How would YOU troubleshoot a mouse problem?

[WyllyWylly]

My aging Intellimouse Explorer finally pushed its luck too far and had to be replaced. I did my homework and settled on what I wanted: the newer Bluetrack Wireless Explorer Mouse.

Sadly, the cursor movement is jerky, but only in spasms - anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes apart. I've tried the obvious, removing and reinstalling drivers, installing older drivers, stopping several applications from disk defragmenting to antivirus, adjusting mouse speed and tracking properties using Intellipoint software and nothing has touched the problem. Nothing else has changed on my PC except for the mouse swap, and the previous one did not have this behavior.

Maybe it's time to load Windows from scratch and get a fresh start, but that seems like using a hammer to open a glass bottle. I'm leaning towards a defective product, but I'd like to solicit ideas from the Lounge and see if anyone has suggestions for troubleshooting steps that I may have missed.

[WyllyWylly]

I can add one more thing to my future troubleshooting efforts: check device manager for additional mouse drivers, and disable them individually. I had two entries, I disabled one and the mouse quit. I re-enabled it and disabled the second one. So far, so good - no more jerky mouse movement.

If this wasn't the solution, I'll post again, but don't let that stop anyone from sharing ideas.

[HansV]

Hi Mark,

Good to see you here again. Thanks for the update - it looks like it did the trick, and it might be useful to others.

[stuck]

The other thing to consider is your mouse mat. I've noticed that mats with high contrast patterns can confuse the optical sensor and as the mouse tracks across an 'edge' the pointer will jump to a random position on screen.

Ken

[BobArch2]

The other thing to consider is your mouse mat.

I can attest to the mat being an issue.

I upgraded my wife's 7 year old system to a new Dell with Win7 and got her a wireless optical mouse. It was causing all sorts of problems and she wanted to switch back to the old Dell running Windows XP and her old mouse. By chance, research showed that there are mats that are in tune with wireless optical mice. Sped off to the local Staples shop and sure enough there were mats with specific reference to matching optical needs. $10 later and a fast ride home had the new mat in place.

That resolved the issue for a few days until the mouse became unresponsive. Moving the USB wireless receiver from the rear of the computer to a port on her monitor resolved that issue. All has been working without any hitches for several weeks. Thus preventing having to go back to 7 year old hardware and a 10 year old O/S.

[PaulB]

I did not know about mats being matched to optical mouse needs (thanks) but I do agree with you concerning wireless mouse transmitters/receivers. My wireless mouse was not very responsive at times but all its problems disappeared when I moved the minuscule USB receiver dongle closer to to the mouse. Must be a power or range thing.

BTW, what should I be looking for when I next drop by Staples?

[BobArch2]

I did not know about mats being matched to optical mouse needs... BTW, what should I be looking for when I next drop by Staples?

Check the blister packaging. Ignore the ones that make no reference to "compatible with optical mouse" . I found that mats sold with no packaging might pose a problem since there is no reference as to whether it would work with optical or laser mice.

Click here to see one sample offered by Staples

[WyllyWylly]

Paul, don't forget to check for sources EMI (electromagnetic interference) if you're having problems with the mouse transceiver. Generally speaking, range should not be an issue in 95% of installations, the exceptions being large rooms, presentation situations, etc. Not all devices offer the ability to change the wireless channel, but you might want to investigate that. Unfortunately, it's not always an easy issue to resolve, but searching "electromagnetic interference" in your favorite search engine might be a good educational experience when you have the time.

[stuck]

BTW, what should I be looking for when I next drop by Staples?

In my experience all you need is plain and simple, avoid patterned and/or shiny, i.e. you want a matt mat not a lovely picture of your favourite [whatever]. Here at work I use a very cheap foam backed/fabric covered mat with no problems.

Ken

[DaveA]

I have had real good luck with using the mouse pads that I have gotten over the years from different sources.

I have a pad I have been using since the 90's that came with my HardDrives NW machine which had 98 on it. It stil some what clean and works great with my HP mouse.

[Slim]

I have been using a solid color (red) pad for several years. It has worked reliably when I clean the dust off from time to time.
'Best regaards,
Slim

[PaulB]

Paul, don't forget to check for sources EMI...

Could very well be a contributing factor to the unresponsiveness of the mouse. The transceiver is a USB thumb drive type design meant to be plugged in to a port on the back of the computer. The computer is tucked away under the desk about 3-4 feet away from the mouse. There are a few devices (2 monitors, a speaker and a telephone base unit) between the transceiver and the mouse. Plugging the transceiver into a USB extension cord and placing it on the desk closer to the mouse resolved the problems.

[wasbit]

One wireless mouse I looked at recently had a stated maximum range of 0.9M approx 3ft.