Amethyst Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 My stupid computer mouse has been acting up lately. It's a Dell optical mouse. I click on it and sometimes the computer doesn't select what I was trying to, or it selects it and then goes an extra step further, or it selects the wrong thing. Arrrrgh! It's a couple of years old, or older. What's the average lifespan of an optical mouse, and do I need to buy a new one? I tried dusting off the bottom and spraying it with compressed air, but that didn't help much. Is it time to say goodbye to my old mouse? *Waits for the inevitable mouse joke from Fwee* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Um...cordless or corded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted August 20, 2006 Author Share Posted August 20, 2006 Um...cordless or corded? It has a cord, but it's not tangled up or anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampyre Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I would honestly say to get a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I would honestly say to get a new one. I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ nivek ♦ Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Get Fwee to tie it by its ball and spank fuck outa it.. Oughta fix it, shouldn't it? kL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizard Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I thought you were talking about Fwee.. Could it be the driver? That happened to me some years back, the driver became corrupt and it wouldn't function right.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I've been having mouse problems, too. My mouse is having ball problems. It sticks, and I have to move it around alot to get the cursor in place. Guess I need to take it apart and clean it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted August 20, 2006 Author Share Posted August 20, 2006 I've been having mouse problems, too. My mouse is having ball problems. It sticks, and I have to move it around alot to get the cursor in place. Guess I need to take it apart and clean it? I would say so. Mine doesn't have any balls to clean. That's why I chase it around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I've been having mouse problems, too. My mouse is having ball problems. It sticks, and I have to move it around alot to get the cursor in place. Guess I need to take it apart and clean it? I would say so. Mine doesn't have any balls to clean. That's why I chase it around... I don't relish cleaning mouse balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted August 20, 2006 Author Share Posted August 20, 2006 I don't relish cleaning mouse balls. I don't either. I'd rather just eat the mouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qadeshet Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 How much time do you really want to waste on a tired old mouse? Get a new one. I play video games and replace mine about once a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted August 20, 2006 Author Share Posted August 20, 2006 It seems to be working okay now. If the problem returns, I'll toss it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Sounds like driver trouble indeed. About malfunctions when clicking, that could be a mechanical problem, but dammit, there isn't that much about the optical sensors that can fail easily... aside from maybe a table/mousepad/whatever that's so damn featureless that the sensors have trouble recognizing movement. The optical mice I owned never had problems with moving the pointer right... the only things that sometimes created trouble were the buttons. (Basically, considering the "tail" length, we shouldn't call them mice anyway. Any rodent with such a long tail must be a rat ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizard Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Oh, speaking of mousepads..I had to take my optical mouse off the pad at work..it was functioning like a regular one that needed cleaning. Once I just used it on the desk, it started working fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted August 20, 2006 Author Share Posted August 20, 2006 Sounds like driver trouble indeed. About malfunctions when clicking, that could be a mechanical problem, but dammit, there isn't that much about the optical sensors that can fail easily... aside from maybe a table/mousepad/whatever that's so damn featureless that the sensors have trouble recognizing movement. The optical mice I owned never had problems with moving the pointer right... the only things that sometimes created trouble were the buttons. (Basically, considering the "tail" length, we shouldn't call them mice anyway. Any rodent with such a long tail must be a rat ) Well, my computer desk is black, but I've never had that problem before with any mouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuaiDan Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 I've been having mouse problems, too. My mouse is having ball problems. It sticks, and I have to move it around alot to get the cursor in place. Guess I need to take it apart and clean it? There are some roller wheels on the inside you gotta look out for, usually covered with black grime, fuzz, hair, whatever. Scrape it off. Make sure the wheels spin easily and freely, and seated firmly in their little brackets. Then look for the little perforated wheels that pass the IR sensors within the mouse, make sure those aren't covered with obscuring dust or dirt. I do this every few months and the mouse works like new. Good mice you can do this without any special tools, just screw off the mouseball holder and everything should be accessible from there. Bad mice you might need a philips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Good mice you can do this without any special tools, just screw off the mouseball holder and everything should be accessible from there. Bad mice you might need a philips. I've got a bad mouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 *Waits for the inevitable mouse joke from Fwee* I didn't even see this thread until now. Get Fwee to tie it by its ball and spank fuck outa it.. Oughta fix it, shouldn't it? kL Actually, the trick is to coddle the mouse and move it ever so slowly. I thought you were talking about Fwee.. So did I once I saw the title to this thread. I was like, "What the hell did I do now?" I don't relish cleaning mouse balls. I know that I NEVER use relish when I clean my balls... It starts to sting after a while. I know. Because I've tried. I don't either. I'd rather just eat the mouse. We might just be able to arrange a little summpin' summpin'. I've got a bad mouse. There are no bad meeces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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