stuck pointer

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Guest

My mouse pointer keeps getting stuck and won't move. You can solve the
problem temporarily by rebooting. But after a couple of weeks it gets stuck
again.

If someone who can provide can suggest a permanent solution that would be
great.

Cheers,

Charly.
 
Charly said:
My mouse pointer keeps getting stuck and won't move. You can solve the
problem temporarily by rebooting. But after a couple of weeks it gets stuck
again.

If someone who can provide can suggest a permanent solution that would be
great.

Cheers,

Charly.
Click to expand...

If not a wireless mouse, the problem is most likely caused by the
drivers for the graphics card. Lower the graphics hardware acceleration
a notch or two as a test. If that helps, you definitely need new
drivers or another graphics card. More info on graphics problems in
general:

Run DXDiag and see if it complains of uncertified drivers; try lowering
graphics hardware acceleration, etc.. Also look at the computer
manufacturer site and the graphics card manufacturer site for different
drivers. Try upgrades, reference drivers, and drivers for other model
cards till you find one that works. Do a search at
http://groups.google.com entering graphics card model for more suggestions.

Look for drivers and utilities at these sites:

http://www.guru3d.com/
http://www.reactorcritical.com/download.shtml
http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=3&faq=7&Search=
http://www.voodoofiles.com/
http://www.ati.com/support/driver.html
 
Thanks for your reply. This looks very interesting. But it looks like the
solution is beyond my computing knowledge. I have tried switching off the
mouse keys option in case this helps. I tried this before and it didn't work
but I had Norton antivirus running at the time which may have contributed to
the problem. Now I have uninstalled Norton I have tried this again.

Cheers,

Charly.
 
I think my mouse would be called a "ball" mouse. It is of the wired variety.
I have only just tried switching off the mouse keys. If the problem persists
I would expect the pointer to get stuck again in about two weeks or so. If
it works okay for longer than this, then maybe the solution has worked. But I
may have to try to get my head around the possibiliity of replacing the
drivers or graphics card.

Cheers,

Charly.
 
On the bottom of the mouse is a small panel which you can easily open. Open
the panel, remove the ball. You'll see two very small rods/shafts. The ball
runs against them causing them to turn. They in turn turn a slotted wheel
which is located between a light source and a photo cell. The photo cell
provides pulses which eventually causes the cursor to move.
The problem is that those two little shafts get dirty. Hair wraps around
them and they won't turn. Take the rubber end of a pencil and clean those
shafts. Rotate the shafts with the eraser to make sure the entire
circumference is clean.
The shafts are only about 1/16" in diameter. Let me know!
 
On the bottom of the mouse is a small panel which you can easily open. Open
the panel, remove the ball. You'll see two very small rods/shafts. The ball
runs against them causing them to turn. They in turn turn a slotted wheel
which is located between a light source and a photo cell. The photo cell
provides pulses which eventually causes the cursor to move.
The problem is that those two little shafts get dirty. Hair wraps around
them and they won't turn. Take the rubber end of a pencil and clean those
shafts. Rotate the shafts with the eraser to make sure the entire
circumference is clean.
Click to expand...


My experience with trying to clean ball mice is that the effort is
never really successful. Instead of trying to do this, I recommend
buying an optical mouse instead. You can find them for as little as
$10 US or so. See
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105026 for
example.
 
It usually is always successful. BUT, the problem is they get dirty again. I
have friends that, after 10 years, still use the same ball mouse (they clean
them periodically).
 
This time the pointer got stuck again just a couple of days after
rebooting. I tried running DXDiag. But I got an error message saying:

"DXDiag has detected that there may have been a problem accessing the system
information the last time this programme was used. Would you like to byepass
the system information this time."

I tried the "no" option to the above question. And DXDiag closed
down. I tried "yes" and it indicated no problems with the drivers. But I am
not sure whether this is correct or if there is a problem with the DXDiag
programme.

By the way, I doubt whether it is just the case that the mouse
needs cleaning since it works okay for a while after rebooting. A friend of
mine suggests I simply need a new mouse but I am not sure about this.

