There are numerous reasons for an electronic mouse to malfunction. Most of these causes are minor, and can be fixed easily without any professional help. Mouse troubleshooting tips given below will help you to diagnose and repair mouse problems with ease.
An electronic mouse is one of the most essential component of a desktop PC. This device controls the cursor movements on the screen, thus facilitating swift and rapid selection and input of data. At times, you may come across situations wherein the mouse fails to perform normally. Such malfunctions in the mouse can be attributed to numerous hardware or software problems. Most of these computer mouse problems are minor, and can be corrected with ease, if you are well versed with simple mouse troubleshooting tips and tricks given in this article. Read more on history of computer mouse.
Mouse Troubleshooting Tips and Tricks
Loose Connection: This is the most common problem in case of any mouse, be it a PS/2 mouse, a USB mouse or a wireless mouse (its receiver). If you notice that the cursor is not responding to the mouse movements, check whether the connection between the mouse and the CPU has become loose. In case of a wireless mouse, check the connection of its receiver device, if it is loose, plug it in securely. If the mouse still does not respond, try connecting the receiver to another USB port. If the cursor still does not respond, reboot the PC by restarting it.
Accumulation of Dirt and Other Disturbance: Another common reason for a trackball mouse to malfunction is due to accumulation of fuzz in the trackball unit. If this is the problem you will have to open the chamber, and clean it as well as the trackball. Ideally you should use a clean cloth and alcohol to cleanse the same. Similarly in case of an optical mouse, you will need to clean the screen of the light-emitting diodes thoroughly so that dirt particles do not obstruct the light path that detects the movement of the surface below, which in turn causes the cursor movements on the screen. Also, an optical mouse may not work quite well if the surface below is shiny or transparent. Read more on mouse wheel not working.
Low Batteries: In case of a wireless mouse, the problem may be due to the batteries, interference or range. Instead of concluding that there is a major problem and opting for a mouse repair, the foremost thing you need to do is to check if the batteries are low, and charge or replace them as required. Other wireless mouse problems include any sort of interference in signals and range of the receiver. Interference may occur between the mouse and its receiver due to an object in the path of the signal or due to signals from some other device. You will have to make sure that no such interference exists. Be sure to place the pointing device, i.e. mouse within the specified range of its receiver. Read more on wireless mouse not working.
Virus and Configuration Problems: Virus can also be one of the reasons for the mouse working abnormally i.e. if the cursor jumps across the screen uncontrollably, clicking on its own, etc. There are few viruses that may corrupt the mouse driver files, and cause the mouse to malfunction. Mouse troubleshooting in this context will involve scanning the PC with a good antivirus in order to get rid of the virus. Also, try restoring the system configuration to that time when the mouse was working fine. It is possible that a certain change in the configuration or a certain software installation might have conflicted with the mouse settings and caused the mouse to malfunction.
Problems with the Port or Mouse Driver: To verify whether the trouble is with the mouse or the PC, connect the mouse to a different PC to check. If it functions perfectly on another PC, then there is probably some problem with the port where it was connected or with the mouse driver in the system. Check by connecting the mouse to another port. To check the mouse driver, go to Start > Control Panel > (In classic view) System/ (In category view) Performance and Maintenance (Select System) > Hardware Tab > Device Manager (Click) > Mice and Other Pointing Devices. If you notice a yellow icon, that means the mouse driver has problems. Either upgrade it to latest version (if the current version is not compatible) or uninstall it, install it again and reboot your computer. Read more on mouse not working.
More information on the other components of a computer:
Mouse Troubleshooting Tips and Tricks
Loose Connection: This is the most common problem in case of any mouse, be it a PS/2 mouse, a USB mouse or a wireless mouse (its receiver). If you notice that the cursor is not responding to the mouse movements, check whether the connection between the mouse and the CPU has become loose. In case of a wireless mouse, check the connection of its receiver device, if it is loose, plug it in securely. If the mouse still does not respond, try connecting the receiver to another USB port. If the cursor still does not respond, reboot the PC by restarting it.
Accumulation of Dirt and Other Disturbance: Another common reason for a trackball mouse to malfunction is due to accumulation of fuzz in the trackball unit. If this is the problem you will have to open the chamber, and clean it as well as the trackball. Ideally you should use a clean cloth and alcohol to cleanse the same. Similarly in case of an optical mouse, you will need to clean the screen of the light-emitting diodes thoroughly so that dirt particles do not obstruct the light path that detects the movement of the surface below, which in turn causes the cursor movements on the screen. Also, an optical mouse may not work quite well if the surface below is shiny or transparent. Read more on mouse wheel not working.
Low Batteries: In case of a wireless mouse, the problem may be due to the batteries, interference or range. Instead of concluding that there is a major problem and opting for a mouse repair, the foremost thing you need to do is to check if the batteries are low, and charge or replace them as required. Other wireless mouse problems include any sort of interference in signals and range of the receiver. Interference may occur between the mouse and its receiver due to an object in the path of the signal or due to signals from some other device. You will have to make sure that no such interference exists. Be sure to place the pointing device, i.e. mouse within the specified range of its receiver. Read more on wireless mouse not working.
Virus and Configuration Problems: Virus can also be one of the reasons for the mouse working abnormally i.e. if the cursor jumps across the screen uncontrollably, clicking on its own, etc. There are few viruses that may corrupt the mouse driver files, and cause the mouse to malfunction. Mouse troubleshooting in this context will involve scanning the PC with a good antivirus in order to get rid of the virus. Also, try restoring the system configuration to that time when the mouse was working fine. It is possible that a certain change in the configuration or a certain software installation might have conflicted with the mouse settings and caused the mouse to malfunction.
Problems with the Port or Mouse Driver: To verify whether the trouble is with the mouse or the PC, connect the mouse to a different PC to check. If it functions perfectly on another PC, then there is probably some problem with the port where it was connected or with the mouse driver in the system. Check by connecting the mouse to another port. To check the mouse driver, go to Start > Control Panel > (In classic view) System/ (In category view) Performance and Maintenance (Select System) > Hardware Tab > Device Manager (Click) > Mice and Other Pointing Devices. If you notice a yellow icon, that means the mouse driver has problems. Either upgrade it to latest version (if the current version is not compatible) or uninstall it, install it again and reboot your computer. Read more on mouse not working.
More information on the other components of a computer:
This was brief information about how to troubleshoot a mouse on your own. If none of the above mouse troubleshooting methods work, and the computer mouse does not work on any another PC, the only option left is to replace the mouse.
| By Abhijit Naik |
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