Mouse Frozen at Start-Up

[Frank]

I'm running Windows XP and use an IBM optical mouse
that's (supposedly) compatable. Have used this mouse OK
for over a year. But suddenly I'm having frequent
problems with the pointer being frozen at start-up.
Sometimes when I shut down and restart, the mouse then
moves the pointer fine -- other times it takes MANY
restarts before the pointer will move. Doesn't freeze on
every startup, but when it does, the pointer is always
stuck in the same spot. Must be a software issue but
I've done nothing to alter settings -- this just started
happening. Ideas?