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I have that mouse connected to my thinkpad via usb. It has worked for years. Recently when I have the mouse inactive over text, at times the cursor begins to move to the left in little short regular bursts.

As the computer is new I'm not sure if this is a mouse problem, usb connection problem or a computer ptoblem.

Any direction will be appreciated.

EDIT: I tried everything but the obvious. I had a dark surface for the mouse to be on. I changed the colour of the surface - problem solved.

Thanks everyone.

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It happens quite often to me; I've had the same bahaviour both at home and at work, with completely different PCs and mice. – alex Sep 29 '09 at 19:39

5 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

I think you should use a Plain coloured/ Single coloured mouse pad

Imagine a Black and White mouse pad. Your optical lens is on the white part. When you move the mouse to the black part the sensor senses depth and thats why the cursor moves irregular.

Try it,it should work

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I accepted this answer, with a comment, but somehow my comment got erased. This is the gist. It took me a bit of time to understand this, but this IS the solution in my case. Having the optical mouse on a dark surface causes it to "lose focus" and start to move. All fixed. Thank you. – Xavierjazz Oct 9 '09 at 3:06
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I had the same issue. It turned out there was some hair, or dust inside the optical sensor plastic bit. By blowing off on it, the dust was gone and the mouse cursor did not move again.

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So far, this seems to have cured the problem. I'll give it another 12/16 hours and if its solved, I'll accept you answer. Thanks. – Xavierjazz Sep 30 '09 at 1:46
Well, the problem is back. I may have identified the real cause though - I'll report back in 24 hours to let you know. – Xavierjazz Sep 30 '09 at 19:35
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Does the problem occur when you're typing? I often have a similar problem (but to the right) when I'm typing with my hands brushing the touchpad on the my Thinkpad (T60).

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Thank you. I have my pad turned off for that reason. – Xavierjazz Sep 30 '09 at 0:20
It was worth a shot. – C. Ross Sep 30 '09 at 12:09
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You might try to clean the mouse, if it has a ball tracker.

However, and since you say the mouse is a few years old, my experience with mouses is that when they develop a mind of their own, it's time to get a new and more obedient mouse.

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"a new and more obedient mouse". Are they called rats? – Xavierjazz Sep 30 '09 at 0:21
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Cleaning the mouse is a good idea. I doubt it's USB related. I also had cheapo, no-name optical mouse that would do that by itself. If it's annoying you, there are many good, inexpensive mice available.

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