Simple question: I have a MS Intellimouse Explorer. While the optical mouse thing has eliminated my need to clean mouse balls (snicker), my scroll wheel has started sticking, to the point where it’s nearly unusable. Is there any way to unstick it? The mouse doesn’t seem to have any screws or other mechanisms for taking any part of it apart to clean the wheel.
Unplug the mouse before doing the following. Get a small amount of isopropyl alcohol, anhydrous. Using something like a medicince dropper, dribble a bit on the wheel while you’re turning it. Get quite a bit in there, but don’t go crazy with it. After turning the wheel for several roations, turn the mouse over and lightly tap the wheel on a piece of paper towel repeatedly to shake out as much of the alchohol as you can. Turn the wheel a few times while you do this, then set the mouse aside for several hours to let the remaining alcohol evaporate. Opening it to clean it would be better, but if you can’t get it open, this sort of procedure often works. Make sure it’s isopropyl anhydrous. Any water in it can cause corrosion.
If you don’t have any pure isopropyl alcohol, nail polish remover will do the trick.
Haj
Careful with that, though. Most nail polish removers contain acetone, which can dissolve some plastics. And some polish removers are made with even nastier solvents that can peel the paint off a Buick. In any case, nail polish removers also contain other things that you might not necessarily want inside your mouse.
Tape head cleaner is almost always isopropyl anhydrous. Check the label.
If there are stickers on the bottom of the mouse the screws may be under that.
They very often put the screws under the teflon pads that are on the bottom at each end. Pry them up with a sharp knife and carefully peel them off.
My wireless intellimouse explorer does indeed have the screws hidden under the teflon feet. Couldn’t say for sure about the corded version, which is a bit different in shape. The feet are relatively easy to remove and replace, though. Could conceivably need a little glue of some sort to keep them in place afterwards.
Groovy. Thanks all.