arrow jumping around

toshkininny

Hello, does anybody know how to stop my arrow (controlled by my mouse) jumping uncontrollably around my screen, sometimes travelling up and down the side of the screen?

Thanks very much.

startrekker

Try taking the ball out of the bottom of the mouse and cleaning the rollers inside the mouse. I use a oin aas they get caked up quite a bit

toshkininny

I didn't think about looking at the rollers to be honest. I originally took the ball out and blew inside the mouse (not sure if that's a good thing to do or not!) But I've just cleaned the rollers now and it seems to have calmed down a bit, so that should be it hopefully!

I thought I had a virus, and was a bit worried about it - you can tell I know what I'm doing, can't you!!!

Thank you

toshkininny

Don't think it's a cleaning problem as it's still doing it

albertross_2

Have you cleaned all 3 rollers, they should be smooth, no fluff. The white roller should be white. Also, clean the pads on the bottom.

Is it a laptop or desktop?

tawnyowls

And you really need to be a bit tough with it - the stuff can get caked on so hard that you need to scrape it off. An optical mouse makes life a lot easier - no ball to get gunked up!

toshkininny

will have another go in the morning, got baby calling me now, thanks again.

johnmc

It's far easier to do if you unplug it and then take the top off (one to three screws in the base).

Once "inside" you can hold the wheel with the slits in it whilst scraping the rubber roller. Whilst you're at it take the ball out and clean it with washing up liquid, rinse under the tap and dry thoroughly before putting everything back together ............. then buy an optical mouse, they're dead cheap now.

toshkininny

Hi, think I will have to buy a new mouse, as it's still doing it. Thanks to all, and I'd also like to say what a great website this is. I wish I noted how much money I have saved right from the beginning, I'm sure it's in the hundreds, (so I should be able to afford a new mouse!)

superscaper

Definitely go for an optical. I think everyone agrees they're better. As for whether going for a wireless mouse, opinion seems divided, no wire to get in way but recharging/changing batteries may be hassle. Personally I love having a wireless mouse and find it far better not getting all tangled up with a wire (especially when gaming). I've got a logitech G7 but that's probably overkill for most people but I'd still heartily recommend going for a logitech mouse.

cdbrown

If after cleaning well it's still happening then chance are the optics associated with the encoder wheel or even the optic board itself is on the way out. I've found that the gunking up of the wheels causes the cursor not to move at all. I did have a few instances of the cursor moving all over the screen when I had my mobile sitting right next to the laptop - caused some sort of interference.