I stopped this from happening by simply going to the XP Device Manager (via System in Control Panel, and then Hardware) and making sure that there were no conflicting drivers. I found two different Intellipoint entries - one must have been left over from my previous mouse - so I disabled the old one, and everything is sweet. Over a period of months I had tried just about every trick offered on various boards and none worked - but this did...for me.
I hope this helps someone.
Good luck
topcat2456
March 2008