Mouse right-click issue

[andygmorris]

Can anyone help with this issue? :-

I run F17 / 64-bit / Gnome on a laptop with a usb mouse and keyboard attached as I use an external monitor 99% of the time instead of the laptop display.

Right-click on the laptop works fine, and always has.
Right-click on the usb mouse works sometimes, mostly (95%) not.

In the System Settings / Mouse and Trackpad, there is a smiley face for me to test the mouse settings.
When I first run this and right-click the usb mouse on the smiley face (numerous times), face doesnt change.
When I right-click with the laptop button, the face changes as expected.
When I go back to right-clicking on the usb mouse, it eventually gets recognised and the face changes.
At this point, right-click in apps start working with the usb mouse then too!!
Possible hardware conflict/setting between laptop and usb mouse? If so, how to fix it?

All ideas appreciated.

Until now, I've just been bearing with it, but I need a fix. It's reducing my usage fluency.

It's causing far too many problems for my general usage now, and many times I have to stretch over to the laptop to press the right-click on the mouse to get to context-menus in applications and on websites that make use of right-click functionality.

Perhaps someone knows of the settings which need to be checked, set or tested?

Fingers crossed someone else's had this problem and got it fixed before.

I'm a daily linux user (of multiple machines), so you're welcome to ask me to dig into command line and any config settings. Just tell me where to look, and/or what to change.

Thanks (in advanced)...