OS2 World Community Forum

OS/2, eCS & ArcaOS - Technical => Applications => Topic started by: RTAN on August 29, 2024, 12:33:45 am

Title: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on August 29, 2024, 12:33:45 am
Hi,

I run OS/2 Warp 3 on real hardware: an aging IBM PC 300GL.

I was previously using a Microsoft Home Mouse (serial) and it was fine, but I had to crank up the mouse tracking speed to maximum in the regular Mouse applet in the System settings.

I've subsequently swapped to a Microsoft Basic Mouse (PS/2) and the tracking speed is noticeably slower. So much so that even with tracking speed at maximum it moves really slowly across the screen.

I've re-run Selective Install and told it that I'm now using a PS/2 mouse instead of a Serial mouse but unfortunately that's made no difference.

Is anyone aware of any other method or application that will allow me to crank up the tracking speed *even more* than what the built-in Mouse control panel applet allows?

Many thanks,
Richard.
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: Dave Yeo on August 29, 2024, 01:45:36 am
Try using AMouse, there's an older version on Hobbesarchive which says it runs on Warp. http://hobbesarchive.com/Home/Download?path=/Hobbes/pub/os2/system/drivers/mouse/Amouse_2-80.wpi (http://hobbesarchive.com/Home/Download?path=/Hobbes/pub/os2/system/drivers/mouse/Amouse_2-80.wpi).
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: Lars on August 29, 2024, 08:20:02 am
Either David's suggestion or get

http://www.hobbesarchive.com/Home/Download?path=/Hobbes/pub/os2/system/drivers/mouse//IBM_Single_Mouse_10-163.zip

from hobbesarchive.com and install that (the install.exe is missing, just copy files manually or get an older version of single mouse from hobbesarchive)
and then try the "FORCEPS2PP" or "FORCEGENERIC" or "FORCEIM" parameters (without the quotes) on the mouse.sys commandline.


Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on August 29, 2024, 07:28:37 pm
Thank you both for taking the time to reply. Unfortunately IBM Single Mouse (any version) requires Warp 4 or greater.

I was able to download an older version of AMouse that installed on Warp 3 and whilst it offers some excellent customisation options for wheel mice it doesn't include any functionality to adjust the tracking speed.

If anyone has any other suggestions I'd be very grateful, otherwise I will simply revert to the Microsoft Home Mouse for now. I was previously using a Logitech PS/2 mouse without issue so perhaps this Microsoft one has just too low a dpi tracking rating for which the control panel slider can't compensate enough.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply!

Richard.
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: Pete on August 29, 2024, 10:56:54 pm
Hi

Does the PS/2 mouse work OK on other systems? - Just wondering about possible hardware fault(s) ...


Regards

Pete
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on August 29, 2024, 11:36:38 pm
Thanks, yes it does. But on reflection I think the ball is gliding more than turning. Even though it’s brand new it’s a Microsoft ball mouse (new old stock) and I have a funny feeling it’s just not rotating properly. And that would of course cause exactly the problem I’m experiencing.

So I’ve reverted to my Logitech PS/2 optical mouse and will take advantage of AMouse to see if I can get the wheel working for scrolling.

Thanks!
Richard.
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: Bogdan on August 30, 2024, 01:09:35 am
Thanks, yes it does. But on reflection I think the ball is gliding more than turning. Even though it’s brand new it’s a Microsoft ball mouse (new old stock) and I have a funny feeling it’s just not rotating properly. And that would of course cause exactly the problem I’m experiencing.

So I’ve reverted to my Logitech PS/2 optical mouse and will take advantage of AMouse to see if I can get the wheel working for scrolling.

Thanks!
Richard.
For Warp 3 systems it's more useful to use the IBM ScrollPoint mouse driver (https://public.dhe.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/os2ddpak_cur/scrollms.exe).
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on August 30, 2024, 09:57:24 am
Thanks Bogdan, I'll be sure to give that one a go!
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: Martin Iturbide on August 30, 2024, 07:25:25 pm
Hello Richard.

Sorry for going other path here. I remember that I used to give IT support to PC300GL long time ago. The device has USB 1.0 (or 1.1) ports on the back. I always wonder if those ports will work with Warp 3. Do you already have USB there? Do you think you want to give it a try for the older USB drivers? Is it a critical machine or you are fine playing with it?

According to the readme, the IBM USB Basic Stack Drivers 10.162, is supported for Warp 3. (But I'm sure some level of fixpack is required in Warp 3).
- https://hobbesarchive.com/?detail=/pub/os2/system/drivers/usb/IBM_USB_Base_Stack_10-162.zip

Regards
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on August 31, 2024, 03:21:33 pm
Hi Martin,

Very interesting that you supported this series all those years ago!

