Have you got a powered hub that you can try?

First I would try this driver (newer USB 2.0 driver for ICH4/ICH5 chipsets):

http://windows98.xf.cz/chipset/usbich45.zip

If that doesn't fix it, the 2 times I've encountered this on different computers - one time disabling USB 2.0 (and reverting to 1.1) in the BIOS fixed it. The other time it was due to an IRQ conflict whereby re-arranging some IRQ settings in the BIOS removed the conflicting device from the same IRQ number. You can tell if this is the issue by seeing if you get the same sluggishness on the USB port by trying to copy files to and from a flash drive. However, if either of these are your problem, I'm guessing that your BIOS doesn't offer much in the way of changing IRQ settings or disabling USB 2.0 support.

in addition have you updated to the latest bios?

Thanks for the responses all. As soon as I get home, I will check that zip with the chpset drivers and compare. I have no option in the BIOs to revert to 1.1 but I'd love to know how to do so, that seems plausible and a quick Google search led me nowhere.

Yep I've got the latest BIOs but I'll double check again. Also, no IRQ interfence goin' on, I checked the numbers in Device Manager. And file transfers are fast as it can be.

I'll also look for a hub if all else fails.

To be continued. Thnx again.

So, I tried an external USB hub (PNY to be exact), plugged the mouse into that, and it worked! I am assuming that there simply wasn't enough power to the port. Strange. Thank you so much for the suggestion(s)!

That'll be the sad voice of experience!

Almost fixed, I should say. Using the mouse on any full screen app or game causes a delay. Even if I slightly move the mouse, the game will stutter briefly. Is this just an unfortunate side effect of using a hub? I tried changing the hardware acceleration in my display settings via desktop, but no difference. I'll continue to poke around but at least I have some sort of progress.

Edit: installed the above chipset drivers over my current. It helped a lot. My device manager under USB is a bit messy especially with this hub and from constant reinstalling, but hey, it works at least! If anyone got some tips or prior experience, feel free to share as well. Hopefully this topic will help another poor soul out scrounging Google searches.

Even though it's not a real fix, does Windows 2000 work well with that laptop? It's what I used on my much jankier Latitude L400 until it took an unceremonious leap from my bag onto the concrete floor of the classroom in college. Never had any issues with USB (1.1), but I haven't tried running Win9X on anything faster than a Thinkpad 760E.
The only time I've had issues with USB devices causing a system to drag, was when I tried drastically increasing the USB polling rate, and moving the mouse ate up like 90% of the CPU time on a Pentium 4. I undid that change but quick. Perhaps pull up the system monitor to see if CPU usage is spiking when USB devices are in use?

I'll check it out. Do you remember how you managed to change the polling rate?

Win2000 would be a no go for me. I used it about 17 years ago and actually reverted to 98 until I bought a new PC with Vista. Just personal preference.

Overclocking USB Mouse
Original site I found it, translated from Russian to English https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru& … t_otvetnyj_udar
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for anything.

11. Since the driver worked quite well not only for me :), but also for other users and, recognizing some (relative) complexity of the process, the installation program was written in graphical interactive mode. She knows how to perform the following steps described in the original article: installing a service and copying files (Install Service button), installing and removing a filter on the mouse (Filter On Device checkbox), and changing the polling frequency (Selected Rate combo box). The ability to install a filter on an inappropriate device is minimized - only USB mice are displayed in the device list by default. You can find the program in the updated archive - DRIVER \ Setup.exe

Xanarki wrote on 2020-01-29, 01:15:

I'll check it out. Do you remember how you managed to change the polling rate?

I just used a standalone polling rate editor program at the time, not a registry edit or anything, so it's not like it could be accidentally done. It's best to check your system's performance before trying to change those values, but if underclocking the polling rate to a ridiculously low value, like 10Hz sorts it out, then there's something horribly wrong. If that was the case with one of my laptops, I would have emptied my shotgun into it, then set the remains on fire.

I have solved my USB mouse issues on Windows 98SE with USB drivers from the Unofficial Windows 98 Second Edition Service Pack.

Link: http://www.htasoft.com/u98sesp/

From the above project, open latest U98SESP3.exe with WinRAR and from within it open the SP3.CAB file and you will find the latest U98SEUSB.EXE which you can use to install the drivers.

I am attaching the resulting U98SEUSB.EXE file here (version 3.64, updated 2018-08-31).

Why do I have to replug the Remote USB-Stick from the mouse everytime I boot up Windows 98se?
I use the usb general package (nusb called...?)

Sorry for the resurrect, but on the topic, I noticed that Logitech G703 freezes the OS when moving the mouse and after a few miliseconds once stopped it seems to unblock the os.
I also noticed it tends to run smoother if you use the wired usb option instead of the wireless one (perhaps it does some extra cpu processing when wireless?)
Also compared it with an old microsoft mouse (USB) that I have and the cpu hang issue seems to be bare to non existent (still it slowdowns a bit more compared to the trackpad).

It's a shame the wireless mouse didnt work as expected but at least I don't think it's an usb issue.