Mouse ball's stuck?

I am having trouble with my mouse. I don't have the usual control over the cursor. It feels like the ball is not catching and it just won't move sometimes. I already tried cleaning it out. I read something about installing drivers from the dell CD which I don't really understand. Do these things just wear out, it is about 2 years old. It is a logitech. Also is there some way to move it by using the keyboard? Thankyou in advance.

Responses(7)

Angel8219

22 Posts

0

November 21st, 2001 20:00

Not sure if the mouse drivers have anything to do with the way the mouse is acting. My suggestion, in my opinion, is that you can get an Optical Intellimouse (no more mouse ball, just a red light underneath). Yes, there is a way to move the mouse with the keyboard. I believe it's in the Accessibility options in your Control Panel. You would have move the cursor with the arrows on your keyboard. Hope this helps

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Denny Denham

18.8K Posts

0

November 21st, 2001 20:00

pepper90,

I imagine mice can wear out, but I've never had one do so (in more than two years). When you clean it make sure you examine the two little roller bars that the mouse ball actuates. They tend to accumulate dust and lint which will cause them to be non-responsive when you use the mouse. You can find a good guide here.

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Pepper90

31 Posts

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November 21st, 2001 21:00

Thankyou so much Denny!! It worked, I have been struggling with this thing for weeks, it was so aggravating. I did open the mouse to clean it but though the furry white stuff was part of the roller, it was so stuck on there in a perfect straight line right down the middle, I was actually skeptical about taking it off since I really had to scrape it off, but I did it and it's good as new. Thanks again.

vetriguy

647 Posts

0

November 21st, 2001 21:00

From your description of the inside of your mouse, it sounds like you may be using one of those fabric-surfaced mouse pads. They tend to fray easily, thus the tiny threads that can gum up your mouse.

If you keep using the rollerball mouse, you might want to get one of the pads that has a hard plastic textured surface. (My PC came with one.) They are so inexpensive many stores give them away.

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nilo

491 Posts

0

November 22nd, 2001 03:00

It's almost never the ball that gets dirty; it's the rollers. Sometimes, if the crud is thick, tweezers work well to pull it off.

AI

autost&ins

38 Posts

0

November 22nd, 2001 10:00

Hi All,

Here is another thing that you may want to try.
3 M has a mouse pad that is supose to help keep the rollers clean. I bought one and it seams to work. I didn't clean it for about a month now, I looked in there just now and it's still clean (I use to have to clean it every week or so)

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Message Edited on 11/22/01 02:45AM by autost&ins

X

xley

312 Posts

0

November 22nd, 2001 12:00

To clean the mouse or trackball

If you have a mouse that does not use Marble technology and the cursor skips or moves abnormally, you may need to clean the pointing device ball.

Remove the retainer ring to remove the ball. On the bottom of the mouse, press in the direction of the Open arrow imprinted on the retainer ring cover.
Wipe the ball with a clean, lint-free cloth, then blow carefully into the ball-cage to dislodge dust and lint.
Look for a build-up of dirt on the rubber roller(s) inside the ball-cage. This build-up usually appears as a stripe running around the middle of the roller.
If dirty, clean the roller(s) using a cotton swab moistened lightly with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. After cleaning, make sure the roller(s) are still centered in their channels.
Make sure that fluff from the swab is not left on the roller(s).
Replace the ball and retainer ring.