sometimes my lenovo usb laser mouse goes out and I have to restart my computer to get it on again. Is there a way to do this without restarting. I tried new drivers but the sites I tried say I need windows 2000 or newer. My os doesn't support it. Must I live with this problem.

Same problem here with Logitech optical mouse. I find unplugging USB, count to five, plug it back in restores function. Mouse now uses usb connector on computer. Super annoying, of course. On other sites others complain about this problem, but it's unclear if it's the piece of hardware (mouse) dying. One user reported having the same problem with a roller mouse, after it developed with optical mouse.