Compatibility of Mouse and My DVD Burner on iBook

[Rene87]

I just bought an iBook G4 12 inch combo. And the cheap mouse (scroll one without stating that it is Mac Compatible) I bought hardly work on my Mac. When I plug it in to the USB port, the mouse just doesn't work, meaning the cursor on the screen doesn't respond to it as I'm moving the mouse. And when I plug it out and plug it into the other USB port, it still doesn't work until I plug it out and plug it into the first USB port that I plugged in, it works, but only for a few lucky times.
When the mouse is connected through USB port on my iBook and not responding, I can still use the trackpad normally.

Does it mean that I have to buy a "Mac Compatible" mouse so that this problem wouldn't occur?

But the guy working at the Mac shop told me that any kind of mouse will work fine on my iBook. Obviously, it doesn't seem to be so though.

I've tried the cheap mouse I bought on both my iBook and the other PowerBook, it only works a little bit better on PowerBook, (without having to plug it in and out and in) it sometimes works on PowerBook and sometimes just simply doesn't (respond).
Still, this is frustrating, and also, strange.

I've tried checking in the System Preference>Keyboard and Mouse>Trackpad>Trackpad options. It just doesn't work even I've ticked or unticked the "Ignore trackpad when mouse is present".
Also, I've checked in the System Profiler>Hardware>USB>USB Bus. It doesn't detect the mouse that I've plugged in to the USB port.

I wonder if this would be the same when buying other peripherals like external hard disk, external DVD burner, etc. Would this kind of compatibilty occur?

I've tried opening a DVD using my external CD & DVD burner that was connected to my iBook via USB port. My iBook only detected the burner when the disc was inside the burner. But when I connect the burner to my iBook without the disc in it, the machine just won't detect anything.
That was when I started getting to know about the iBook.

[tlarkin]

Pretty much almost any usb mouse should work with OS X natively. I have used generic cheap inland mice on macs before with no issues. You probably have a bad mouse or a software related issue.

Try creating a new user account, call it test or whatever, and try using your devices under a new user account. Does it work?

[robarmo]

Sounds like it could be a dodgy USB lead/connector for it to be flaky like that on two different machines.

It could be a Mac-driver related problem, although additional drivers should only be needed if you want more than the 2 mouse buttons and the scroll wheel to work, or you want the buttons to be programmable for different apps etc.

As for your external burner, do you mean it doesn't show up on the Desktop or in the "Computer" window when no disc is inserted? If so, this is normal behaviour - unlike in Windows, it's the actual disc that appears, not the drive.

It should still show up in the System Profiler when connected and powered up, even with no disc inserted.

Rob.

[voldenuit]

As you have tested the mouse on two machines and it misbehaves on both, it most probably has a hardware defect unless you installed any third-party drivers for the mouse.

Get your mouse changed.

[Rene87]

I have tried 2 different mice on both iBook and Powerbook. But none of them worked.

Yes, it does show up in the Sytem Profiler when the DVD burner is connected and powered up with no disc inserted. It only shows the drive on the desktop when a disc is inserted. As you've said, this is normal.

However, it doesn't seem to be normal for the mouses that aren't working on my iBook. It's strange.

[Rene87]

Perhaps, poorly made of mouse just wouldn't work on Mac.