Thanks MM,

And, with a bit of luck, Safe Mode will recover a machine that will not come out of hibernation.

TP

Do people here use those optical mice with the red light thingies? I prefer them to the ones with balls because they don't get littered with crumbs, but I get very frustrated when I go to touch the mouse and the cursor seems to shoot to the opposite corner of the screen.

I've Googled the problem and it seems to be a common complaint. People have suggested that it's something to do with the surface of the desk confusing the camera inside the mouse and that it's an idea to use a plain sheet of white paper as a mouse mat, but I've tried that and it didn't really work.

Does anybody have a solution that works?

I don't like my balls littered with crumbs either !

How do you like your balls then, Skinners?

hilary,

I use a very old plastic 'cutting pad' on this PC and a piece of off-white card on the other machine in my studio.

However, it does not seem to like grained wood, which might be your desk surface.

TP

I have no problems with a Logitech optical mouse on most surfaces. Shiny is not good, neither is a glass-topped table. A regular mouse-mat should be fine.

The cure to skinny's problem is to put your underpants on before you have your toast.

I had the same problem. The only thing I found that worked was using a one colour, dark, non glossy mousemat. I found that any surface with multiple colours or textures confused the cordless laser mouse & the cursor emigrated to the top right hand corner of the screen. (Sadly my Lewis Hamilton Christmas present mousemat does not conform!)

Thanks guys.

I guess the problem is down to my wood veneered desk which concurs with what I'd read about the problem previously.

The trouble is that I don't really want to use a mousemat and I don't want to stick bits of card on the desk either. I don't like fluffy balls either, so I guess I'll just have to either live with it or get a new desk.

Hils, I had the same problem, but am now using a Logitech MK 300 wireless k/b and mouse, and don't seem to be having the problem any more.

I'm using a Logitech optical (with a cord) mouse right now on a light oak woodgrain desk in the office and having no problems. Perhaps a recommendation for Logitech??

I have two cheap (Argos 4.95) USB optical.
They both work on multicolour mat, plain white
and also varnished mahogany.

Ta muchly. I'm not bothered by wires, so I'll give a Logitech one a go. The Logitech Pilot is about 9, so I'll try one of them to begin. If it works, I can replace the others later.

Possibly dust in the little red window at the bottom of the mouse, causing reflections? Or maybe just a cheap mouse?

You could try a trackball, takes a bit of getting used to but brilliant once you are.

Re Logitech, after they replaced a faulty trackball with the latest, very much more expensive, model for me years ago I wouldn't buy anything else.

This is what Logitech gave me free of charge. I would never have paid anywhere near that for a mouse, but after having it for a few weeks I would not be able to go back to a simple mouse. It has programmable buttons, I just click a button for Back and Refresh on the browser.

Mind you I did plug it into a little power brick since I don't like the battery issue with the cordless models (some just recharge on a cradle).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001N04SV8/ref=s9_simi_gw_p23_i3?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1CWA7ZCRP9VCVKBKT92H&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467198433&pf_rd_i=468294

I don't think I'd be able to steer a trackball properly, K. It looks too complicated for me and I even struggle with the Sky+ remote.

:o)

I did wonder about dust being a problem, but one of the mice is brand new and it still does it. As for whether they're cheap or not, I really wouldn't know. They're bog standard HP mice which were packed with the machines.

hilary

Some optical mice work on infra red it might be worth trying one. Possibly your desk would not reflect that frequency in the same way.

My mice have red lights anyway, Opti. Is that the same thing?

No. An infra red optical mouse will still have the light/camera system but the light will not be visible.

My Logitech does actually work on wood grain.

I bought a cordless Microsoft mouse for Mrs TP (who has just learnt to PC) and that had the clever idea of having a housing for the USB stick in the base of the mouse. It switches off the battery so that when the laptop is not in use the mouse is not switched on. Not the most of original ideas, but a good one if the option is available.

TP

I always run my Logitech mouse up and down my right leg and, considering my legs are very hairy, I don't have many issues with it, really. Sometimes I use the other leg but as to when I do this, well, it just depends on the weather and what I'm wearing.

By the way, the above is only applicable for mornings and what comes in the post.