Emac mouse clicker not working

[johnrobert]

I have an old Apple EMAC computer. The mouse clicker is not working; the mouse cursor moves around, but when I click on something, nothing happens, could this be because I am using a modern Windows USB mouse? I tried a different one. The original mice for these look different

 

[phaZed]

I somewhat have a memory of that being an issue (a PC mouse on Mac) - but it's been so long, I don't know if I'm making it up/thinking wrong.

 

[Markverhyden]

As long as the mouse uses an actual switch, like a leaf switch, then they are all the same for a basic mouse. Not so for gaming. It's when they are "swipe" or "touch" that there can be a difference. Keyboards are the same as well of the most part. The keys use the same codes even though the label on the key is different. A classic example is the Windows key on a Wintel keyboard maps to the Command key on an Apple keyboard. I haven't used a Apple KB or mouse for like 10-15+ years.

What version of macOS are you running? I seem to remember that the original mouse for the eMac was one with a full cover that you could push down to click and had an optical sensor for movement. Have you tried different ports? What about booting in safe mode?