Laptop trouble AGAIN

I was working with my laptop normally in a room at my school at lunch normally until one of the USB ports stopped working for the one connected to my mouse!

I've been using the alternate USB port for 24 hours, I was sure after a shutdown it would be fixed. But it wasn't! Now the mouse blinks everytime you click it (even without Windows booted) and does not activate when you move it. In the F10 setup in the BIOS, if you plug ANYTHING into the bad USB port, the whole BIOS freezes. Yet the same port after connecting supports USB Mass Storage devices in XP. What the **bleep**?

This is VERY baffling, it nearly drove me to the point of insanity and I think I screwed up a screw in frustration. This computer is going back to HP via Future Shop.

Speaking of this, Martin Breault had trouble with Dell service. HP so far is pretty good service, but we'll see...