BlueTardis

Sounds like the gain is way different on your input.

Too high will cause increased levels of distortion

This is how you get 40k Orks

The computer reboots 16 times when you plug it in.

If you don’t mind trying something different then give the GameBall trackball a go.

It has a lot of features and smarts that are controlled via the firmware within the unit (and as such doesn’t require extra software). Plenty you can do with extra software (same as any other device but it works well with generic)

Alas I have but one upvote to give.

Thirded. It just works. Even deployed to elderly relatives with wifi printers with no issues.

Well done. It’s a Lenovo issue. Had to do the same thing recently for a friends laptop and did the same dance.

I have some IT background so kind of knew what to look for but it still was a pita.

Used to use CoronaSDK a lot. There are still a million tutorials online and YouTube if people are interested.

Basically limited to your imagination