interface devices, and two under Mice (one for the actual mouse and one for the touchpad, I think).

Why does my home box have this seeming endless list of devices? Is that a Windows 7 thing or is there something wrong?


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## wallypiper (Nov 30, 2008)

I think maybe this is not just a mouse issue.
Monday night, my wife complained that the computer was slow and "not connecting". I didn't feel like messing with it at the time but then Tuesday morning I sat down and sure enough, everything was slow. I WAS connecting but the throughput was very slow. Speedtest.net seemed to just hang up and never complete the test. Email would finish downloading. But it wasn't just the internet. Everything on the system was slow. Slow response to mouse clicks, slow response to keyboard. Everything.

I ran a Seagate disk check utility (from a bootable CD) and both drives passed with no problems. I ran Memtest 86+ for one full pass and got no errors. I ran Prime95 for about 2 hours with no errors. So I don't think it was hardware. I ran a virus scan (AVG) including a rootkit scan and found nothing. Gave up. Had to go to work.

Last night, she told me it was still slow. I had other things to do last night and didn't look at it.

This morning, everything seems completely normal. Fast, keyboard responding as fast as I can type. Mouse working perfectly. Speedtest? 9.9 Mbps. Everything seems totally normal and back to the way it was.

That's good, but awfully mysterious.

Where do I look for clues as to what was wrong and how to fix it (if it's not fixed on it's own)?


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