related to wasting time on the internet

Wasting time trying to get my mouse and keyboard to work. The upright keyboard is old enough that it doesn't have a USB plug, it's a round thing, so it goes through a translator kind of wire. Coupled to that is a mouse that I bought used at an Oxfam shop in London in 2004. It will only work inserted into USB port #1, and every few minutes (sometimes more, sometimes less), the connection stops working and I have to unplug it and replug it, at which point it starts working again. USB port #2 doesn't really seem to work any more, and the printer is constantly plugged into USB port #3, because if I unplug it, the laptop doesn't recognize it the next time I plug it in, and I have to run a thing explaining that it's not a new device. Considering how much time I either use or waste online, the number of minutes spent goofing with this stuff is huge. Oh, right. The laptop refuses to recognize any other mouse - if I unplug the keyboard and try to plug in a new mouse, it can't cope.
My question - would it be worth getting the USB ports replaced? Could that be the problem?