TID Article #01

The Computer and Advice from a GNUru

Welcome and good day to the readers of TID.

In this the inaugural column we will take a look at something simple, your computers mouse. The mouse is used heavly but very few people actually take time to maintain it. If you have noticed that the pointer/cursor on you desktop is reacting slowly, jumping around or otherwise not behaving as you would like, then perhaps your mouse needs cleaning.

Before you clean your mouse you need several common items to help you.

Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol)
Q-tips or Cotton balls
A Pencil with a sharp point or a pair of tweezers
some paper towels
a small Phillips head screw driver

To Clean your mouse, first shut down and turn off your PC.

Next you need to locate and unplug the mouse from your computer. There are three common kinds of plugs used to connect the mouse to the computer. The most common type in really old PCs (pre-1997) is called a "Serial" plug. This plug is about half an inch wide and an inch long. when disconnected from the PC it will have two rows of holes, one with five the other with four. The most common is now is the PS/2 Plug. It is round with a small bar at center surrounded by a hemisphere of pins. The third type is a USB plug which is rectangular with the center cut out. What you do after removing the mouse from the PC depends on the type of mouse that you have. If the "ball" is on top, then you have a "Trackball"; see the trackball section below. If the "ball" is on the bottom, you have a "standard" mouse; see the main section below. If you can not find anything that even remotely looks like a ball but has a small window on the bottom of the mouse, you have a "Optical" Mouse; see the optical section below.

Main Section

After unplugging the mouse, flip it over. On the bottom you should see the ball behind a circular disk between the size of a quarter and a half-dollar. On the disk is probably an arrow which points around counter clockwise. By twisting this disk (apply a medium amount of pressure) in the direction of the arrow, it should move about a quarter turn and then stop. If you then turn to mouse over the ball and disk should drop out. If you have an older mouse, the arrow might point straight down or up, in this case simply apply the pressure and push in the direction the arrow points. Once the ball has been removed from the mouse, look into the opening were the ball was. There will be two or three wheels mounted in the side of the opening about halfway in. These wheels should be clean and clear of dirt. If you see what looks like a rubber strip around the center of the wheel, then the mouse needs cleaning.

To clean the rubber-like stuff off the wheels place a small amount of Isopropyl Alcohol on either a Q-tip or cotton ball and wipe it on to the wheel, being careful not to let any alcohol drip into the rest of the mouse. After a few seconds use either the pencil point or tweezers to remove the now loose rubbery stuff.

To replace the mouse ball and cover simply reverse the steps you used to take it off.

Trackball Section

Locate the screws on the bottom of the mouse. Slowly and carefully remove the screws and place them aside. By pressing down on the trackball, one side (or maybe the whole side) of the mouse should pop loose.

To clean the rubber-like stuff off the contact points place a small amount of Isopropyl Alcohol on either a Q-tip or cotton ball and wipe it on to the contact points being careful not to let any alcohol drip into the rest of the mouse. After a few seconds use either the pencil point or tweezers to remove the now loose rubbery stuff.

To replace the mouse ball and cover simply reverse the steps you used to take it off.

Optical Section

Simply wipe the optical sensor(s) located on the bottom of the mouse with a cotton ball soaked in Isopropyl Alcohol, let dry and reattach. (You got the easy one to clean)

I hope that the above tip will help you get rid of some pesky problems that your mouse has caused. If it does not fix the problem, or if you have any technical or social questions, no matter how seemingly insignificant to you, involving your computer, the computer industry, the internet, or computing in general, send me email at < redacted > with the subject reading : TID - "Question" or "Comment" where "Question" or "Comment" is the best discription of the content of your message. I will reply to you in an email and in the next issued of TID. A word of caution however, my email is configured to delete any message that does not contain the proper subject header or comes from a unrecognised source so please follow the above instructions carefully. Odds are I will not even see any other message. If you want to send me messages on other topics, send a email with the Subject that reads "EMAIL RULES" and my machine will auto-reply with a copy of my email rules, regulations, and restrictions to you. I hope to have a small website up and running by the next issue with back columns and more in-depth answers to your questions.