kaufmads@clutx.clarkson.edu (Dana S. Kaufman,TEP House,58520,) (11/26/90)
Help: My left mouse button is dying. It stopped clicking and won't responed all the time. I thought I heard of a way to fix this problem, maybe by cleaning the contacts? Any have an experience with this? Dana S. Kaufman kaufmads@clutx.clarkson.edu
phil@adam.adelaide.edu.au (Phil Kernick) (11/26/90)
kaufmads@clutx.clarkson.edu (Dana S. Kaufman,TEP House,58520,) writes: >Help: My left mouse button is dying. It stopped clicking and >won't responed all the time. I thought I heard of a way to fix >this problem, maybe by cleaning the contacts? Any have an >experience with this? I had *exactly* this problem, and this is the solution that I used... I first add a disclaimer that if anything goes wrong, sorry, but you have to try this at your own risk. -- My left mouse button stopped working consistently, so I took it to a C= repair centre and said "I have had my mouse for 3 years and the left button has stopped working, how much will it cost to fix?". He said to come back the next day, which I did. I was told "this is an original A1000 mouse, which is *much* better than the mice now sold with the A500s and there is nothing I can do but sell you a new one at AU$100." I said thank-you and decided to fix the mouse myself. 1. First remove all the screws and take it completely to bits. 2. SOAK (yes I mean really soak) the button mechanisms in CRC or WD40 or whatever you might call it (it's the stuff that you spray onto a car ignition system to make it start when the engine is wet). 3. Leave it overnight to work through the mechanism. 4. SOAK the button mechanism in *PURE* water (I used rain water, and our rain is not too bad over here - but if your rain is somewhat acidic, use distilled water or bottled water - BUT NOT aerated water!). 5. You will be amazed at the amount of grot that will come out of the mouse in an oily slick (remember the CRC). 6. When there is no more grot in the mouse, leave in to dry in the open air. Do not use a hair-dryer or heater or *anything* else as you will likely damage the mouse. 7. Put all the screws back in. I used this procedure and now my mouse works perfectly (has been about 9 months since I cleaned it). The reason for using pure water is that if it contains *too* much acid it will cause the mouse to rust. Hope this helps, Phil. -- Phil Kernick EMail: phil@adam.adelaide.edu.au Departmental Engineer Phone: +618 228 5914 Dept. of Psychology Fax: +618 224 0464 University of Adelaide Mail: GPO Box 498 Adelaide SA 5001
dvljhg@cs.umu.se (J|rgen Holmberg) (11/26/90)
In article <1990Nov25.224026.17485@grape.ecs.clarkson.edu> kaufmads@clutx.clarkson.edu writes: >Help: My left mouse button is dying. It stopped clicking and >won't responed all the time. I thought I heard of a way to fix >this problem, maybe by cleaning the contacts? Any have an >experience with this? > >Dana S. Kaufman >kaufmads@clutx.clarkson.edu Hmmmm... Depends on your exact problem. If it is the cable you will have to open up the mouse, unsolder it from the contacts and solder a new ( or shortened ) cable back. If it is the switches you may be able to fix it by putting a small piece of cardboard over the broken switch. I don't think cleaning will help but you never know ( and it can't hurt, unless murpy's law makes an appearance ). When (if) you open it check the contact area where the button touches the ( Anyone willing to sell me a dictionary? ) contact area. If the contact area is damaged you might try inserting a piece of cardboard in order to make contact. Gawd, having english as my second language really sucks late at night!!! Hope these ramblings are understood, Jorgen -- ******************************************************************************* email dvljhg@cs.umu.se - other ways to communicate are a waste of time. Everything I say is always true, just apply it to the right reality. "Credo, quia absurdum est."
nj@bansai (...) (11/26/90)
kaufmads@clutx.clarkson.edu said: >Help: My left mouse button is dying. It stopped clicking and >won't responed all the time. I thought I heard of a way to fix >this problem, maybe by cleaning the contacts? Any have an >experience with this? I have an A1000 mouse with the same problem. Basically, the button works by depressing a little metal dimple, which touches the switch and then pops back up. Over time, the dimple tends to flatten out, so it doesn't contact as well. I opened up the button and played with the dimple a little until it bounced better. To do this, you have to unscrew your mouse and cut the four little round plastic tabs that hold the button on (the four "o"s in the following illustration): ____________ |o ____ o| | / \ | | | | | | \____/ | |o__________o| Remove the metal square and the button and you'll see the dimple. It should be curved upward. Remove it and curve it a little more, playing with it on your desk to see how well it springs up, then put it back. Put the button and the metal square back on top. I haven't even bothered to tape the metal square back on; the mouse works fine with it loose (although if you shake the mouse hard or turn it upside down, you'll have to open it up again and put the square back on--probably better to tape it down). Haven't had any problems since I did this (about two months ago with the left button, one week ago with the right button). nj
eeh@public.BTR.COM (Eduardo E. Horvath eeh@btr.com) (11/27/90)
In article <1990Nov26.065402.12602@agate.berkeley.edu> nj@bansai (...) writes: >kaufmads@clutx.clarkson.edu said: > >>Help: My left mouse button is dying. It stopped clicking and >>won't responed all the time. I thought I heard of a way to fix >>this problem, maybe by cleaning the contacts? Any have an >>experience with this? > >I have an A1000 mouse with the same problem. Basically, the button >works by depressing a little metal dimple, which touches the switch >and then pops back up. Over time, the dimple tends to flatten out, >so it doesn't contact as well. > [ remainder deleted ] That's interesting. My A1000 mouse has little black microswitches. I took it in to be serviced because the right button was sticking, but they claimed they had never seen buttons like mine before, so they couldn't fix the problem. The moral to this story: Identify exactly what types of switches your computer has. A1000's particularly seem to be made from whatever parts C= had lying around. Look at the power switch on a few. They come in several differnt colors. -- ========================================================================= Eduardo Horvath eeh@btr.com ..!{decwrl,mips,fernwood}!btr!eeh "Trust me, I am cognizant of what I am doing." - Hammeroid
laughlin@fornax.UUCP (Bob Laughlin) (11/27/90)
I too recently has problems with the LMB so I upgraded to a Boing optical mouse. What a difference. You won't regret it. Plus a public domain program called mmb turns the middle mouse button into a LeftAmiga-M event, which in conjunction with QMouse cycles through all the screens currently open. Very nice. I found waxing the "mouse pad" with Treewax got rid of the only minor irritant which is a bit too much friction between pad and mouse (the Boinger uses felt instead of teflon like some Sun mouses). -- Bob Laughlin laughlin@cs.sfu.ca