# Help! My mouse is on the fritz and I need keyboard navigation skills!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-mouse-is-on-the-fritz-and-i-need-keyboard-navigation-skills/116911>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 1, 2002, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-mouse-is-on-the-fritz-and-i-need-keyboard-navigation-skills/116911 "2002-07-01T21:56:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-mouse-is-on-the-fritz-and-i-need-keyboard-navigation-skills/116911/21 "2002-07-05T06:08:19Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Flamsterette\_X \*  
> \*\*
> 
> Yes, indeed… I know those quite well. 🙂 However, how are you supposed to select text in the first place for it to copy and/or paste? Maybe I will try reassigning the buttons… thanks, **SmackFu**. Oh, and another thing: how can I check off little boxes like the ones that appear below the “post reply” box? Any ideas?
> 
> F\_X \*\*

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**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-mouse-is-on-the-fritz-and-i-need-keyboard-navigation-skills/116911/22 "2002-07-05T06:14:51Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Flamsterette\_X \*  
> \*\*All these are very good tips. Thank you all. 🙂 However, I can assure you that my computer is indeed a very old model, so the wires are not color-coded, nor is there a picture of a mouse next to the plug where you’re supposed to put it in. That said, does anyone else have any ideas? 🙂
> 
> F\_X \*\*

You could pull on the mouse and see which wire moves. Or you could tie a small piece of string around the mouse wire, and follow it until you get to the back of the computer.

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**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-mouse-is-on-the-fritz-and-i-need-keyboard-navigation-skills/116911/23 "2002-07-07T08:18:30Z")

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**Horseflesh** , thanks for saying I’m doing a good job of posting without a mouse. I try, sort of. 😃

Actually, I figured out what the white line was. Somehow, I managed to click the “Set as Wallpaper” option on a webpage, and it saved it as “Internet Explorer Wallpaper.” Weird…

However, I still think I need a new mouse, keyboard (maybe), and/or hard drive. (hey, if this one is running at slooooooow speeds, there must be something wrong with it!) Besides, my sound volume has crapped out on me as well. Sigh…

F\_X

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