a quick question about mouses (computer ones that is)

[Lord Revan]

I'm having this issue where the scroll wheel on my mouse locks up and won't scroll properly, I'm kind of on a thight budget so I was wondering should I invent on a new mouse (maybe even a one with more then 3 buttons) or keep using this one?
EDIT:I accidently posted this on the wrong forum could a friendly mod please move this to the correct one.

[Borgholio]

If your scroll wheel is locking up, try disassembling your meese and look for crap that is jamming the wheel or the gears (if any). Usually you can just unscrew the bottom half of the meese or pop the halves apart with a screwdriver.

[Jaepheth]

Yeah, sounds like you need to de-gunk the chopper wheel.

[Purple]

One thing I some times do is clean out the area around the wheel inside the mouse with a toothpick. Dust grime and god knows what else just seems to collect there and around the axle of the wheel. But you can fish it right out.

[Edi]

Disassembly and cleaning of the mouse wheel is needed, if possible, otherwise get a new mouse. I have three cats, so mouse wheel locking up is always just a matter of time. My previous mouse was impossible to disassemble and my current one looks that way too, or if it is possible without breaking things, it will be a pain in the arse.

[Batman]

I have used more than 3 button mice in the past, except that I didn't use the additional buttons really (heck I rarely use the third button). I agree that cleaning if possible is naturally cheaper but these days adequate quality rodents aren't that expensive. I got a Microsoft Wireless 2000 for 21€ a couple months ago and I think that's a perfectly serviceable rodent.

[Edi]

A basic wired mouse is €9.90 or something like that, so it's not like there aren't cheap replacements. There are several models of wireless for 15-25 euros, so there is quite a bit of choice available.

[Purple]

I newer did understand the lure of wireless mice. I prefer mine wired and if at all possible with a plastic ball at the bottom. Now if only they made those any more...

[Lord Revan]

for me personally it's that a wireless mouse doesn't get snagged on anything so I don't have to battle against the wire when gaming and optical mouses don't have to be cleaned as often as there's no physical contect with the desk and tracking head.

[Batman]

Plus you don't run into cord length problems.

[Edi]

I don't have a laptop, so I like having a wired mouse. With a laptop I'd prefer a wireless one. I hate the old ball mice, optical ones are just so much better.

[Purple]

I don't have a laptop, so I like having a wired mouse. With a laptop I'd prefer a wireless one. I hate the old ball mice, optical ones are just so much better.

I have the opposite experience really. Optical mice tend to jump all over the place from time to time and dislike dirty surfaces and the like. With the ball I could just take it out and clean it and it would always work perfectly.

[Batman]

The only advantage the ball had was the amusement value.

[TheFeniX]

Yea, those games where you sucked up a bit of gunk and your mouse wouldn't turn a direction.. leading to a frantic mouse cleaning so you didn't blow your lead. Always fun. Tim always used a wireless mouse in Jedi Outcast and it was funny to see him start spinning wildly if his connection got bad or his batteries were dying. Same with some of my buddies in Natural Selection. I switched to a wired optical mouse years ago and haven't looked back. The tech has come a long way and the days of mousepad dead-zones are pretty much gone. Wireless is also a lot better, but I love my Logitech too much to go wireless.

[Soontir C'boath]

My desk is designed with a pull out platform for the keyboard and mouse and so it hangs instead of running flat to the back of the computer. It results in the wire eventually curling up and messing up the way it moves. Wireless however annoying it may be to change out the battery (and I use a rechargeable AA), it is much better than being limited by the cord.

Anyway, when my scroll wheel gets gunked up, I hope I can just do that trick with the toothpick.

[bilateralrope]

When it comes down to wired vs wireless mice, I view it as choosing between the annoyances of the cable or the annoyances of keeping the battery charged. I've found it easy enough to arrange my desk so that the mouse cable isn't a problem, so I'll take wired over wireless.

I don't have a laptop, so I like having a wired mouse. With a laptop I'd prefer a wireless one. I hate the old ball mice, optical ones are just so much better.

I have the opposite experience really. Optical mice tend to jump all over the place from time to time and dislike dirty surfaces and the like. With the ball I could just take it out and clean it and it would always work perfectly.

The only time I've ever seen an optical mouse jumping around was when it caught a single hair in the sensor. Which was easily removed with anything small enough to hook under the hair. That was years ago. Now the plastic around the sensor is better shaped so it doesn't catch hairs as easily and I can blow the hair out.

[salm]

If you have tasks that you have to do very often a mouse with more than three buttons can be quite handy. It used to be usefull to me back in the days when I did a lot of 3D modelling. I just had the most frequently used tools assigned to my extra mouse buttons.
These days I do mainly other 3D tasks which don´t require the frequent use of certain tools anymore so the last time I had to get a new mouse I just switched back to a 10€ cabled three button mouse.

If you want a wireless mouse I suggest getting one that comes with a recharging bay where you just place the mouse when not in use. Having to deal with empty batteries is annoying.

[Batman]

I can live with having to replace the batteries every once in a while in exchange for being able to park the rodent wherever the hell I want without having to worry about the cord. And it's not like the batteries running dry is something that comes out of nowhere. My cheapass MS Wireless 2000 has an indicator light that goes on when the batteries are nearing empty, and starts blinking when they're seriously nearing empty, and I doubt it's unique in that. And while the recharger idea isn't bad as such, it-from my personal experience, so definitely anecdotal-works a lot better for higher price rodents with custom-designed battery packs than mice using supermarket-issue rechargeables. The latter deteriorated to the point where it was weeks of use for ordinary batteries vs hours for the rechargeables.

[salm]

Eh, I guess wireless mice have changed since I used my last one which must have been around 2004 or 2005. The batteries would have to be recharged after two or three days or one day of intensive use so a recharging station was necessary.
I just read that modern wireless mice last can last months or even years before needing replacement.

[Borgholio]

Yeah even my logitech mouse from about 4 or 5 years ago goes for weeks without needing new batteries. My wife's is even newer and lasts a month.

[Lord Revan]

I dunno what kind of batteries you use but my mouse can last for weeks or even months with fairly heavy use without needed to have the batteries replaced.