Category: Windows
by Dennis Faas, infopackets editor
http://www.infopackets.com
Could please you explain why my mouse has become resistant to my
direction, and maybe advise of a remedy? It is particularly hard to handle
when required to click on specifics like buttons and tabs when it then feels
strongly like it is being pushed aside.
Any advice or suggestions would be of high interest and sincerely
appreciated.
Pat O.
PS. Love your excellent Newsletter and have recommended it
to a large number of friends!
And another email from someone else (a day
before) from a fellow named Rick:
My pointer/mouse, is locking and
jumping all over the screen. I was told to lower the acceleration, so I did.
It still kept doing it. I am out of ideas,
so any suggestions that you can give would be more than appreciated.
Rick.
My
response:
I recommend getting an Optical (no ball) mouse. Logitec
makes GREAT optical mice, and you might even be able to get a "generic"
version (cheaper, same quality) if you look hard enough.
At any rate, here
are some suggestions for ensuring proper operation of a mouse:
Optical mice
The reason why an optical mouse might jump around sporadically might be due
to lint that is blocking the optical eye. In that case, just blow the lint
off at bottom of the mouse, near the "laser eye".
The surface that is used to operate the optical mouse may also cause the
mouse to go senile.
Ensure that the surface is:
a) lint-free (no dust)
b) smooth
c) flat
d) only 1 color
I use my optical mouse on my desk surface which is made of a dark-brown
plastic-like laminate and it works great.
Non-Optical (old style, with a ball) mice
The wheels in a mouse get
caked with dirt and lint over time and make it difficult to navigate the
mouse.
To clean a "ball" mouse:
Look at the bottom of your mouse.
You should see a small ball on the bottom of the mouse. Open up the
mouse on the bottom and take the ball out. If you look inside the
mouse, there are little wheels that touch the ball (where the ball used to
be).
To clean the wheels, grab a small flathead screw driver (the real
small ones) and chisel the dirt off. If you don't have a small
flathead screw driver, grab a knife that is small enough to fit inside the
mouse. I found that knives with teeth on the end grab the dirt better.
Anyway, proceed to clean the wheels, little by little, until it is
relatively clean. Try not to drop the lint/dirt/goo back in the mouse
or it will end up back on your mouse ball, and eventually find its way back
onto the wheel.
The next thing would be to clean the mouse ball -- usually Window cleaner
will do. Just spray some into a glass and carefully drop the ball
inside the glass... swish it around a bit. Take it out and dry it off
with a clean sheet of paper towel.
After you're finished, put the mouse
ball back in the mouse and close the cover. Next, check the surface
area that the mouse sits on when in use. Make sure it is relatively
clean (lint-free, dirt-free if possible). If your mouse pad is
battered from years of hard use, consider purchasing a new one. If you
don't have a mouse pad for a "ball" mouse, you should buy one because they
usually make a big difference.
