Hardware :: Mouse On PS/2 To USB Adapter Won't Initialize?

I have a PS/2 mouse, a PS/2 to USB adapter, and a USB port on my Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop. The adapter has trouble initializing, whether I have it plugged in at boot time or I plug it in later. Sometimes it initializes okay, but usually it doesn't. That means that I have to keep unplugging it and plugging it back in until it initializes. Sometimes it just works; sometimes it works after a few plugs, but sometimes after plugging it in a few dozen times I give up. Once it is initialized, it works fine until I shut down. Also, once it works, I can unplug it and plug it back in, and it will initialize properly each time from then on.

/var/log/syslog contains the following each time I boot or plug it in and it does not initialize:

Code:
Aug 3 10:26:05 corkscrew kernel: [ 212.188063] usb 1-1: new low speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 10
Aug 3 10:26:05 corkscrew kernel: [ 212.312046] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error -71

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