Uninstalled devices get reinstalled on reboot?

Hardware and technical stuff
1

I got a new computer for my son (thanks, @Enidigm) that is a Alienware Alpha–a PC with a console form-factor, a bit like a Steam machine. We’re trying to use it as a desktop, which it mostly does fine. However, it automatically sets the controller up to drive the mouse cursor. There are supposed to be some special button presses on the controller to turn this off, but they don’t work, I think because we didn’t run the entire console-mode setup process (for a variety of reasons).

Anyway, after a bunch of experimenting, I found that the machine has two devices in the device manager, one which is a second mouse device and the other which is a second keyboard device. Disabling them doesn’t seem to remove controller input to the mouse cursor, but uninstalling them both does. (You might ask why I need to uninstall the keyboard one? I don’t know why, but if I just uninstall the mouse device, then the RIGHT stick moves the mouse cursor, when the left stick did it previously. Weird.)

Alright, so this is a decent solution, but there’s one problem: Even though I’ve uninstalled the devices, when the computer reboots, they’re back again.

Does anyone know what might cause these to always get installed, and if there’s somewhere I can so to stop that from happening?

I’ve scoured Google and there are a variety of threads on the general controller/mouse issues, but none that address this problem.

The machine runs Win 8.1, by the way.

Thanks for any help!

2

Hey! So the original Alienware Alphas set up two accounts, one for the auto-boot loader that you drop you directly into Steam Big Picture mode, and then your personal account, and maybe one of these is still using that driver?

It might be that until you press the keys correctly it will keep trying to use the Controller. I think it was R3-L3-R1-L1 (it might have been -R2-L2, i can’t remember modern controller schemes, one of the triggers). Maybe keep hammering at combos of those until it registers/deregisters the function? There is also some third party mousing software that is supposed to be used to enable this functionality; maybe you can use it to disable it? There might also be a driver at Dell.com just for that feature perhaps you can download then when it’s installed and enabled use the key combo to disable the feature.

3

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m pretty sure the button combos don’t work at all. But I’ll look for some other background applications and check Dell for drivers.

4

It sounds like some software more than hardware. Get into add/remove programs and take out anything that came pre-installed you don’t want is my advice.