I did a fresh install of OS/2 Warp 3 Connect followed by FixPak 40. I then installed the USB drivers from your link. Unfortunately the USV mouse would not work - in fact the USB light on the mouse didn't even come on. I know the USB ports work (well, at least the power part!) because I also have connected a pair of speakers which have a 3.5mm jack for the audio but take power from a USB socket. I temporarily disconnected the speaker USB connector to make sure it wasn't drawing all the power but sadly that didn't help :-(

Anyway, an interesting experiment!

Best wishes,
Richard.
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: Martin Iturbide on September 01, 2024, 12:38:56 am
Hi.
Unfortunately the USV mouse would not work - in fact the USB light on the mouse didn't even come on. I know the USB ports work (well, at least the power part!) because I also have connected a pair of speakers which have a 3.5mm jack for the audio but take power from a USB socket.

Do you have USBMOUSE.SYS on your config.sys ?
- https://hobbesarchive.com/?detail=/pub/os2/system/drivers/mouse/IBM_USBMouse_10-57.zip
But it is a bad syndrome that the USB light of the mouse does not turn on. But maybe you just can give it try to see what happens.

Regards
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: Andrew Stephenson on September 01, 2024, 03:40:37 pm
A long shot... I suppose you've checked the mouse is free of dirt around the ball? When a mouse has started behaving weirdly here, it has usually been a case of popping the ball and cleaning the socket. Gunk can build up surprisingly fast. Of course, your mileage may differ.  8)
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on September 01, 2024, 06:30:28 pm
Sorry Martin, I've wiped that installation now (rather than trying to "undo" the USB drivers) but I'll go back to it at a future date and update this posting if things change.

And thanks Andrew, I did check the ball and rollers - it was a brand new device so maybe the lubrication on the rollers has also dried up slightly (i.e. preventing them from rotating so smoothly). That would definitely explain how it sticks and pauses, but I think that in general it's just a dpi mismatch.

Best,
Richard.
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on September 01, 2024, 10:20:45 pm
Do you have USBMOUSE.SYS on your config.sys ?

Hi Martin,

Well my curiosity got the better of me and I went back and tried this :-)

Thanks for the second link to the IBM USB Mouse drivers - I didn't have those. I installed those, verified that usbmouse.sys was in my config.sys, and rebooted.

This time the mouse lit-up and I could see it move on screen - hooray!

Well... not quite. Unfortunately the pointer would only move up and down, it would not move left or right!

Perhaps with more tinkering I could get it to work but I think I'll keep trying to track down a new-in-box optical IntelliMouse (PS/2 connection) :-)

Thanks anyway for the tip - I really appreciate it!

Best,
Richard.
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: CalYY on September 02, 2024, 08:30:37 pm
Forget about changing mouse drivers, all OS/2 ones are slow. Put this in startup.cmd:

d:\program\mouspeed 4 2 7 4

you can adjust the numbers for speed, acceleration
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on October 17, 2024, 09:50:09 pm
Hi CalYY,

A very belated "thank you"! I apologise, I didn't see this post for some reason, someone else pointed it out to me just recently!

That does help, thank you. It's not quite what I'm looking for as it still causes the mouse to be quite jittery but I'm going to try and get used to it since it's definitely an improvement over the stock speed.

Best,
Richard.
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: Martin Iturbide on October 17, 2024, 11:23:56 pm
Hello Richard.

Just one thing that came to my mind (different subject), since you have an IBM PC 300GL and I guess it uses IDE HDD (If I remember correctly). Do you ever want to try and IDE to SD HDD (Like this one (https://www.amazon.co.uk/KALEA-INFORMATIQUE-pins-CARD-Converter-Adapter/dp/B00JLAK0RS/), there are cheaper on Ali Express) ?

There may be some limitation on the BIOS that will force you to use a 4GB or 8GB SD card and not bigger. I had used one of those in the past, I know it runs Win95/98 fine, but I had been told they should not work on OS/2, but not sure why. Or maybe someone here can confirm that those IDE to SD devices definitely does not work for us.

This is just suggested as an experiment if you want to give it a try.

Regards
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: RTAN on October 18, 2024, 09:52:01 am
Hi Martin,

Thanks, yes, I use one of these, it's an IDE to Compact Flash Adapter
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000T9QQP0

This particular device (StarTech.com) definitely works perfectly happily with OS/2!

Best,
Richard.
Title: Re: Any way to increase mouse tracking speed other than the regular System applet?
Post by: CalYY on October 25, 2024, 06:58:18 pm
Which mouse driver are you using? I use this:
DEVICE=D:\OS2\BOOT\POINTDD.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\BOOT\XMOUSE.SYS

When you tune mouspeed, it is a combination of driver and mouse model. I prefer Rodent driver even better, however, IBM scroll mouse seems standard install, which does not want to be replaced with Rodent. Xmouse is addition to IBM, therefore functions.