[SOLVED] Some way to test if my mouse is malfunctioning other than the obvious ?

[iTRiP]

This has been bugging me for some time, but since this issue with my pc's mouse is an on and off issue of not properly functioning wheel scrolling... now the odd thing is there is only sometimes an issue with it and other times not.

So how can I tell if it is hardware related or software related, whichever it's easy enough to just buy another mouse for my pc, but since so far the issue can't be determined if it is hardware or software related, I have never felt the need to go and get a replacement.

Any advice or knowhow about this, I have never had a mouse misbehave like this ever, it's always been outright broken or sold with the old pc when getting an upgrade.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

Do you have another PC to test it on?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

Also make a bootable, Linux USB and try it in Linux

 

[iTRiP]

Do you have another PC to test it on?

Sure I do, thanks never thought of that, I'll go and test it now, but I need something to nail this [bad language removed] with a solid test don't know if this is going to cut it because as I'm typing this the mouse in question is actually scrolling correct again.

 

[iTRiP]

Also make a bootable, Linux USB and try it in Linux

Sorry nope, not going to do that, but the other pc thing I can go and test it now, hold up I'll be back with my findings.

 

[iTRiP]

Do you have another PC to test it on?

Took it to the other pc and plugged it in there and scrolling and pointing works as expected (it worked as expected too as soon as I started typing about this on this pc too)
So as you can now read what type of issue I'm facing with this current mouse of my pc, I'm at a loss, don't know if I would require a new mouse or if there is something els wrong here.

 

[iTRiP]

Right I was browsing to see if I could find some webpage that has a test for a pc's mouse and I found this site: Mouse Button & Scroll Wheel Test 🖱️ | DeviceTests

Funny thing my mouse's issue can be seen here on this page, when I scroll down the down arrow lights up as well as the up arrow same thing when scrolling up.

Is this clear enough proof that there is a hardware or software issue with this mouse, might be.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

I’m at other PC and test at that website and if it still shows the odd behavior then you know it’s the mouse. Else, it’s probably your os most likely, and may be a remote problem with the motherboard maybe not as likely.

sometimes things fail

 

[iTRiP]

Jesus, I'm such a dumbass, why didn't I think to search the web sooner for such a test for a mouse, man, I must have had this issue for so long and it has been impeding my gaming performance for so long now, and having I'm having so much knowledge of other pc related issues and how to resolve that, funny that I never got around to troubleshooting my pc's peripherals. Well thanks for the push into the right direction, with testing it on another pc, I can bet you that it will show there too that something is hardware related broken with this mouse. (So I guess I have reason enough to go and get a new mouse for this pc' of mine right as of now)

 

[Deleted member 14196]

That’s the beauty of our consciousness, and that we can learn something new every day. I am glad you figured out the issue, and I hope that you continue to devote much of your life to learning and growing as a person because in that you’ll find much fulfillment.

don’t feel like a dumb ass because we’ve all done at least what you’ve done and probably worse, I know I’ve done way worse

One time we had just finished configuring a UNIX machine, and believe me it was a difficult configure, and I was going to do him a favor and update the software lol it formatted everything thank God we had back ups. I’ll never forget his Russian voice yelling at me do not touch it!!

stuff like that is a rite of passage, so don’t feel bad about it. Making mistakes is good as long as you learn.

 

[BFG-9000]

Chances are really good there is nothing at all wrong with the hardware of your mouse. Instead it's likely a lint ball is rolling around inside the wheel.

See, there's really very little that can go wrong with the scroll hardware since it's optical with an infrared LED shining through the spokes of the wheel to a sensor on the other side. It's not like a button that can wear out--no moving parts on the sensor. Unfortunately there has to be a gap in the case so the wheel can move and enough lint eventually works its way into the center of the wheel (it may take 10 years but will happen even if you don't have pets) to block the spokes to confuse the sensor. Like a tumbleweed this can get stuck in front of the sensor in which case nothing will work, or more usually it only intermittently stops working in one direction while the other way is fine. Sometimes whacking the mouse or compressed air can get it to work properly for awhile, but the only proper fix is to take the mouse apart and clean the insides of the wheel.

I wonder how many nice expensive gaming mice have been thrown away just because they got dirty inside.

 

[iTRiP]

Chances are really good there is nothing at all wrong with the hardware of your mouse. Instead it's likely a lint ball is rolling around inside the wheel.

See, there's really very little that can go wrong with the scroll hardware since it's optical with an infrared LED shining through the spokes of the wheel to a sensor on the other side. It's not like a button that can wear out--no moving parts on the sensor. Unfortunately there has to be a gap in the case so the wheel can move and enough lint eventually works its way into the center of the wheel (it may take 10 years but will happen even if you don't have pets) to block the spokes to confuse the sensor. Like a tumbleweed this can get stuck in front of the sensor in which case nothing will work, or more usually it only intermittently stops working in one direction while the other way is fine. Sometimes whacking the mouse or compressed air can get it to work properly for awhile, but the only proper fix is to take the mouse apart and clean the insides of the wheel.

I wonder how many nice expensive gaming mice have been thrown away just because they got dirty inside.

Thanks for your great insight into this matter, unfortunately this is just a cheap mouse, and it can't be taken apart by the looks of it... So I'm just going to buy a new replacement for my pc and hope for the best after words.

Back in the day I had one of those ball mouses, and it was totally disassembled able type, used to have to clean the ball for pointing on the regular, along with that one could also clean the mouse wheel and said buttons once the mouse was open, well as you now know this current mouse can't be taken apart, so no way of cleaning it other than to wipe it down on the outside.


Anybody know if all mouses sold these days that are usb have their Led's stay on if the pc is shut down? (This is a function that I greatly enjoy even my current cheap nonfunctioning mouse has this) If at all possible, I'd like the replace my mouse with another that at least has this function.

 

[BFG-9000]

Usually any screws are under the feet or a label. The cheapest mice often only have one screw and everything else snaps together.

Ball mice are also optical devices but the two axles that spin their wheels pick up schmutz from the ball then start to slip and behave erratically until those axles are cleaned. I suppose eventually those wheels could get linted up too.

The mouse staying powered on is usually a setting in the computer's BIOS to either keep the USB ports on for charging purposes or to enable wake on mouse activity. If you buy any LED mouse that doesn't time-out the LEDs they should always stay lit (note though that infrared laser mice use invisible light for the sensor so the bottom will always be dark)