crazy mouse activity

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I have been having the weirdest time trying to get my WinXP O/S reloaded! Back up failed for no apparent reason, computer hangs at inappropriate times while trying to load from scratch, etc. I just recently noticed that the scroll wheel on my serial mouse isn’t working any more. And every now and again, several open screens will just move about for no apparent reason, while I am trying to drag a sentence in MS Word, or doing a drag of a file from one place to another. Can a sick mouse cause all of this? I am going to replace him (since he is not behaving) ASAP but I thought I would ask what anyone might think about the possibility of a sick mouse causing such troubles? (For the record, I have even done a “low level” format on my hard drive just to be certain it was free of bugs!)

A crazy question, I know but for any thoughts on this subject!

I ‘think’ I have everything spelled correctly.

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Skitterbug

Excellent! I think that weirdest is the only exception to the “I before E, except after C” rule that I am aware of! (OK, include Weird and Weirder in there, too!). (Good effort, gold star, 10/10, and you can have two cookies!)…

John

PS As to the less important part of your post I suspect that if there is a hardware fault with your rodent, that (say) causes the scroll wheel to stick down on occasion, it will be sending unwanted signals which could perhaps cause the problems you experience. Similar effect to one of the mouse buttons sticking. Have you had a look at the pins in the plug at the other end of the mouse cable? Occasionally I have seen these badly bent. Have you tried with a scroll-wheel-free mouse? Or just a different mouse?

PPS I didn’t know you could still get serial mice!

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> weirdest is the only exception to the “I before E, except after C” rule that I am aware of!

neighbo(u)r, height, weight, deity, forfeit, either, neither, protein, seize, heir

science, vacancies (etc.)

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Not forgetting the odd lounger or two….

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Yes, but those are very odd….

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Believe me – I started regretting my choice of words the instant I hit ‘Post It’…

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Believe me – I started regretting my choice of words the instant I hit ‘Post It’…

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Yes, but those are very odd….

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Not forgetting the odd lounger or two….

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Thank you, Hans — I am now aware of more exceptions!

John

(But no gold star for you, because you are just showing off!!)

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Foreign atheists forfeit feint ageing. Beige heir?

StuartR

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Foreign atheists forfeit feint ageing. Beige heir?

StuartR

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Thank you, Hans — I am now aware of more exceptions!

John

(But no gold star for you, because you are just showing off!!)

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> weirdest is the only exception to the “I before E, except after C” rule that I am aware of!

neighbo(u)r, height, weight, deity, forfeit, either, neither, protein, seize, heir

science, vacancies (etc.)

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> didn’t know you could still get serial mice!

Just leave the Corn Flakes box open…

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> didn’t know you could still get serial mice!

Just leave the Corn Flakes box open…

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It has been said that confession is good for the soul! And John, you are correct in being amazed that I still have a “serial mouse” attached to my box! I goofed when I “typed” this statement. I think the more correct statement would be that this mouse is connected through a 6-pin mini-din and it is a PS/2 mouse!

I have to say however, that the posts were very funny and I got a very good laugh from reading them – especially Hans remark about about leaving “the Corn Flakes box open…”

The end of all of this is that I still need a new mouse!
and have a terrific day – the sun is shining very nicely here even if it did drop 40

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Skitterbug

Yes, I made an error in presuming that my childhood “I before E, except after C” rule could be generalised from the particular (which I always advise against*). This rule relates to a particular long “e” sound, as this article cogently explains.

I hope your new mouse behaves, or it may get downgraded to become a vole!

John

* Always advise against awkward and affected alliteration…

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Yes, this is the correct “rule of thumb” and in this more complete form the exceptions in common
use are very few: they are “seize”, “inveigle”, “caffeine”, “protein”, and “codeine”, as stated in the article you found.

Alan

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Maybe it’s not the mouse, but the PS/2 port itself…? I’d look at this as an excuse to get a shiny, new, laser mouse…

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I’ve got one of those, my old mouse took a lot to break it before I could justify getting it.

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Hit us with a few observations, Tony. I assume you like it or you probably would have commented. What do you do about the charger – do you put the mouse in it regularly or wait until it drains? (I was just back re-reading this old thread about my year-old Logitech optical cordless – I never did take the suggestion to use rechargeable batteries and this sucker is still like clockwork – every two months, plus or minus a day.) From the pictures at the Logitech site I can’t see the buttons so I guess it must be the views or my eyes. It’s certainly an interesting concept.

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I have had the mouse for 3 days so can only give my initial observations.

The design of the mouse is excellent, very comfortable to use with easy access to all 8 buttons. Having a task-switching button is very useful, saves on having to use alt-tab or clicking on the taskbar. The cruise control buttons enable easy scrolling, a feature that I did not realise I wanted until I used it.

I previously used a Microsoft optical mouse and the laser mouse has no problems tracking on surfaces that the optical mouse had problems with.

One problem, not sure if it is with the Logitech software or Firefox but using the default set-up, the page back-forward buttons do not work with Firefox but this is easily rectified by changing the properties of these buttons in the Logitech set-up. This problem has been submitted to both Logitech & Mozilla.

Finally recharging – the rapid re-charger certainly does what it says but I still have not decided about what re-charging regime I will use.

Based on 3 days usage I recommend this mouse.

