Tip #3915 - Broken Wheel
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Q:
The mouse I use has a scroll wheel on the top of it and lately, the wheel
has not been working properly. Do you know of anything I can do to fix
it? Please help, I really miss my mouse!
A:
That must be awful! I mean, I'm sure you can still use your mouse, but
if your scroll wheel doesn't work, that could be a big pain in the you
know what. Unfortunately, the wheel on your mouse is just like any other
part of the mouse and it can stop working or start acting funny at any
time. Whatever your situation, there are a few things you can do to get
it back up and "wheeling" again!
The mouse you have
may work differently for the type of computer you have, so first, I'll
run through some suggestions for all of you Microsoft Windows users out
there. Then a little later on in the tip, I'll go over some tricks that
may help those of you who use a different type of computer (like a Mac,
for example). Alright, let's check them out!
In any version of
Windows, the first thing you need to look at is the Mouse Properties
window. To get there, go to Start, Control
Panel and then click on the Printers and Other Hardware
link. From there, just click on the Mouse link. (If you're
running a version older than XP, these directions may be a little different,
but just look for the Mouse icon and click on it). The
Mouse Properties box will then open.
Click on the Wheel
tab and adjust the number of lines your mouse is able to scroll through
at one time. Yours may be set too high and your mouse can't handle it.
You can go up to 100, but it's best to keep the number kind of low. Mine
is set to three lines at a time. Just change the number and keep trying
your mouse until you find a number that fits your wheel better. When you
think you've got it fixed, click Apply and OK.
If that doesn't
work, go back to the Wheel tab and select the option
of "One screen at a time." (Older versions
may say "One page at a time"). This may help
slow your mouse down a little so it can work better for you. Click Apply
and OK again to make all the changes.
If you're still having
trouble with the wheel after that, you may want to try and adjust your
mouse through the program you installed when you first got it. (That is,
if your mouse is a non-Microsoft brand). For example, if you're using
a Logitech mouse, it may be configured a little differently and you can
use the software that came with it to fix it. Just load up the CD on your
computer and look for the Mouse Settings. You can then go through the
settings and adjust what needs to be done. They'll probably be similar
to what I already explained up above.
If you're still having
no luck, you'll want to make sure that your mouse drivers are up to date.
If you're using old drivers or even an older version of the mouse software,
you'll need to do some updates. For this information, the best place to
look is in the manual that came with your mouse. If you can't find any
update information there, you may want to try contacting the manufacturer
of your mouse and see if they can send you the drivers and or software
you need.
Now, if you're using
a non-Microsoft Windows computer, the best thing to do is reinstall the
software that came with your mouse. If that doesn't work, make sure you
install the latest drivers for your operating system, which again, you
can get from your mouse manual or by contacting the manufacturer of your
mouse. That's the easiest thing to do when it comes to that!
All in all, if you're
still having trouble with your mouse wheel after all of that, it's likely
that your mouse is defective and you'll probably want to look into buying
a new one in the near future. If you don't want to pay for a whole new
one, you can try getting a replacement from the manufacturer, but I'm
not promising you that will work. Mice aren't too expensive these days,
but I understand that you have to do what you have to do. Either way,
I hope you're able to get your mouse back up and running again. Here's
to no more mouse problems. Oh yeah!
~ Erin
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