BleepingComputer.com: Middle click on mouse not working

Okay, used Windows 7 RTM for months now, and have only had the minor issue here and there (still love it). I decided I would do a clean install to clean out the crap it has accumulated over the past few months (and fix a couple buggy things). I left my old Windows 7 where it was. I just partitioned off for the new Windows 7. Once I get everything the way I want it (to make sure I haven't forgotten anything), I'll do some partition swapping, startup repair, etc..(nothing new to me, I've done it before) to leave me with just the new install. (thought you'd like to know the background info on my situation)

After one day of configuring, I cannot get my mouse's middle click to work (it worked in my old Windows 7). Normally, in Firefox, I have the Tab Mix Plus addon which adds a lot to the browsing experience. When I middle click a tab, it is supposed to close (according to TMP and every Firefox I've ever used that doesn't have it). When I middle click a link or bookmark, it should open in a new tab.

This does not happen. (yes, the TMP settings are correct)

If there is only on application open (i.e. one window), nothing happens. If there is more than one window, the middle click switches windows.

In all my years I have never seen this. I am so used to middle-clicking tabs, links, bookmarks, etc....that this is going to drive me nuts if I don't get it fixed.

I even installed Logitech's software (it's a Logitech mouse), and set the middle button to be a middle click (did not have to do this in my old Windows 7, but it worked anyway). This does not work either.

I don't even think it is the mouse, and here's why: my Dell Touchpad software lets me set my touchpad to do a middle click when I click both the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously. This worked in the old Windows 7 (as did the middle button on the mouse, as I have stressed earlier). Now, the touchpad's artificial "middle click" does not work either. It does the same goofy window switching (it's as if I hit Alt + Tab on the keyboard, which switches the window).

BUT, when I use Input Director on my laptop and netbook to easily use the same mouse on two separate computers (check it out, it's pretty cool), while inside the laptop the middle click does the window switching. But while over on the netbook (moved over to it by a screen edge transition), the middle click works like it is supposed to (closes tab, opens links in new tab, acts like a middle button should, etc.). I'm like "What the heck?" NOTE: the middle click was not working on the new Windows 7 on the laptop before I installed Input Director, nor does it work after.

It's not restricted to the mouse. I can hook up the receiver to the netbook (not using Input Director), and the middle click works fine. There are no options in the Control Panel's mouse settings to assign a function to the middle button. Logitech's Setpoint allows this, but when that is set and running (I tell it to use it as a middle click), it still doesn't work. It has to be something inherent to the operating system.

Any ideas? This is really starting to bug me.

Thanks,
keyboardNinja

*EDIT*: If I middle click a tab in Firefox inside my XP virtual machine, the window switching still occurs (between the virtual machine window and the Firefox window on my host OS). This happens regardless if I use the middle button or the artificial touchpad middle button (both buttons at once). But, if I middle click (using either method) slowly, the middle click functions as normal inside the virtual machine. When I say slowly, I mean I push the middle button, then wait a second before releasing it. Slowly middle clicking inside my host OS (the new Windows 7) does the same stupid window switching.

Oh, one more thing: scrolling with the wheel while holding it down (middle clicking) scrolls the screen one page at a time (like Page Up and Page Down on the keyboard). I didn't know that could happen!!

Another thing I noticed: when inside certain applications (Regedit, my anti-virus, Speecy), when that application is active and I can see Firefox in the background, I can middle-click a link, bookmark, etc.... and it will open in a new tab. But once Firefox is the active window, the middle click switches windows again.

This post has been edited by keyboardNinja: 31 January 2010 - 05:22 PM