Optical mouse is jittery (1 Viewer)

I've had my Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer for at least 3 years. I love the thing to death, but lately it just hasn't been that great. I know that things wear out and break down. But normally, Microsoft hardware craps out early.

Anyway, the problem is that I will be moving the mouse and while doing so, the cursor will move for a certain amount of time, pause, then magically appear in another spot on the screen (usually in the same path that I moved the cursor). This might be reminiscent of a memory eating type of thing, but at present, I have 2.29GB left of hard disk space (out of total 18GB, I know, it's tiny), between 14 and 28% CPU Usage, an Intel Pentium 4 1.4GHz CPU, 240MB of RAM, and god knows what else.

I'm normally gifted with computers, but this mouse problem has occured before, and had been working fine for about 6 months, until today.

I'm suspecting the USB port is failing. This is because when I unplug something (such as the mouse or various flash memory readers I have) the entire USB section of my computer shuts down completely. I have to restart the computer in order for the USB ports to be rebooted, and restarts generally take up to ten minutes.

The computer I use is a laptop, an HP Pavillion ZT1155. I got it as a graduation gift in June 2002 (!!), and it's been my main computer ever since.

One other thing. My laptop's monitor has completely failed. Even with the lid open, the screen appears to be totally black, but in the right light, you can just barely see the contents of the screen. There's enough contrast to tell a black box from a white box, but that's basically it. I currently have a NEC MultiSync M700 connected to my laptop's monitor port. My dad has requested that I contact HP about this, but I have not heard back from them yet. I suspect the paper-thin chipset that allows the monitor to fold has gone bad.

If anyone can shed some advise on these problems, or at least give me some advise, I'd really appreciate it!

Grant

What sort of surface are you using the mouse on? Optical mice often show the symptoms you are describing when used on a shiny or brown,red,orange surface... A good trick i find is to turn a mousemate upside down and use the black rubber surface underneath, i find it works reallyw ell even on unstable surfaces like a mattress (yes i know... checking birdforum in bed is kinda sad)

as for your other problems I would check quick smart if the laptop is still udner warranty. and call HP dont email them, you get much better responses that way.

Hope this helps
Tim

Hey corwin, thanks for replying so quickly. Right now the mouse has gone nuts, it's blinking every five seconds. No using the mouse when it's like this. It's tough using the built in touchpad. I have a handheld PS2 mouse that i used to use with my desktop. The mouse was held in your hand like a gun, with your middle finger on the "trigger" (the left mouse button), and your thumb on the ball on top. Your index finger controlled the two mouse buttons in front of the ball. The left most button is also a left mouse button. Sadly, I cannot find a USB adapter to use this mouse on my laptop. My laptop has only the USB, not a single PS2 port can be found. I have not been able to find an adapter cable to convert my PS2 mouse for use in the USB port. I bought one from Radio Shack a few years ago, but when I plugged it in, the Add New Hardware wizard stated that the device was a CueCat adapter. on the package, It explicitly said "PS/2 to USB Adapter".

Anyway, the reason I didn't call Hp about my monitor or my USb problem is because I can't hear well on the phone, and my main means of long-distance communication is via E-Mail, or Instant Messaging.

Also, regarding the optical sensor of the mouse, I've ruled that out since I regularly clean it. This optical problem that you provided a solution for is not the problem I'm experiencing. YOur problem was regarding hairs getting stuck in the hole where the LED is reflected off the surface on which I'm "mousing". This causes straying from the path I "draw". My problem is that the cursor pauses (as if something is using memory that should have been used for the mouse cursor) and resumes on the same path I draw, but farther along the path than when it paused.

For example, I draw a full, perfect circle with the mouse, starting low on the screen. Without slowing down the mouse I draw this perfect circle, watching the cursor as I do so. at about 1/4 way through the complete circle, the cursor stops abruptly for a few seconds, then appears at 1/2 point. since I have already completed my circle by the time it gets to the 3/4 point, I must wait until the cursor has completed the circle before I can start another move, or My cursor will be bogged down. I don't know how else to explain this, but if you've ever played a streaming video online on a slow computer, it's choppy right? same thing, only it's choppy no matter what's on the screen.

Hopefully, this post will help you help me even more...

Something else i noticed from your initial post is that your CPU is running between 14-28%... is this when you are opening a program or is it constantly like this? because it should sit at about 2-5% when you arent actually doing anything. I would suggest reinstalling the OS and freeing up some space and making sure your machine is fully patched etc.

I would get someone to call for you about the warranty because i know from experience that emails to helpdesks have a habit of being ignored

Hey Grant,

What is the current situation?

Your disk space is quite low and could be causing a slowdown, especially if you have a fragmentation issue. Once you get below about 25% free space, Windows is likely to show signs of slowing. Re the screen issue; there is usually a Fn+? key combo to alter the brightness (Fn+arrow keys on my Dell and FN+F8 to switch between onboard, external or both) also may be duplicated in the Bios settings.

Regards,

Andy.

Regarding the optical mouse, I had the identical sounding problem and it was because of the surface that I was using it on. I know that this has already been said but you didn't say if you tried changing surfaces. I now use a regular mouse pad and have no problems with my optical mouse.
My wifes monitor acted very much as you describe and the technician couldn't find the cause of the problem so started changing parts until he eliminated various things. In the end we had to replace the video card.