Don't put your mouse out to pasture yet

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): You move your mouse around, but the mouse pointer on the screen doesn't budge. "Oh, oh!" you say. You think that yours is dead already and you wonder how much a new mouse would cost. You ask your friends for the name of the store that sells the cheapest mouse in town. But maybe what it needs is just a CPR. And maybe it doesn't take a trained nurse to administer the aid.

Today, the mouse is as indispensable to Windows users as diapers are for parents of babies and toddlers. However, because of its fragile look, a lot of people think that the mouse is susceptible to sudden death. Some mice are designed so smoothly that their surface is as soft as a bar of soap and people think these rodents break down easily and quickly. Therefore, when their mouse stops working, they immediately go out and buy another mouse. That's actually OK, since the price of mice are not really staggering. In fact, you can get a mouse of good quality for just under Rp 20,000 (US$8.80).

But, with the help of some alcohol and a couple of cotton swabs, you may be able to bring your comatosed mouse back to life.

On the rollers

Cheap as mice are now, mouse pads are perhaps still too expensive, although some computer stores give them away freely at exhibitions or when you buy a computer system from them. Unknown to many of you, however, the pad really helps in keeping your mouse healthy. It's not just colorful decoration for your desk, it's a sterile breathing mask for the mouse.

Without the mouse pad, people usually drag their mouse around on the surface of their desk surface. It's OK if the desk has a glass top. But in many cases, the paint particles from the table surface get inside the mouse and choke it.

To understand how a mouse can suffocate, take a look at the accompanying picture. A typical mechanical mouse has a ball, two rollers and a spindle. If you turn your mouse upside down, you'll be able to see the ball. It is held inside its well by a ring. To get it out, all you have to do is rotate the ring counterclockwise -- perhaps with the end of your retracted ballpoint. On some mice, you have to push the ring upward or downward to take it off. Almost certainly there will be arrows indicating which way you should turn it to remove it.

After you take out the ball, you'll find the two rollers inside the well. These rollers are perpendicular to each other, since they are supposed to register the movement of the mouse along the X and Y axes. Each of the rollers has a tiny cylinder with a slippery surface that is in constant contact with the ball. It should be clean and slippery so that the ball can rotate against it easily. But it should be coarse enough to be rotated by the ball when the direction conforms to its axis. After some time, dirt picked up by the ball will accumulate on the surface of the cylinders.

Here's what happens when the cylinder on the X axis roller gets so dirty with paint particles or lint that the ball cannot roll against it. When you move your mouse sideways, the pointer moves along. But when you move it up and down, the pointer stays on one line.

When both rollers are covered with dirt, the mouse seems to be stuck. No matter where you drag it, the pointer simply doesn't move.

Just clean it

Basically, if you know how to clean the head of a cassette recorder, you'll be able to clean the rollers inside the mouse. Just use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to clean it. In my experience, mice that have been used on varnished desk surfaces are the hardest to clean.

If the dirt sticks stubbornly on the cylinders, you may have to perform invasive surgery on the mouse. Take heart, though, as most mice are designed in such a way that you can take them apart easily. Usually all you have to do is loosen two or three screws, and then you can pry the it open. Once the rollers are fully exposed, you can clean them more easily and more thoroughly.

In one extreme case, I had to use sandpaper to remove the dirt. It worked fine, but it left scratches on the surface of the cylinder because I did not use the finest sand paper. Once considered dead by its owner, this mouse now works flawlessly, but the movement of the pointer is not as perfect as it would be had I used finer sandpaper. So, if you think you have to use sandpaper, be sure to pick the finest.

The spindle helps keep the ball in place against the two rollers. Just like the rollers, it gets dirty too, and you also can use a swab to clean it.

By the way, the roller ball needs some cleaning too. All you have to do is take it to your kitchen sink and wash it with a very mild detergent. Rinse it well under the tap before wiping it, and let it dry completely before putting it back in its place.

The vital cord

Unless yours is a cordless mouse, such as Logitech MouseMan Cordless, there's definitely a cord that connects it with the serial or bus port on your PC. Needless to say, there's not much you can do if the cord has been broken. Mouse makers would rather have you spend money on a new mouse rather than a cord replacement. So, if you tug too hard on the cord, you may end up having to buy a new mouse.

All said and done, when, and not if, your mouse fails to move its pointer on the screen, you'll know its life may not necessarily be over yet. Most important of all, start using a mouse pad -- if you haven't been using one already.