Cursor mystery

Remove all ads!

Maybe someone here can solve this one for me.

I have a Logitech optical mouse and when I'm on the computer, the mouse cursor will be off screen frequently. I'm sitting here typing this and I see the little white arrow on the black background. Now, the arrow is gone. I move the mouse around to find the cursor, making big, sweeping motions in all directions. Okay, it's back on screen.

This happens on a daily basis and in most of the places I'm at: here, playing online games, solitaire, BG games, etc. Even just me sitting for a while and staring at the monitor it happens.

I'm putting this in the capable hands of SPers. Don't make me hire the Scooby gang. Velma keeps adjusting my office chair.

 

Optical mice work best with no mouse pad.

 

I've got a Belkin wireless that makes the cursor go weird when it's low on batteries, but that's probably not what you're talking about. The first thing I'd suggest is putting your optical directly on the desk; most desks have the right finish to minimize artifacts that might cause odd cursor jumps. The next thing I'd suggest is a flat piece of metal or plastic; when there's no adequate surface nearby, I use a non-descript patch on my laptop (just below the keyboard).

 

Also remember that if you use it on a wooden surface, like a regular desk, then the mouse will eventually spoil the surface. I had to cover the worn-out patch with a mouse-pad.

Speaking about "multi-functionality..."

 

The reason I have an optical mouse is because my regular mouse and mousepad wouldn't fit between the monitor and the edge of my desk. I am on a 'wooden' surface and the lamenent's looking a bit worn. I'll see if I can find my old mousepad and cut it down to fit.

Just like a horror movie, it hasn't done it since I posted. Weird.

 

I use a black cloth mousepad for my Optical mouse and it works just fine.

 

Wierd. My Logitech works perfectly on wood and pads. Maybe it's a driver problem.

On another note, I've never had an optical mouse screw up a desk surface.

 

I've been mousing on my old pad from Staples. Now the problem is the pad wiggles around on my desk.

 

I had the same problem with a logi optical mouse a few years back and tried everything. I finally just broke down a bought a new one, which works great.

 

I too got rid of my logi optical mouse for various reasons.

Recently I bought a mouse pad for use with optical mice/mouses. It has a slightly rough texture so Tal may be correct that the optical mouse needs a rough texture. If I use the mouse on a smooth surface it sticks and jumps.

 

There are optical mouse pads for devoted game players and those are actually made of glass, so I guess smooth surfaces can work, at least if practical annoyances are blocked from screwing up the theory.

At the moment, I'm using an extremely old anti-static pad. It's so rough it makes a loud noise when you scratch it.

 

Due yto my rahter strange set-up of the moment, I am using my optical mouse on top of my computer's case - it works fine