Why is my mouse movements jerky and uneven?

I HAVE A COMPAQ #1681 LAPTOP...USING AN ATTACHED MOUSE....NOT THE TOUCH PAD. THE CURSOR JUMPS ALL OVER THE TEXT AND I MUST BRING IT BACK MANY TIMES. IS THIS MY FAULT OR DOES THE COMPUTER NEED REPAIR?

THANKYOU

This question was answered on August 25, 1999. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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This information was found on the internet regarding the mouse movements problems

Explanation: The mouse's motion is not smooth and fluid the way it used to be or the way it should be When you move the mouse it tends to jump around or stutter, stops moving unless you shake it, or moves in a jerky fashion (the pointer seems to pause between redraws on the screen for example)

Diagnosis: There are four main causes of this sort of behavior The first is a dirty mouse, which can cause spurious behavior in a number of ways The second is a resource conflict with another device The third is damage to the mouse cord caused by excessive bending of the cord, especially near where it attaches to the mouse The fourth is a problem with the mouse driver, although this is much less likely.

Recommendation:

Check the mouse to make sure that it is not physically sticking Clean the mouse

Try using a mouse pad instead of your desk (or other surface) for rolling the mouse In many cases the surface the mouse is on is actually the problem Using a mouse pad allows the mouse to roll smoothly (I have, however, seen desks that worked better without one.)

There may be a resource conflict, especially with regard to an IRQ channel This is especially true of serial mice, because of the fact that serial COM port pairs 1 and 3, and 2 and 4, share IRQ lines See here for more on resource conflicts regarding serial ports

Check the mouse cord to see if it is frayed or becoming loose If you see cracks in the plastic housing of the cord, this is a sign that this may be your problem If you have a soldering iron and patience, you can fix the problem, but replacing the mouse is normally the action of choice here

There may be a bad driver associated with this mouse It is unlikely that this is the case (since mice are such simple affairs) but is it possible

I hope that this information is useful in solving your problem.

About the author

Posted by Ken Colburn of Data Doctors on August 25, 1999

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