My mouse-to-USB connection is reporting a problem in my system tray, something like "USB device not..."

As long as the wire isn't completely frayed then it should be OK. Id install the mouse completely, along with any software that came with it. Disconnect the usb mouse and reboot. After the reboot, install the driver using the disk that came with the mouse. Usually during the installation the software will tell you when to plug the mouse back in. About 75% of the time the "new hardware found" icon will show up in the lower right hand corner and try to also install. Ignore that and follow the softwares instructions. After it is installed, reboot and see if the problem is fixed. If you are still having a problem, I would go to the manufacturers website and download the latest drivers from them.