mouse applet missing from Control Panel

The Mouse applet is missing from the Control Panel applet list. I'm running
Vista Ultimate SP1, so this is not the problem:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936686

I also looked at my registry, and it's not among the "don't load" items.

It does exist on my system. I can launch the Mouse CP applet using this
command:

control.exe /name Microsoft.Mouse

So why isn't it in the Control Panel list? And what else is missing from the
list?

Thank you.

Control Panel applets must be named *.CPL. Renaming the file. MyMouse.CPL
would probably work.

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Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson

"Sheryl" <> wrote in message
news:5816B807-5968-46AC-8E2C-...
> The Mouse applet is missing from the Control Panel applet list. I'm
> running
> Vista Ultimate SP1, so this is not the problem:
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936686
>
> I also looked at my registry, and it's not among the "don't load" items.
>
> It does exist on my system. I can launch the Mouse CP applet using this
> command:
>
> control.exe /name Microsoft.Mouse
>
> So why isn't it in the Control Panel list? And what else is missing from
> the
> list?
>
> Thank you.
>

I can't tell the filename from the command used to launch it, but judging
from what I've read, the filename for the Mouse control panel applet is
main.cpl, and that's already in the expected directory.


"Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:

> Control Panel applets must be named *.CPL. Renaming the file. MyMouse.CPL
> would probably work.
>
> --
> Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
> Need more Answers? Try the new Microsoft Answers pages.
> http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../dd228912.aspx
> Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson
>
> "Sheryl" <> wrote in message
> news:5816B807-5968-46AC-8E2C-...
> > The Mouse applet is missing from the Control Panel applet list. I'm
> > running
> > Vista Ultimate SP1, so this is not the problem:
> >
> > http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936686
> >
> > I also looked at my registry, and it's not among the "don't load" items.
> >
> > It does exist on my system. I can launch the Mouse CP applet using this
> > command:
> >
> > control.exe /name Microsoft.Mouse
> >
> > So why isn't it in the Control Panel list? And what else is missing from
> > the
> > list?
> >
> > Thank you.
> >

To add to what I wrote... I just realized you are thinking the name of the
file is Microsoft.Mouse. This is not the case. This is just the syntax for
launching Control Panel applets from the command line in Vista. I have no
idea what the actual filename is - I'd have to go hunting in the registry.
But as I said in my other post, I believe it's main.cpl (that's the usual
name) and it's already in the expected directory.


"Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:

> Control Panel applets must be named *.CPL. Renaming the file. MyMouse.CPL
> would probably work.
>
> --
> Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
> Need more Answers? Try the new Microsoft Answers pages.
> http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../dd228912.aspx
> Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson
>
> "Sheryl" <> wrote in message
> news:5816B807-5968-46AC-8E2C-...
> > The Mouse applet is missing from the Control Panel applet list. I'm
> > running
> > Vista Ultimate SP1, so this is not the problem:
> >
> > http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936686
> >
> > I also looked at my registry, and it's not among the "don't load" items.
> >
> > It does exist on my system. I can launch the Mouse CP applet using this
> > command:
> >
> > control.exe /name Microsoft.Mouse
> >
> > So why isn't it in the Control Panel list? And what else is missing from
> > the
> > list?
> >
> > Thank you.
> >

The filename is main.cpl, as I thought. Here's the exact string from the
registry:

%SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-100

The file for the keyboard is the same, with what I guess is a different
parameter:

%SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-200

This doesn't help me get the Mouse and Keyboard applets to show up in
Control Panel, though - or I don't see how it does.


"Dave-UK" wrote:

> "Sheryl" <> wrote in message
> newsA23BBA5-8329-47C0-B93D-...
> > To add to what I wrote... I just realized you are thinking the name of the
> > file is Microsoft.Mouse. This is not the case. This is just the syntax for
> > launching Control Panel applets from the command line in Vista. I have no
> > idea what the actual filename is - I'd have to go hunting in the registry.
> > But as I said in my other post, I believe it's main.cpl (that's the usual
> > name) and it's already in the expected directory.
> >
> >
>
> If you do a registry search for 'Microsoft.Mouse' you should see how they are linked
> here:
>
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Control Panel\Extended
> Properties\System.ApplicationName
>
>
>

My guess would be you have a corrupt copy of main.cpl. You can repair all
system files by running SFC.

Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
In the results area, right-click cmd.exe, and then click Run as
administrator. You will be prompted to type the password for an
administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type
the administrator password. Then, click Continue.
At the command prompt, type Sfc /scannow, and then press ENTER.

The scan may take some time. Windows will repair any corrupted or missing
files that it finds. If information from the installation CD is needed to
repair the problem, you may be prompted to insert your Windows Vista CD.


--
Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
Need more Answers? Try the new Microsoft Answers pages.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../dd228912.aspx
Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson

"Sheryl" <> wrote in message
news:1F4F892F-E505-4A2F-A8BB-...
> The filename is main.cpl, as I thought. Here's the exact string from the
> registry:
>
> %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-100
>
> The file for the keyboard is the same, with what I guess is a different
> parameter:
>
> %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-200
>
> This doesn't help me get the Mouse and Keyboard applets to show up in
> Control Panel, though - or I don't see how it does.
>
>
> "Dave-UK" wrote:
>
>> "Sheryl" <> wrote in message
>> newsA23BBA5-8329-47C0-B93D-...
>> > To add to what I wrote... I just realized you are thinking the name of
>> > the
>> > file is Microsoft.Mouse. This is not the case. This is just the syntax
>> > for
>> > launching Control Panel applets from the command line in Vista. I have
>> > no
>> > idea what the actual filename is - I'd have to go hunting in the
>> > registry.
>> > But as I said in my other post, I believe it's main.cpl (that's the
>> > usual
>> > name) and it's already in the expected directory.
>> >
>> >
>>
>> If you do a registry search for 'Microsoft.Mouse' you should see how
>> they are linked
>> here:
>>
>> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Control
>> Panel\Extended
>> Properties\System.ApplicationName
>>
>>
>>

My main.cpl isn't corrupt. It launches just fine from the command line. Also,
this is a brand new installation - I installed Windows Vista (clean install)
just yesterday and have done almost nothing on the computer since installing.


"Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:

> My guess would be you have a corrupt copy of main.cpl. You can repair all
> system files by running SFC.
>
> Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
> In the results area, right-click cmd.exe, and then click Run as
> administrator. You will be prompted to type the password for an
> administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type
> the administrator password. Then, click Continue.
> At the command prompt, type Sfc /scannow, and then press ENTER.
>
> The scan may take some time. Windows will repair any corrupted or missing
> files that it finds. If information from the installation CD is needed to
> repair the problem, you may be prompted to insert your Windows Vista CD.
>
>
> --
> Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
> Need more Answers? Try the new Microsoft Answers pages.
> http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../dd228912.aspx
> Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson
>
> "Sheryl" <> wrote in message
> news:1F4F892F-E505-4A2F-A8BB-...
> > The filename is main.cpl, as I thought. Here's the exact string from the
> > registry:
> >
> > %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-100
> >
> > The file for the keyboard is the same, with what I guess is a different
> > parameter:
> >
> > %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-200
> >
> > This doesn't help me get the Mouse and Keyboard applets to show up in
> > Control Panel, though - or I don't see how it does.
> >
> >
> > "Dave-UK" wrote:
> >
> >> "Sheryl" <> wrote in message
> >> newsA23BBA5-8329-47C0-B93D-...
> >> > To add to what I wrote... I just realized you are thinking the name of
> >> > the
> >> > file is Microsoft.Mouse. This is not the case. This is just the syntax
> >> > for
> >> > launching Control Panel applets from the command line in Vista. I have
> >> > no
> >> > idea what the actual filename is - I'd have to go hunting in the
> >> > registry.
> >> > But as I said in my other post, I believe it's main.cpl (that's the
> >> > usual
> >> > name) and it's already in the expected directory.
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >> If you do a registry search for 'Microsoft.Mouse' you should see how
> >> they are linked
> >> here:
> >>
> >> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Control
> >> Panel\Extended
> >> Properties\System.ApplicationName
> >>
> >>
> >>
>

