Summary: Fortunately for most cases, there is a simple solution to why your mouse pointer would jump around the screen.
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My infrared Microsoft Intellimouse is being erratic. Doesn't follow the direction of the hand movement and lags behind sometimes not moving. I have checked all settings and drivers as much as I know how. |
Erratic mouse movement is a pain. You move one way, and the mouse jumps around the screen - often to some other random location.
In most cases the solution to a jumping mouse pointer is actually pretty simple.
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Optical mice are great - I love 'em. No more dirty mouse balls (and the jokes that go with them). Over time I've converted all of my mice to optical, both wired or wireless.
But what I've found with optical mice is that they are surprisingly sensitive to the surface they're on. On a bad surface they'll often behave exactly as you describe. They seem to not only stop responding, but occasionally misread movement and dart off in completely unexpected directions ... like a mouse scurrying for cover.
The best surfaces for the mouse would be something with a slight texture, and a constant surface. Make sure there's no high contrast text or images as well.
After not using mouse pads for a long time, I've found that they're typically the best solution and very helpful in keeping my optical mice behaving.
Related:
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Ask Leo! - My mouse is super sensitive and seems to do things on its own. What do I do?
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Ask Leo! - How do I control is the mouse right-click functions in Windows XP?
Article C2296 - March 2, 2005
CLEANING MY MOUSE PAD MADE A BIG IMPROVMENT .
Posted by: HUDSON at March 1, 2009 10:18 AMTHANKS FOR ALL THE INFO.
my mouse kept moving around.. i took my cell phone off table and it stopped must have been causing it
Posted by: jeff at April 14, 2009 12:52 PMooops now it started agian
Posted by: jeff at April 14, 2009 12:56 PMIn my experice it can be a small hair or dust particle caught in the led's hole at the botton of the mouse. Blow it away.
Posted by: henq at April 16, 2009 12:08 PMBut, why does the mouse driver accept these obvious data-errors? You *can not* possibly move the mouse 10 inches in 1 microsecond.
The mouse driver shoud neglect these supersonic mousemovements imo, and dampen the accelerations. [If the driver 'knows' the weights of your hand mouse and the forces that generally are applied, (changes in) accelerations and speeds can be capped.]
~h
In addition to the Surface issues and a hair or dust mote that the Led illuminates, I've also found that the USB connector can become corroded with a thin oxide layer that can quickly change resistance - sending the mouse into flight - even though you are not moving the connector or cord. The vibrations of the computer chassis from fans is sufficient to trigger this. I find it most often after a few years, with the seasonal changes from winter to summer or summer to winter. Unplugging and re-plugging several times cleans the connections for the next few years.
Posted by: Ron at April 27, 2009 2:02 PMMy pointer on screen keeps jumping all over my page traveling mostly to the left. Help please. I feel as if I downloaded a virus when I ran the coupon maker for Oprahs free KFC coupons. Is that possible?
Posted by: teresa hill at May 6, 2009 4:12 PMI found that cat hair on my mouse pad was the culprit. Even nearly invisible hairs will cause this problem.
Posted by: Paul B at May 22, 2009 10:26 AMyou have been talking about why usb style mice jump around but what about the round ones with the green caps my seems to go every where even if im not toughing it i cleaned the ball in it and checked the wire any ideas why it isnt working?
Posted by: chris at July 3, 2009 5:02 PMtry changing the battery worked for me lol
Posted by: tom at August 9, 2009 5:10 AMPlease help. My mouse pointer jumps all over my screen. I've done all the suggestions and it won't stop. It randomly clicks and opens my web browser, random photo folders and even my messenger service. I've unplugged it and tried to use the fingerpad on my laptop and it still jumps all over...it never stops. I've asked everyone I know to please assist because its a problem that just started about 2 weeks ago. My mouse is a laser pointer so its not an issue of "dirt" my mouse pad is clean and I don't have any pets. I've disabled and reinstalled my driver and "rolled back" with problems still. Please help, I'll pay anything! Thank you!
Posted by: Jennifer Best at August 29, 2009 5:42 PM