Many here, legit owners of the pc version of Skyrim, have run into the issue of not being able to use the rotate function in the inventory regardless of disabling the 360 controller, which in the case of certain puzzle items is a pain.

By going http://www.tocaedit.com/IB/index.php?automodule=downloads&showfile=34 you can download a zip cointaining a small hack .dll and its ini (for config purposes) which should go into the root of your skyrim directory. That being done, starting the game and activating the xbox360 controller in the menu will trick the game into believing it has a connected xbox360 gamepad that will be in fact controlled by your keyboard. The ini must be edited to define your inputs but i've graciously included below a preconfigured ini that closely mimics the default keyboard settings. The mouse in this case (or rather the right anolog stick) is supplanted by the numpad 4,5,6,8 keys, with the left and right hand attacks being numpad 7&9.

Having turned on the option you just go to your inventory, examine the objects you need, and spin them around with the "right anolog stick" as defined above. F zooms in and out.

The game is for the most part playable in xbox controller mode, though awkward. When you're done and want to return to your normal control method (i.e. a proper mouse/keyboard combo) just press esc, navigate to the system options with numpad 7&9 then disable the Xbox360 controller.

Like i said it ain't exactly pretty, but it will do until the problem is more permanently solved. Happy to help.

Here's the preconfigured ini text:

[Options]UseInitBeep=1Log=0BackgroundMode=0PadCount=1[PAD1]A=EB=TabX=RY=SpaceLeft Shoulder=Num7Right Shoulder=Num9Left Thumb=Left ControlRight Thumb=FLeft Trigger=Num7Right Trigger=Num9Back=TRight anolog Up=Num8Right anolog Down=Num5Right anolog Left=Num4Right anolog Right=Num6Left anolog Up=WLeft anolog Down=SLeft anolog Left=ALeft anolog Right=DD-Pad Up=TD-Pad Down=GD-Pad Left=FD-Pad Right=HStart=Esc