External mouse is not working

[stevef]

For a suspected hardware fault, the usual approach is to try swapping hardware where you can if you have spares..

Assuming it is a USB connection, does the laptop recognise a different USB device (e.g a memory stick) if you plug it in instead of the mouse ?

Does the mouse work if plugged into a different machine ?

If it is an optical mouse, does the LED on the underneath glow ?