Hey - I got it back! It's a quirky thing I noticed about Vista in another
context. I went into the Group Policy editor and enabled the configuration of
what displays in Control Panel. I confirmed that it worked, and then I
disabled it again - set it back to "Not Configured". When I looked back in
Control Panel, Mouse and Keyboard were both there!

I had a similar thing happen with the desktop. Before I changed any
settings, it looked like autoarrange was off (it wasn't checked), but my
desktop was acting like it was on. I turned it on then turned it off again,
and it worked.

This is a very newly installed copy of Vista. It seems that the actual
defaults are not always in sync with what the settings appear to be. If I
toggle the setting on and off, it resets correctly.


"Dave-UK" wrote:

> "Sheryl" <> wrote in message
> news:1F4F892F-E505-4A2F-A8BB-...
> > The filename is main.cpl, as I thought. Here's the exact string from the
> > registry:
> >
> > %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-100
> >
> > The file for the keyboard is the same, with what I guess is a different
> > parameter:
> >
> > %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-200
> >
> > This doesn't help me get the Mouse and Keyboard applets to show up in
> > Control Panel, though - or I don't see how it does.
> >
>
> That's the same entry as mine. :-(
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

There's something wonky going on in Vista. This has to be a bug. If I'm in
Explorer and expand Control Panel, all kinds of things are missing, but it's
intermittant. Every time I try it, a different set of CP applets displays.
And the mouse applet never displays.

But if I click on Control Panel so it opens in another window, then I see
the mouse in both the new and traditional views (which I didn't before).


"Sheryl" wrote:

> Hey - I got it back! It's a quirky thing I noticed about Vista in another
> context. I went into the Group Policy editor and enabled the configuration of
> what displays in Control Panel. I confirmed that it worked, and then I
> disabled it again - set it back to "Not Configured". When I looked back in
> Control Panel, Mouse and Keyboard were both there!
>
> I had a similar thing happen with the desktop. Before I changed any
> settings, it looked like autoarrange was off (it wasn't checked), but my
> desktop was acting like it was on. I turned it on then turned it off again,
> and it worked.
>
> This is a very newly installed copy of Vista. It seems that the actual
> defaults are not always in sync with what the settings appear to be. If I
> toggle the setting on and off, it resets correctly.
>
>
> "Dave-UK" wrote:
>
> > "Sheryl" <> wrote in message
> > news:1F4F892F-E505-4A2F-A8BB-...
> > > The filename is main.cpl, as I thought. Here's the exact string from the
> > > registry:
> > >
> > > %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-100
> > >
> > > The file for the keyboard is the same, with what I guess is a different
> > > parameter:
> > >
> > > %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,@i-200
> > >
> > > This doesn't help me get the Mouse and Keyboard applets to show up in
> > > Control Panel, though - or I don't see how it does.
> > >
> >
> > That's the same entry as mine. :-(
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >

> There's something wonky going on in Vista. This has to be a bug. If I'm in
> Explorer and expand Control Panel, all kinds of things are missing, but
> it's
> intermittant. Every time I try it, a different set of CP applets displays.
> And the mouse applet never displays.
>
> But if I click on Control Panel so it opens in another window, then I see
> the mouse in both the new and traditional views (which I didn't before).

Sheryl, I'd like to see if I can reproduce this problem, so we can see if it
is a Vista bug, or something specific to your installation.

But I don't understand your phrase "if I'm in Explorer and expand Control
Panel".

So, starting with a blank desktop, would you describe click-by-click what to
do to bring up the fault? Then I'll report back on what happens.

SteveT