Resolved Can't startup, recognize, or connect bluetooth mouse

[eyc]

I'm having a really weird issue that is driving me crazy. I have a brand new Mac Mini and a 2-year-old Magic Mouse. The Magic Mouse was paired to an old laptop that is no longer operational.

I can't connect the Magic Mouse to the Mac Mini for the life of me after TWO FREAKING hours of troubleshooting a god-d#&$ mouse. Here's what I've tried:

1. Sys Pref > Bluetooth > Advanced > check box for mouse setup upon startup if no mouse detected. Disconnect all mice, keyboards, and even superdrive. Power down, then power up. Mouse setup screen does not pop up. Keyboard screen? Yes. Mouse screen? No.
   
   
2. Connect wired mouse and go directly into sys pref > mouse and try to find mouse. Doesn't work. Oddly, the name of my Magic Mouse appeared for 1 second at one point, and then immediately disappeared.
   
   
3. Replaced batteries twice. Nothing.
   
   
4. Held mouse button down for 30 seconds, while powering on and off, thinking it would reset. Nothing.
   
   
5. Read the manual which oddly states this on page 5: "Pairing with A Different Mac After you pair your Apple Magic Mouse with a Mac, you can pair again with a different Mac. To do this, remove the existing pairing, and then pair the mouse again."
   
   That seems totally weird and unnecessary (what if you wanted to use two computers?), but in any event, I can't do that because my prior laptop is gone!

I read forum threads, Apple support, spoke to Apple tech support for 20 minutes. Nothing is working. Is this just a Bluetooth chip in my Mac Mini that is bad?


**EDIT** Good lord, I finally figured it out. I did the following:

1. Delete HD>library>preferences>com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
2. Turn bluetooth off
3. Remove all mice
4. Shut down computer using power button
5. Turn computer back on
6. Plug in wired mouse
7. Turn bluetooth on
8. Turn Magic Mouse on
9. Still didn't recognize, so I clicked "send files to bluetooth device" in the bluetooth menu. And, lo and behold, there it was. I paired it. And now I'm all set.

What a colossal waste of time.