Mass Effect 1 Unable to get the mouse to work properly [ Edited ]

[Ghost286JC]

Just reinstalled Mass Effect 1 after not having played it in roughly 10 months.  Both dlc's installed.  No major system or hardware changes since before, I was on windows 8.1 before and still am now.  This is from steam.

The problem is while I'm able to move the cursor around on the menu screen's all fine it won't allow me to actually click anything (bar on the first screen saying hit any button to continue it works then).  In-game I cannot turn the camera, I am able to zoom and shoot but otherwise thats it.

I have uninstalled removed all config files etc. reinstalled still had the same problem.  I have no game pads or controllers plugged into my usb ports (I do have a printer, mp3 player connectors and my external hd connected along with mouse)

I can't get my head around it I'm currently installing from origin to see if that makes a difference and after that I'll try compatibility settings but otherwise I'm totally stumped as too what the problem is.

(I'll also note that steam in-game wasn't working so that maybe something else I should check)

Any ideas tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

edit:  Same issue as the steam install as the origin one, it did display that the origin ingame popup unlike steam but that wouldn't work.  Tried running with both versions with steam/origin ingame disabled still the same problem, compatibility still has the same problem.  I am now officially out of ideas.

[Gourmetrix · Accepted solution]

@i148qatd Have you tried forcing Origin to quit after launching the game? (Use Alt-TAB to minimize the game first so that you can access the Origin window and exit it). After doing that, do you find that the game now responds to mouse inputs? This is the only way I can play. It suggests to me that the problem is entirely with Origin; it appears to be capturing all mouse inputs even though the game has focus. I hate having to do this extra step; Origin is no longer syncing my saves as I play, nor is it tracking the number of hours that I've played. Plus the game seems slightly choppier with the connection to Origin severed. I've submitted this as a bug 3 times via the Send Error Report feature, but have received no response from them.

[Gourmetrix]

I am experiencing the same issue: the game processes keyboard input but ignores most mouse input (e.g. I can zoom and shoot but can't affect the camera). Entirely unplayable. In my case I bought the ME trilogy from Origin directly, I have no past history with Steam.

The problem began immediately after Origin updated itself to 9.11.5. When I force Origin to exit, within seconds the game is fully responsive again. It's almost as if Origin is diverting all mouse input elsewhere.

Not sure if it's related, but I also noticed that Origin no longer minimizes itself when I launch Mass Effect. In fact the game launches beneath the Origin window.

I did send a report via the Origin Error Reporter, not sure if that went anywhere. I hope that running the game without Origin doesn't cause me any grief later, but at least I have a workaround in the meantime.

[i148qatd]

Same problem here. I run Windows 7 Home Premium, installed Origin to the D: drive because my boot drive is for Skyrim and Fallout 4 only (I use mods, so that eats up quite a bit of space). Installed Mass Effect Trilogy to the Origin folder on the D: drive. In-game mouse cursor does not appear, only the Windows cursor. Can't click on anything. When I go to the setup input options screen, if I click a mouse button, it will clear the slot for that mouse button, so it's reading the mouse, it's just not letting me click on anything. Reinstalled, same problem. Tried running it in compatibility mode to XP SP3, still same problem. Tried running it in compatibility mode for Windows 7, tried turning off compatibility mode, still nothing. It's already set to run as administrator. All my drivers are up to date, as is the PhysX and Microsoft Visual C++ Redist. Sat on the chat with someone for 3 hours and got nowhere. They tried telling me to download some patch called MassEffect_EFIGS_1.01a, which told me it couldn't find Mass Effect and I should reinstall from the original source. Also, when I repaired the installation, it said that there was a DirextX error, something about the .cab file wasn't signed, whatever the hell that means. Also found a Program Files (x86) folder in my D: drive that was created by Origin for whatever reason (had to be--it appeared at the same time as the install). Not sure if the patch isn't reading because there's no launcher in that Program Files (x86) folder or not. I'm at my wits end.

Really disappointed. This is why we at Steam tell people to avoid Origin like the plague. If I didn't want to play ME so badly, I would have long ago told Origin to kiss my * and asked for a refund.

[i148qatd]

Also, tried running Origin as Admin (even though it's set to that by default) by right clicking, and then launched ME through Origin, got this error: lol What a #$%^& joke. * like this is why people by cracked copies.

[Gourmetrix · Accepted solution]

@i148qatd Have you tried forcing Origin to quit after launching the game? (Use Alt-TAB to minimize the game first so that you can access the Origin window and exit it). After doing that, do you find that the game now responds to mouse inputs? This is the only way I can play. It suggests to me that the problem is entirely with Origin; it appears to be capturing all mouse inputs even though the game has focus. I hate having to do this extra step; Origin is no longer syncing my saves as I play, nor is it tracking the number of hours that I've played. Plus the game seems slightly choppier with the connection to Origin severed. I've submitted this as a bug 3 times via the Send Error Report feature, but have received no response from them.

[i148qatd]

Holy * it finally worked.

It's origin, not the game. The origin browser is buggy.

THANK YOU!!!! YOU ARE A GENIUS BACON CHEESEBURGER!!!

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@Gourmetrix wrote:

@i148qatd Have you tried forcing Origin to quit after launching the game? (Use Alt-TAB to minimize the game first so that you can access the Origin window and exit it). After doing that, do you find that the game now responds to mouse inputs? This is the only way I can play. It suggests to me that the problem is entirely with Origin; it appears to be capturing all mouse inputs even though the game has focus. I hate having to do this extra step; Origin is no longer syncing my saves as I play, nor is it tracking the number of hours that I've played. Plus the game seems slightly choppier with the connection to Origin severed. I've submitted this as a bug 3 times via the Send Error Report feature, but have received no response from them.

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[HecticBru]

Glad it worked but as per above post we're still not happy, the bug needs fixing as it degrades the experience not having Origin running. I don't know if anyone monitors these posts or even cares though. I suppose enough of us have to click 'me too' for them to do anything about it. Let's hope they surprise me and sort this out otherwise we're being cheated. I also raised a question here: http://answers.ea.com/t5/Mass-Effect-1/Mass-Effect-1-in-game-menu-no-longer-responds-to-mouse-click-...

[JRT155]

I'm having exactly the same issue with mouse and it also doesn't respond to most keyboard commands. 

[JRT155]

I am currently re-downloading it thinking it could be a faulty download. I'd tried everything else I could think of. Once that completes I'll try the suggestion of forcing Origin to close. Definitely worth a try.

[JRT155]

As others have said forcing Origin to close 'fixes' 'the non-functioning mouse problem. However I have a question. Does that mean I won't be able to import from ME1 to ME2 in playing the trilogy? Anyone know?