optical mouse problem

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songwritergrl

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Hi. I have Protools LE on a Mac G4, and I use an optical mouse that came with the computer. Recently, my mouse has been acting very jerky and freezing up, causing me to have to reboot in the middle of a session. The keyboard also freezes up. This sticky mouse also happens just scrolling around on the desktop, when Protools is not open. The mouse is connected to the USB port on the keyboard, and the keyboard goes directly into the USB port on the back of the G4. Is this a problem with the mouse, or the memory, or some kind of USB software problem?
 
Is it a G4 400?

I should have been more specific.

G4 400's are notorious for having weird USB freezes. Usually the only way to fix this is to disconnect the USB cable from the computer end, and then reconnect it. However, the problem will never fully go away, and is unpredictable. I've seen recording sessions go down. In my opinion, Apple made a huge mistake not recalling this model. However, I've never seen it happen consistently with any other model of G4... so if you don't have a 400, I would consider getting a new USB cable, then getting a new mouse if that doesn't fix it.
 
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Check the battery in the mouse... I have a Logitech and it exhibits those exact symptoms when the battery is near its end of life

- Wil

Oh - I've just re-read your question...

My Logitec is a cord-less (IR) track-ball - when you say "optical-mouse", do you mean optical-encoding, or optical-remote? (like my IR trackball) I'm confused... so what's new?
 
I have a MS Intellimouse Explorer on the G4 Dual450 Edit system at work and it dies. The light goes out. I unplug the mouse from the keyboard and replug it...back in business.

T
 
Unfortunately, unplugging the mouse doesn't work. Nor does unplugging the cable. There is no battery in my mouse. I don't have the G4 400 model. So... any other suggestions?
 
Sure, borrow any mouse from a friend and see if you have the same problem-Richie
 
you don't need battery for the mouse cause usb and firewire gives a small amount of power.
Why don't you try to connect the mouse to an usb port other than the keyboard? Try it and see if it behaves better.
 
I had the exact same problem. I bought another optical mouse (3rd party version - Apple's was too expensive) for about $20 and everything works fine. I suspect it might have been a bad fiber-optic cable (or whatever kind of cable it is those things use).
 
Thanks for all your suggestions. I will try all of them out.
 
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