Optical Mouse

J

jguidroz

Registered
I recently purchaced an optical mouse so I could have a scroll wheel and a second button. Worked great under 9. Was working great on Linux, but then it would just stop working after about 5-10 mins of use on Linux. Well I installed X, and mouse worked great. Worked a good long time too. Then I left my computer for awhile, and when I got back, it no longer worked. I'm starting to wonder if this has something do with Linux and Unix. I'd really like to have this mouse working again.

Oh yeah, it's a Logitech Optical Mouse cuz I have Microsoft.
 
I bought a Kensington optical and hated it... but the light on it would go to sleep after about 5-10 seconds of inactivity. So it took a while to get used to moving the mouse and not having it respond for a second. I took it back and got a Logitech... Using it under windows (YUK!) but I don't have that problem now. Could be you need some setting to adjust for that.
 
I have the optical mouse from Redmond WA, and it works stellar on OS 9 with the supplied control panel and maybe some USB extension? Hard to tell.

But I share your frustration with OS X, except to report the MS Intellimouse work intermittently. For instance Omni Web supports it, but Explorer 5.5 and Classic et al do not. OmniWeb is the only program I have found which supports.

I am using Firewire PB 500. Hope mouse wheel support is forthcoming!
 
I don't know if it's something in the kernel that needs to be added, since it doesn't work on both linux and now OS X. It will work fine for a few minutes now, but then it will go dead, and I'll have to unplug and plug it back in. So I've switched back to the hockey puck.

And my previous post was supposed to say I hate microsoft.
 
I belive I may have the same mouse you have, the logicteh optical mouse blue one with silver buttons? well mine has been working fine in both mac os 9 and mac os x, and I don't see what linux could have done to it, is it the only thing that is currently plugged into your keyboard?? and did you install the mouse software from it's cd? (even though it works without the software)
 
Well i have had some problems with the mouse too. I think it lets the USB mouse driver crash on my system sometimes. When it acts up, try plugging it out of your keyboard and put it back in. The USB process for the mouse is then restarted. Works like a charm, if it happens (and that ain't often luckily)
 
I'm using the MS Intellimouse Explorer. Both right and left buttons work all the time. The scrolling wheel works in Omniweb (probably why I use Omniweb more than iCab or IE), and also scrolled in Finder windows for the first couple of weeks after I installed OS X, but has since quit working--I have no idea why. Anyone have any ideas?
 
Well I've yet to try my logitech mouse since installing X on another hard drive. It works great under 9, but under X, if I leave it idle for a few minutes, it stops working. I have to unplug it and plug it back. In fact I just plugged it in and it works, but for how long? I really don't want to have to keep plugging and unplugging the mouse.
 
Originally posted by SnazzQueen
I'm using the MS Intellimouse Explorer. Both right and left buttons work all the time. The scrolling wheel works in Omniweb (probably why I use Omniweb more than iCab or IE), and also scrolled in Finder windows for the first couple of weeks after I installed OS X, but has since quit working--I have no idea why. Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...

I recall reading somewhere that, in the PB, Cocoa
apps can use the mousewheel but Carbon apps
can't.

 
I don't understand this. My Optical mouse worked fine for a good four weeks...now all of a sudden, it stops working and I have to unplug it and plug it back. I can't stand this anymore.
 
Originally posted by marmoset

I recall reading somewhere that, in the PB, Cocoa
apps can use the mousewheel but Carbon apps
can't.
Click to expand...

That is correct Cocoa apps can use mousewheels but carbon apps can't. This is because the Cocoa API provides built in support for the wheel w/o the developer having to add any significant code while the carbon API does not. Also carbon apps seem to have the filename limitation of 32 characters :( while Cocoa apps can use the full 256 characters :) . I noticed this because every carbon app I have truncates filenames to 32 characters. I'm also using an MicroShit Intellimouse Explorer (only because I needed a new mouse back when it came out and I decided that I was going to get an optical mouse and it was the only one available :( ). I can use the right mouse button to get the contextual menu and the wheel of course works in Cocoa apps.

Just to let you know :),
 
I am using the Intellimouse Explorer..... On OS9 it works beautifully. But with OSX it just work the left and right buttons, the wheel does not work unless you are using Cocoa apps.

I haven't had any problem with it and the OSX... I has always worked.... it is verry slow though.

I hope MicroS..... release a OSX version of its software
 
I have a Micro*ahem* IntelliMouse Explorer, and have had the problems described. However, unlike many people here, it seems, I find that under OS 9, not X, the mouse is extremely tempermental, often turning itself off and then on again for no obvious reason, and sometimes turning off completely and not coming back on at all until either a complete restart or I plug it out and back in again.

If dies during certain games (e.g. Starcraft) I lose the functionality of the buttons, so that they all trigger a normal left click, not a proper right click or whatever. The mouse still works fine in the Finder. I believe this is a 'bug' in InputSprocket, which Starcraft uses (the same problem occurs in Quake 3 and Tournie, although generally in them I lose the ability to mouselook too).

Anyway, under OS X the mouse behaves wonderfully. It does rarely die, but only for a second or two, and when it comes back there are no problems such as I've described under OS 9.

Now, it turns out this isn't an uncommon problem with Microsoft optical mouse. If you phone up Microsoft help and describe very generally what's going on, they'll offer to replace your mouse free of charge. Why? It appears all their optical mice *ship* with several very common faults, including easy to break or already broken cables, faulty USB connectors, and generally (and somewhat randomly) bad internal connections. These cause the dead-one-moment-fine-the-next symptoms. Many of my friends have had the problem (probably 75% of them, in fact) within 6 months of buying their mouse. Some of them returned it, while others have managed to fix the various problems by opening 'er up and tweaking things. If the cable is faulty (test it by moving the cable where it enters the mouse to the left and right on a sharp angle. If the mouse reliably dies at a certain point and works again once you straighten the cable, you've got said problem) then you can simply cut about 10cm from the mouse end of the cable, rewire it inside, secure it properly internally with some blue tack or glue or whatever, and it seems after that it works like a dream.

If you have a faulty connector, as I believe I have (in addition to the cable fault), you'll find sometimes, especially with OS X installed, the mouse won't even start up when the system starts. This is especially troublesome if you're trying to select a startup disk (by holding down option at startup). The solution is to generally hit it in frustration, and plug it out and in again until it works. So far that's fixed it each time (the hitting it part is optional, but I recommend it for good measure, and the stress relief :).

Microsoft won't announce anywhere that they have these problems, and they seem to still be having them even with brand new ones, but they won't even bother asking questions if you report this problem to them.
 
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