Re: optical mouse malfunction

Jo-Anne wrote:

Using WinXP and Contour USB optical mouse. Today, several times the cursor
didn't move when I moved the mouse; then it would start up again. Finally,
Windows informed me that a USB device was malfunctioning and I should try
another port or another device. I plugged in another mouse, and it's working
fine. The Contour mouse is expensive to replace (around $110), so it's a
good thing I had an extra one in my office. My question: Are optical mice
fixable, or should I just toss it?

Did you use a penlight and tweezers to clean out the hair, dust, lint,
and other crap that has gotten in front of the LED/laser?

I've had a single hair (so thin I couldn't see it with my naked eye
until I hit it with a light to change the angle of reflection of the
light off the hair) that cause erratic movement of the mouse. The hair
would jitter about, the sensor saw that movement and thought it was the
pad moving, and the mouse cursor would lag, jitter, or suddenly bounce
to somewhere quite a ways from the current position. If enough crap
gets in front of the sensor, it's not going to see that the mouse is
moving (the crap is moving with the mouse).
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: optical mouse malfunction
    ... Windows informed me that a USB device was malfunctioning and I should try ... Did you use a penlight and tweezers to clean out the hair, dust, lint, ... pad moving, and the mouse cursor would lag, jitter, or suddenly bounce ... moving. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • OT. Funny ???????
    ... 2005: Longing for hair ... 1975: Acid rock ... Moving to Sydney because it's cool ...
    (rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic)
  • Subject: 1975 vs. 2005
    ... 2005: Longing for hair ... 1975: Acid rock ... Moving to California because it's cool ... "de plane, Boss, de plane". ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • SHOWING YOUR AGE...
    ... 2004: Longing for hair ... Moving to California because it's cool ... "de plane, Boss, de plane". ...
    (alt.vacation.las-vegas)
  • OT: Baby Boomers 30 years later
    ... 2005: Longing for hair ... 1975: Acid rock ... Moving to California because it's cool ... To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, * ...
    (comp.sys.hp.mpe)