Erratic Mouse Behavior

Another update:

Of the eight mice we received, only two experienced this problem.

The two replacement mice (same type - Dell optical) have behaved well

for the last week or so.

I have had my Dell Dimension 8250 since March 2003 and have struggled with erratic mouse movements since day 1.  I have made numerous calls to tech support and have spent countless hours on the phone with them trying a variety of things.  Nothing they have suggested has worked.  I have also tried using the mouse on a variety of different surfaces and about four different types/styles of mouse pads.  If I put the mouse on a different computer the problem goes away so it does not seem to be the mouse.  I have tried three different ones on my computer (two optical and one with a roller ball) and have connected through both the USB and the PS2 ports.  Still nothing has resolved the problem.  I have pretty much given up on calling tech support and have just continued to put up with the mouse jumping off the screen whenever it feels like it.  Does anyone have any other suggestions?  Please???

this is a new (June) dimensionxps gen 2 and the mouse has been acting up since I got it. This is the first time I've been able to get on the forum. I can't even get dell to recognize the service tag..but that's another issue. I read with interest about changing mouse pads..so I'll start with that and see what happens.

I'm suspicious of the pad, as many others are.  I got an Optiplex GX270 at work last spring, and the mouse was jumpy from the start.  I bought a Dimension 4600 for home a couple weeks ago, and it had similar problems, but not as bad.  After reading this thread, I tried using the mouse without a pad, and found that the mouse at work doesn't jump anywhere near as frequently.  My desk at work is dark with a fine woodgrain.  My table at home is lighter, and also has a fine woodgrain.  That mouse didn't jump as badly using the pad as the one at work, but seems to jump more on the lighter desktop than the one at work does on a darker desktop.

I bought my daughter a MS optical mouse last week.  She has a Finding Nemo mousepad, which is fluid filled with a clear cover and floating fish shapes inside.  That mouse jumped everytime I even looked at it!  Her computer is on an oak table with a very pronounced woodgrain, and the mouse still jumped badly without the pad.  For now I put back the old mechanical mouse.

I'm beginning to think that a dark monochrome pad might be best for optical mice. They might also be more sensitive to the slightest jiggling or quivering in your hand when you move the mouse.

I have had this mouse problem for some time and my Dell is just a few months old. Today I came into the forum and was surprised to find so many with the same problem. Well, one smart gal suggested a sheet of paper under the optical mouse solved her problem. Voila! It also solved mine. Try it! It doesn't cost a cent.

 

 

I have tried the blank white paper for two days now and it has not made a difference.

It is time for Dell to replace these defective mice with a new, higher quality mouse. Enough with the avoidance!

Hi everyone,

My friend has tried everything that has been suggested on these postings, including, changing mouse pads, white paper, reseating the keyboard, etc. and still she is having problems. I think she is about ready to give up and suffer but I'm not going to let her. She said she was going to contact the Dell rep again on the phone to see what he has to say. I doubt that this will do any good but I won't discourage her.

Somewhere, there has to be a solution and there is indeed a problem with so many other responses since my original post.

I guess Dell feels that if they ignore the problem it will go away but I don't think it will.

Jean

Hi Jean,

Sorry your friend's problem wasn't solved as easily as mine was. I can relate to her not wanting to call Dell rep. I find that task daunting so usually try email or the online chat. But I haven't had but this one problem except when I first tried setting up this new machine myself and not being able to get beyond signing up for Earthlink.

I find reps difficult to understand via the phone and my hearing aid doesn't help even with a hearing aid phone.

Might you let us know the solution Dell offers? Hope so.

 

Jane

 

Well, I thought my mouse was okay. Just now I was doing a jigsaw puzzle and my cursor completely disappeared.  Got it back but it wouldn't make a puzzle piece move when pointed to it. Disappeared again, came back and finally I decided if I could get it to work just for a minute I could get out of the program.

Do these mice get overheated or anything like that? Guess it's time to approach Dell and get some help or a new mouse...or something.

 

 

 

I haven't been back on here in quite some time now, but as I said in one of my earlier messages, I got DELL to send me a new replacement mouse and it has not given me one problem.  It just took about four really nasty e-mails to DELL to get them to agree to send it.  It seems to me that it is a large batch of defective mice that DELL received and they are very reluctant to admit it and bite the bullet.

I came to this forum anticipating I would find a simple solution to what was an obvious problem. Instead of solutions I read of fellow Dell owners who are frustrated by Dell product support and nobody from Dell has offered an answer.

Something is broken. Maybe it is the mouse, maybe it is the computer, maybe it is the driver, and maybe it is the whole corporate structure that allows customers to beg and plead for help for a simple little problem and only get a runaround.

I understand that there is nothing Michael C. personally can do to fix several thousand broken mice. But Dell as a company employs many very, very smart people and one of them, after eight weeks, has figured out what the problem is.

It is time for a solution. Dell has an obligation to insure that goods sold are fit for the ordinary purpose for which the goods were sold. If they continue to ship defective products without reguard to the quality or functionality of the product then we as consumers will have no choice but to seek extraordinary remedy.

The answer to this dilemma is simple. Replace the defective mice with a different, higher quality mouse. As of yet I have seen no one post on the board that Dell has offered this. It is long over due.

Best wishes,
Cindy

Well, My new mouse that Dell sent me is starting to jump to the corners just like the one it replaced.  I e-mailed support with the question "Has Dell determined what is causing this problem and how to fix it?"  The response back was the same one I got before, word for word, send us your info and we will replace the mouse. 

Is there anyone at Dell that can read, and  answer a question???  It appears to me that its all formatted and scriped as to how to reply to a question.   I would expect that a response back would at least state that its being looked into or something to show me that someone read my question/issue/problem....  IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK???

It make you wonder.  I would hate to have some major issue and have to depend on Dell for an answer how to fix it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My last post stated that the mouse was acting up again, but I have to say it did it only that one brief time. The white paper under it is doing the trick for me. Actually I laid down a piece of poster board as that would stay put better.

After reading all the dissatisfied posts of people who have contacted Dell I hope I never have anything serious that needs replacing. Although I have a son who builds computers and is a programmer so I'm blessed. All I have to do is round him up!

I truly hope you guys find a workable solution as I did. I can't thank that gal enough who devised it.

Jane

Greetings,

I just received my 8400 with XP Pro, love the machine but I have had the Dell optical mouse problem from day one.

Hunter