Mouse pointer 'skipping'.

Okay, having an odd mouse issue. The mouse in question is a Logitech cordless laser mouse. The problem is that the pointer 'skips' across the screen sometimes. As I move the mouse steadily, the pointer stays motionless, then jumps a few inches, stops again, jumps again, etc.

Relevant details:
1) The surface I'm using it on is clean and I have been using this and other optical mice on this desktop for years.
2) The mouse optical sensor is clean.
3) I tried a new set of batteries and there was no difference.
4) It doesn't do this constantly, and it can do it in CoH, a browser, or the Windows desktop.
5) OS is Windows 7. This is on a brand new computer I built last week.
6) The mouse is just under 4 years old. Do they do this when they are wearing out?

Any ideas?

The only thing I can think of is a problem my Kensington Expert Trackball experienced at times.

It had a "break" in the pattern printed on the ball, so it would not register correctly when that went over the laser.


Essentially, laser mice need a surface with a pattern on it that they can follow. It makes them behave a lot more reliably because they track their position by changes in the surface.


It could possibly also be that the laser or lens in the mouse is loose and shaking around a bit, or maybe interference with another wireless signal.

My first thought was actually dust or crud caught in the laser hole on the mouse, or maybe scratches to the lens down there.


I hope at least some of this helps.

I have yet to encounter a cordless mouse that doesn't do this from time to time. This is why I have 2 of them in my attic and a regular old corded optical on my desk.

Just my experience, though.

does your monitor have a video overdrive feature? is it on?

No, no overdrive feature.


Interestingly, the problem seems to have gone away. Previously, I had the wireless mouse 'dongle' sticking out the back of a KVM switch with the switch sitting on top of the computer case. The new computer has an exhaust fan on top of the case, so I moved the KVM switch - perhaps a foot. The other day, I moved it about another foot again, in a random direction, and the problem seems to have stopped. (shrug) The original location, the problem location and the current location all are situated behind a steel desk and there are no other electronic devices nearby.