Upgrading & Fixing Laptops DUMmIES

Cleaning a mouse or trackball ..........................................................

Checking on the cleanliness of a mouse or trackball is easy. Remember that

over the course of its life, a mouse may travel miles and miles on a desktop,

picking up all manner of dirt, oils, and other contaminants. The upside-down

trackball is susceptible to the oils and other substances on your fingers, as

well as anything else that settles on it from the air.

As preventive medicine, make the effort to clean your desk and any surface

you will be working on. (Stop and look at the airline seatback tray table

before you put your laptop there; is it sticky and dirty?) If you’ve just put on

suntan lotion, makeup, or other oils, wash your hands before touching the

pointing device or the keyboard.

To cure a messy external mouse or trackball, do the following:

1. Unplug the mouse or trackball from the laptop and move it to a clean,
   well-lighted work surface.

Figure 11-2:

The Mouse

Properties

report

allows

adjustment

of the button

configura-

tion, double-

click speed,

and other

basic and

advanced

user

settings.

Sometimes

a seeming

problem is a

mismatch

between the

way you use

the pointer

and the way

it is set up to

respond.

178 Part III: Laying Hands on the Major Parts