Mouse will not click and drag

My mouse is currently having trouble with Click and Drag. It moves well, it clicks well (including double click); but it will not click and drag correctly. When dragging it just drops the highlighted area almost immediately after starting it.

The operating system is Windows 7 x6, and the mouse is a Microsoft 5 Button laser wired model that's approximately 3 years old.

The problem is relatively new, but has been happening consistently for several weeks through several reboots. Is there anything to try besides buying a new mouse?

The buttons on a typical mouse are small mechanical switches, and like all mechanical devices, they do go bad. Even if the switch contacts are just dirty, it's unlikely that you would be able to clean them, because they are usually sealed units. I think you will have to replace the mouse. To find out for sure, try another mouse as a test.

I once ran into this where I was trying to drag some emails to a folder an it wouldn't do it.

Of course restarting the machine fixed it but what I ultimately did was press Esc and I was able to drag again. Don't ask me why but it worked for me. Could be that Windows is stuck on trying to do something and you just press Esc and it goes back to normal.

Hope this helps.