Windows detects USB GPS as Serial Ballpoint - please suggest permanent modification to prevent any serial mouse detection

I haven't done extensive testing for rates over 9600 baud, so I can't answer your question.  I would actually think that higher speeds would be as bad or maybe worse, since as I recollect Serial Mice usually run at fairly high speeds.

The speeds actually dont really matter for the "legacy mouse detection": Windows sees that there is some activity on the port and when the PNP Enumeration (www.codon.org.uk/~mjg59/pnpcom.rtf) fails, with a high probability Windows assumes that the device might be a serial mouse ;D

Easiest way to prevent this behaviour:

a) Switch to USB* and use a native USB Device Class (eg HID or WinUSB)

b) Switch to USB and use a SerialPort/CDC converter chip.

 E.g. ft232r (http://www.ftdichip.com/):

 - the .inf can easily be modified to exclude serenum.sys which prevents the mouse detection.

   (changing the .inf requires a digital signature for newer Windows version - the driver supplied by ftdi includes serenum.sys by default ;/)

 - adapters and adapter-cables (rs232<->usb) with this chips are available from various manufacturers.

 - For the hardware manufacturer there is also a very simple solution for upgrading to usb:   http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Documents/AppNotes/AN\_149\_Upgrading%20a%20DB9%20RS232%20Interface%20to%20USB%20Using%20an%20FTDI%20DB9-USB-RS232%20Module.pdf

  (I dont work for ftdi, just have used those chips a lot ;D)

c) Modify the scale that it wont output data all the time and only on request.

The software could send something like "STARTMEASURE\r\n" and only after receiving this string the scale outputs some data.

=> If the scale stays quiet during enumeration windows should not be able to detect a mouse.

(*at least as an additional option for "current" computers ;D)

I had the same problem, however it was not with a GPS but with a NI DAQ card :(

We're connected now with Linked In.  Good thought - thanks.

We're now using Ethernet / Serial converters whenever we can.  Expensive and needless, but really it does seem to put the beast at bay - I'll send you a bit more detail on Linked in.

It was worth a shot.

Yeah I recently asked a scale company to try and change their baud rate from 4800 to 9600 hoping that my theory was correct, and alas I ended up with egg on my face when the dreaded "cereal mouse" still crept out of it's hole a day or 2 later.

I just disable the device in the device manager of windows XP and windows 7 but unfortunately it seems something occurs that kicks it back into existence usually around the most inconvenient time.

I sent you a colleage request in Linkedin.

Of course we also write Weigh Scale software!  If you are interested in chatting outside this forum let me know.

We get this at both 9600 baud and 2400 baud.  We very rarely use 4800, usually these days we set the indicator to 9600 baud.  Sending multiple letter "M"s mixed with a few other letters at 9600 baud seems to trigger the problem almost all the time.  Another person (somewhere in this thread) said that sending lots of "0" also triggers the problem. 

I haven't done extensive testing for rates over 9600 baud, so I can't answer your question.  I would actually think that higher speeds would be as bad or maybe worse, since as I recollect Serial Mice usually run at fairly high speeds.