EFI Firmware 1.8 Causing Mouse Freeze?

There may be some related Console utility logs from the time of the cursor 'freeze' occurrences.

Not sure if a reset of either SMC - or the NVRAM/PRAM could help the system overcome any

causative issues, however if you have not tried either or both, you could and then say you did.

• Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

• How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

There may be a momentary power-related issue, or perhaps re-occurring, that may require the

Mac Mini to be tested more thoroughly by an AASP or product specialist at independent service

provider; if the USB ports are losing power or are inconsistent.

Do you have several USB items plugged into and sharing the computer's ports? You may check

to see if you do, that your USB hub is actually powered because the hub &/or power adapter may

have failed in one way or another. An overloaded or intermittent USB power situation may not

give you a low-power warning when the ports are underpowered. I seldom plug the mouse into

a port on the computer, but do have a hub and a keyboard plugged into the mac directly.

Assuming you've traded ports with the various items plugged into them, to test if one is more or

less a cause of the symptom. Sometimes a cable will fail, and the mouse(s) may go on strike.

While I have spares of most items, some have their own quirks; so I check them often to be sure

they aren't actually defective. About firmware update, I've not researched the reversion possibility.

The EFI Firmware Update does not appear to have affected my Late 2012 Mac Mini i7 2.3GHz quad

though it still is running 10.9(.5) and I've held off on upgrade. Bought this new in late December '14.

Does anything change in relationship to the sporadic mouse issues, when you are in Safe mode?

Hopefully you can find stable resolution to this problem; you may need to consider all avenues to

test & check the computer, the system software, any third-party software & add-ons, and hardware.

Do you have a complete system clone of an earlier OS X system, such as Mavericks or Mt Lion?

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

I did the update and no mouse issues. Be sure you do not have any USB3 drives within 3' of your Mini which can cause interference.

I am having a lot of issues too since the update. USB ports are not always working. All Apple products - USB keyboard, USB super drive, bluetooth trackpad. They have issues since the update. No problems with sleep issues and such before the update. Now I am unplugging USB devices or restarting the Mac every few hours. Bluetooth trackpad has connectivity issues unlike before, mainly when starting up. PRAM resets don't do anything. Going to look for a way to downgrade back to 1.7 EFI.

Should the problem be related to electrical grid power, you may consider acquiring

a UPS or uninterruptible power supply, that has power conditioning or filtering

capabilities built-in, since these switch and run off battery almost instantly and no

up or down changes in the grid power can reach the computer. The better models

of UPS have this feature; in addition to a battery backup and a display.

{You'd get one of these based on the load factor and potential run-time during a

power outage; a 1500 model APC may give you up to 2 hours, depending on

the load factor. But don't bet on the optimism of their numbers.}

Sometimes the power utility in an area, or due to situations within a structure, may

be a problem for computer and electronics users. Certainly low and high fluctuation

of the electrical supply is bad; but minor ones are seldom noticed by people. I use

one of these kinds of backup power supplies as a filter for my computer gear.

There may be some other reason why the ports appear to fail in the computer.

Had you seen some repeated entries in the Console utility from the exact time

frame the mouse or other items fail? The USB ports may have a power issue

or some other hardware may be a cause. It may need a professional diagnostic.

In any event...

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

Could be a connection between the firmware update...

Not sure how you could find evidence of that in the OS.

An expert may have more ideas or methods to diagnose

the probability of the cause, or plain trial & error sleuthing.

There should be some kind of log file on demand, if one

knew the correct command to enter in Terminal so as to

not get a dogpile of otherwise useless extra findings. Also

exploring in the OS X via these backdoor methods is not

something recommended, since a novice can do damage.

As I don't know how to do it, I won't go there...! 😝

I have a nice UPS with a newer battery so I know it is not that. I just, last night, did a full fresh install of the operating system and all programs. I am still having USB issues. I haven't had trackpad issues. USB devices quit working in USB plugs. I have to switch ports or restart, pretty lame. I have found a couple of people who have had similar issues.