Curse the Cursor

[odidio]

It's not realy a problem more of an annoyance, guess that's why I haven't realy looked into it.
Every once in a while when the mouse comes to rest, the cursor will travel off either vertically or horizontally by itself. Once I move the mouse again it comes back, a bug I guess ?

[Micron]

Have you got a cordless or optical mouse?

If yes:

Cordless: Change the batteries (and follow steps below for Optical)
Optical: There is dirt and fluff in the optical canal (the hole underneath where the beam shines through) so the light bounces back into the laser, making it move about, or its on its way out and time for a new one.

If fluff and dirt, look in the hole and pull out any crap, then blow in at a few times, careful not to spit into it.

If its a standard PS/2 or USB Mouse, it will need cleaning, or possibly the cable has been puled and has been damaged, if so, replace it.

Cleaning a mouse that has a ball

The wheels in a mouse get caked with dirt and lint over time and make it difficult to navigate the mouse.

To clean a "ball" mouse, look at the bottom of your mouse. You should see a small ball on the bottom of the mouse. Open up the mouse on the bottom and take the ball out. If you look inside the mouse, there are little wheels that touch the ball (where the ball used to be).

To clean the wheels, grab a small flathead screw driver (the real small ones) and chisel the dirt off. If you don't have a small flathead screw driver, grab a knife that is small enough to fit inside the mouse. I found that knives with teeth on the end grab the dirt better.

Anyway, proceed to clean the wheels, little by little, until it is relatively clean. Try not to drop the lint/dirt/goo back in the mouse or it will end up back on your mouse ball, and eventually find its way back onto the wheel.

The next thing would be to clean the mouse ball -- usually Window cleaner will do (though I recommend Acetone (Nail Polish Remover)) as it evaporates. Just spray or pour some into a glass and carefully drop the ball inside the glass... swish it around a bit. Take it out and dry it off with a clean sheet of paper towel.

After you're finished, put the mouse ball back in the mouse and close the cover. Next, check the surface area that the mouse sits on when in use. Make sure it is relatively clean (lint-free, dirt-free if possible). If your mouse pad is battered from years of hard use, consider purchasing a new one. If you don't have a mouse pad for a "ball" mouse, you should buy one because they usually make a big difference.

[xpgeek]

I find the easyest way to clean my optical mouse of tiny hairs, since I get cat hair everywhereee all the time, lol, is just turn it over and blow on it.

[odidio]

Thanks, I have two dogs and loads of dust so I clean things regularly. I'll give it a good cleaning and see but I've noticed this movement since I bought the PC. Like I said though it is a random thing, may happen only once a week at times, so no big deal.
It's a standard PS/2 and the driver is from MS with an old date of 7/1/2001.