mouse/cursor

I have a dell with windows xp which I have owned for about 4 years. All of a
sudden my usb mouse has started playing up. The cursor moves over to the top
right or bottom left of the screen and refuses to budge. I have absolutely
no control over it and sometimes it disappears altogether. New mice have not
solved the problem which makes me think it's something to do with the
software. Any ideas? We run regular virus checks.

--
Elizabeth

Elizabeth wrote:
> I have a Dell with Windows XP which I have owned for about 4 years. All of a
> sudden my usb mouse has started playing up. The cursor moves over to the top
> right or bottom left of the screen and refuses to budge. I have absolutely
> no control over it and sometimes it disappears altogether. New mice have not
> solved the problem which makes me think it's something to do with the
> software. Any ideas? We run regular virus checks.

If the surface the mouse "sees" is shiny, non-porous, or very bright,
that could cause the pointer to jump around. The best surface for the
mouse to "see" would be dull with a texture. Paper will work,
especially colored paper. Best is a rubbery mousepad with plenty or
coarseness, or porosity.

But, since it seems to freeze, try lowering graphics hardware
acceleration. You can lower graphics hardware acceleration in Display
Properties, Settings tab, Advanced button, Troubleshooting tab. If this
helps, you probably need a different graphics card or drivers.

--
Joe =o)