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This mouse looks really interesting, but one question. Is the receiver built in to the charging station? Thanks.

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Yes, the receiver and charging station are integrated into one compact unit. Another very nifty feature of the mouse is the LCD power indicator. Once the power is exhausted, place the mouse on the receiver/charger for charging.

Just to give you an idea of battery life, I’ve only had to charge my mouse twice since December 25 – once for the initial charge, and once since. Granted, I only use the mouse in the evenings and on the weekends… But I’ve still been very impressed with the lifespan of the built-in battery.

And by the way, the laser sensor tracks noticibly better than traditional optical sensors. This may not mean much to anyone besides myself, but my gaming scores in Call of Duty have gone through the roof with this new mouse! I’m often accused of hacking because of my outrageously high score!

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Hi Mark,
Well. based on the recommendations in this thread, I purchased an MX 1000 and although I’ve used it for only a few days, I must say I’m impressed. The only negative is the fact that the battery can’t be replaced . After the battery won’t accept any more charges, the mouse is essentially “disposable”. Logitech advertises that the battery never needs replacing, but in actual fact a lithium-ion battery can only accept 300 to 500 charges. By the time this limit has been exceeded however, it’s probably time for a new mouse. To strech the battery life to the maximum, this article is a good tutorial.

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Hi John,

Welcome to the Logitech family…. No, wait. We’re not talking about buying a Saturn

Despite the fact that it appears the battery is permanent, I believe there are small screw holes (perhaps beneath the slide-pads) that allow access to the inside of the mouse. From there, I would bet you can easily change the batteries. Granted, I’m sure they’re not your average AA batteries, but I’m sure it’s as simple as changing the battery pack in a cordless phone.

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Tony,
That mouse looks interesting but I have a question.
With that ergonomic shape that it appears to have, what or how can I use it, since I am righthanded and I “mouse” lefthanded?
Even my desk where I have my setup is a left handed angle and it lends itself to the lefty.

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Forgive me for jumping in…

According to this review at CNet, about the only downside to this mouse is that it’s not friendly to left-handed mousers.

I’m left-handed, but I mouse right-handed. It works very well for me! Also interesting is that I have the MX1000 at home and the MX500 at work – both share similar ergonomic shape. Whenever I use a “normal” mouse now, I feel very odd…

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“I feel very odd” what new?

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Mark,
Yes it does look rather clumsy for left hand use.
Too bad, perhaps they will come out with a version for lefties.

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I received a Logitech MX1000 mouse (the one in the link you posted) for Christmas. It’s wonderful!! I highly recommend this to anyone!!

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Thanks for the nudge in the right direction! I am thinking very seriously about this mouse! Question about it however! Can a laser mouse be used with a KVM switch?

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Never mind! I got off my “lazy” bottom and went hunting like I should have done before asking!

I found the following answer through their discussion site by typing in my inquiry: Q. Can a laser mouse be used with a KVM switch?
A. Logitech does not support the use of our mice, trackballs and/or keyboards with these devices. If you are using a switch box, an extension cable, or a port replicator, please remove it and connect the pointing device or keyboard directly to the system.

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Ah, glad you found out. I was going to say that it would be iffy; my Intellimouse Explorer was always iffy on a KVM switch — sometimes it would work, sometimes not. To get it working on my servers I would have to flip the switch once or twice and say a voodoo prayer. That said, I’d give it a try if your KVM switch has a port that will accept it.

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I’ve had good luck with the Intellimouse Explorer at work on a KVM. I’ve had to make sure that when I boot any of the PCs that the PC being booted is the one selected on the KVM. If I do that I don’t have a problem getting the mouse to work or being able to switch back & forth.

Joe

--Joe

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Hi Skitterbug,

Yes, the MX1000 can be used with a KVM switch (at least it works with the one I have). The only problem is that my KVM switch does not have USB – only PS/2. The MX1000 only supports the most basic functionality with PS/2. You aren’t able to use the software to assign special functionality to all of the extra buttons. Unfortunately, the documentation does not clearly state this anywhere (at least I couldn’t find it).

So, my solution has been to use a second mouse for the KVM switch. I connected the MX1000 to my main PC via USB, and used my previous mouse with the KVM switch. This works fine since the other computer on the KVM is my server box, which I rarely use.

I realize this is not exactly ideal, but it’s an unfortunate fact of life with USB devices and USB-less KVM switches.

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Thanks to everyone for all the ideas about this ‘crazy mouse’! I believe I like the idea of trying the laser mouse out and with the encouragement about the KVM switch, I am hopeful I have success in being able to use it in this manner. I am always game for experimenting. And if worse comes to worse, I can do as you suggest, and attach it to my main box and put the spare on the KVM switch.

The UKVM might also be a good idea. I don’t have any knowledge about them so I will be doing some checking!

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I can not speak to the KVM but I have a Logitech cordless keyboard and MX700 mouse connected to two computers via a Belkin USB 4 port switch with no problems at all….

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I’m a little behind in my reading. This is in the current issue of Fred Langa’s newsletter. Frustrated with your mouse? Try this link: Burning your mouse

(The link Fred gave for the top of the rage list is: Computer Rage)

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There are KVM switches that also have shareable USB ports (UKVM switch?). Since most mice are available with a USB interface, this might be a better route to go to get the full mouse functionality.

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