Your mouse keeps jumping and its getting incredibly annoying and frustrating. In order to fix this problem, we must first identify the source. The following are common causes for why your mouse keeps jumping:

Optic mouse is reflecting off a glossy surface

If you are using your optic mouse on a glossy surface, such as glass, metal, or even a varnished table, the cursor will have a tendency to jump sporadically. Place your mouse upon a mouse pad or a non-reflective surface instead. If you’re already using a mouse pad, try changing it.

Mouse ball is dirty

If you are using a ball mouse, try cleaning either the ball or the wheels that come into contact with the ball. Oftentimes, debris such as hair and dust get stuck in the wheels and prevent the ball from rotating around. Cleaning the small wheels inside the mouse, in addition to the mouse ball itself, should solve a dirty mouse problem.

Wireless mouse is low on batteries

If you are using a wireless mouse, you might be running low on batteries. Erratic behavior often occurs when batteries are dying, so an easy solution is to change the batteries.

Driver conflict

Newly installed hardware and their associated drivers may conflict with the driver for your mouse. If there is a driver update for your new hardware, try installing it.

Virus infection

Viruses that affect mice are becoming more common nowadays; your best line of defense is virus protection software. There is plenty of free virus protection software out there, such as Avast! and AVG.

Running low on RAM

When the system is low on RAM, many system functions may behave strangely, including the mouse. You can install additional RAM, or perform a defragmentation on your hard drive.

Mouse is broken

The mouse may simply be broken, as wires in the cord can fray and small pieces inside the mouse can fall apart–especially if it’s an old mouse. At this point, it’s probably easiest to replace the mouse with a new one.

TalkLocal is a free service that can connect you to a computer repair technician immediately!

This entry was originally posted on Monday, July 30th, 2012 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Computer Repair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.