Recently bought an optical mouse; went for a slightly cheaper one made by ‘Kinyo’.
Pointer keeps going to places I don’t want it to; not all the time, just when I move the mouse.
Is there anything I can do for this or should I just bite the bullet and buy a better-quality mouse?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
In this order…
1- check the connection
2- check the driver
3- buy a better mouse
I’m using a cordless optical that HiNet gave me but i’m starting to get pissed that i need to change the batteries about once every month!
[quote=“Gener”]In this order…
1- check the connection
2- check the driver
3- buy a better mouse[/quote]
Thanks, will do!
Yeah mon! Did the mouse come with a diskette? Make sure those drivers are installed. You might have a conflict with the drivers that are already on your comp?
What OS are you using?
RE: Buy a better mouse…
i have a Logitech Dual Optical Mouse(thats two lasers) Corded(Not wireless)…same prob as joesax. cursor will jump all over the place. horrible when gaming. I don’t use a mousepad, as i thought those weren’t needed for opticler mice. I just roll my mouse on the grey desktop. is that bad?
looking to replace it soon with something new, maybe a logitech mx500…can’t trust those wireless devices…as soon as the battery fades, things get buggy…
-chris
I’ve used the Logitec Optical Cordless Mouse nearly two years now. In fact I bought two, one for my desktop PC and one for my PowerBook G4. It works seamlessly, and the two work side by side without interference. Just make sure your cell phone is at least three feet away from the USB base station for the mouse. The cell phone can cause some interference.
This is the best mouse I’ve ever had (three button, wheel). Of couse it takes two AA batteries, but … unless you are broke, you can afford to switch the batteries every month. The computer lets you know when the batteries are low, which means that you usually have a day left in juice. I keep a value-pack of AA from Costco on my desk so it is never really inconvenient. And contrary to popular belierf, the mouse doesn’t go bezerk and get unpredictable when battery power is low. There is a critical amount of power needed to run the mouse at 100%. When that falls below 100%, the mouse shuts down … but again, that is with warning from your system a day early.
NOTE: Optical mice are strange beasts. You need particular surfaces in order to keep the pointer from jumping all over the place. Glass table tops never work. Metalic surfaces work horribly. Generally, a mouse pad works great! Certain table tops are OK too, but when I run into a situation with my PowerBook where I forgot to bring a mouse pad, I just get a A4 sheet of white paper and use that. It works great.
Hi guys, thanks for the advice.
The mouse didn’t come with a driver; just uses the standard Microsoft ps2 one.
This morning I tried using a piece of brown cardboard as a mouse mat. It works much better than the mouse mat with a picture of Mickey that I was using.
I bought the optical mouse because my friend was using my computer and, complaining about my ball mouse, said an optical one would be much better and more comfortable. This is not the case. The amount of friction is just the same, and the flatter profile of the optical one means I get more strain in my hand (too much time on Forumosa!).
I think I’m going to look for one of those humpback ergonomic mouses (mice?), optical or not.
The source of the problem is probably that you bought a crappy mouse. As I said, I’ve had no better, quality mouse than the cordless optical one from Logitec. A fine piece of craftsmanship: comfortable, ergonomic and user-friendly. The problem in Taiwan is that there are so many ‘slightly cheaper’ models. Well, actually, you don’t get what you don’t pay for. That’s why Logitec is more expensive. They make a substantially better product … Therefore, I wouldn’t poo-pooh optical mice altogether. I would never go back to the days of a corded ball mouse that I have to clean every week. Oh!, those were the days.
I’ve got a logitech optical mouse at work and a microsoft one at home (ironically, microsoft make very unbuggy hardware), never any problems at all. What surface are you trying to use it on ? They work by reflecting light, so they are confused by shiny surfaces like glass.
You say the Logitec is ergonomic? I’ll have to have a look at that. I didn’t mean to pooh-pooh optical mice; just to say that at this point comfort is important to me so if there was a comfortable ball mouse and an uncomfortable optical mouse to choose from I’d go for the former.
Funny, this one I have is still working perfectly on a brown cardboard surface.
As I mentioned, a (matt) Mickey Mouse mouse mat (try saying that quickly). It has a picture of Mickey as a cowboy and the slogan ‘Just passin’ through, stranger?’ It may be a case of mouse rivalry.
As a first aid measure, I’m going to continue using the piece of brown cardboard, and then I’m going to get myself to Nova and look for a better mouse.
It just occured to me that I had the same problem with my optical mouse around 6 months ago. I was using a mousepad too. I changed to a piece of paper. YES a piece of paper. Might be more convenient than cardboard!
I’ve had two pretty cheap (but not the cheapest) optical mouses (mice?). The first oen was great for anout 6 months and then went crazy (it had it’s own drivers). The one I’m using now, a Benq works fine, much better than a roller. I use it on a wooden computer desk, with no mousepad, paper or anything. No worries.
I do sometimes have problems, and figured out why, so here’s somethingto check for. There’s a little whole in the bottom where the light is. Sometimes hair gets in there (I suppose because our cat likes to curl up on the desk when we’re at the computer). The hair causes problems, but you just have to pick it out.
Brian
I can see how mice might get funny about cat hair…
Checked, though, and that hole was clear.
I’m pretty sure it was the surface I was using. Maybe more expensive mice are more tolerant of different surfaces.
Mine works just fine if I place a piece of A4 paper under it.
It jumps around like crazy if I put it on the desk.