Cheers,

Charly.

Unknown said:
It usually is always successful. BUT, the problem is they get dirty again. I
have friends that, after 10 years, still use the same ball mouse (they clean
them periodically).
Click to expand...
 
If this is a desktop computer , have you tried using an optical mouse
?





This time the pointer got stuck again just a couple of days after
rebooting. I tried running DXDiag. But I got an error message saying:

"DXDiag has detected that there may have been a problem accessing the system
information the last time this programme was used. Would you like to byepass
the system information this time."

I tried the "no" option to the above question. And DXDiag closed
down. I tried "yes" and it indicated no problems with the drivers. But I am
not sure whether this is correct or if there is a problem with the DXDiag
programme.

By the way, I doubt whether it is just the case that the mouse
needs cleaning since it works okay for a while after rebooting. A friend of
mine suggests I simply need a new mouse but I am not sure about this.

Cheers,

Charly.
Click to expand...
 
Charly said:
This time the pointer got stuck again just a couple of days after
rebooting. I tried running DXDiag. But I got an error message saying:

"DXDiag has detected that there may have been a problem accessing the system
information the last time this programme was used. Would you like to bypass
the system information this time?"

I tried the "no" option to the above question. And DXDiag closed
down. I tried "yes" and it indicated no problems with the drivers. But I am
not sure whether this is correct or if there is a problem with the DXDiag
programme.

By the way, I doubt whether it is just the case that the mouse
needs cleaning since it works okay for a while after rebooting. A friend of
mine suggests I simply need a new mouse but I am not sure about this.

Cheers,

Charly.
Click to expand...

Try lowering graphics hardware acceleration slide. You can lower
graphics hardware acceleration in Display Properties, Settings tab,
Advanced button, Troubleshooting tab. If this helps, you probably need
a different graphics card or drivers.
 
Don't doubt it is just cleaning. Clean it and then test.
Charly said:
This time the pointer got stuck again just a couple of days after
rebooting. I tried running DXDiag. But I got an error message saying:

"DXDiag has detected that there may have been a problem accessing the
system
information the last time this programme was used. Would you like to
byepass
the system information this time."

I tried the "no" option to the above question. And DXDiag closed
down. I tried "yes" and it indicated no problems with the drivers. But I
am
not sure whether this is correct or if there is a problem with the DXDiag
programme.

By the way, I doubt whether it is just the case that the mouse
needs cleaning since it works okay for a while after rebooting. A friend
of
mine suggests I simply need a new mouse but I am not sure about this.

Cheers,

Charly.
Click to expand...
 
Yes I tried installing an optical mouse only this morning. But it was
originally used on Windows 98 and wouldn't work with Windows 2000.

I may try obtaining an up to date optical mouse.
 
Thanks. I wasn't sure how to lower graphics hardware acceleration. I should
be able to do it now.
 
I lowered the hardware acceleration as suggested. Within a couple of days the
pointer got stuck again. It disappeared from the bottom of the screen and
would not come back.

This would seem to indicate that the drivers are not the problem.

Today I tried another (wired) mouse and will see if this helps.
 
I have had the new mouse installed for a month now. It has been working all
this time without getting stuck again. However I have not been using the
computer all that much since I am no longer connected to the internet at home.

I lost my net connection because of the stuck mouse. To get it unstuck I was
having to reboot which took ages and ages because I was using Symantec
security software. I got so annoyed with this that I uninstalled it.

This left me with no security software. And rather than risk my computer I
stopped using the net. I wasn't happy with my isp which was another reasen I
gave up using the internet on my home computer.
 
I have had the new mouse installed for a month now. It has been working all
this time without getting stuck again. However I have not been using the
computer all that much since I am no longer connected to the internet at home.

I lost my net connection because of the stuck mouse. To get it unstuck I was
having to reboot which took ages and ages because I was using Symantec
security software. I got so annoyed with this that I uninstalled it.

This left me with no security software. And rather than risk my computer I
stopped using the net. I wasn't happy with my isp which was another reasen I
gave up using the internet on my home computer.
 
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