My optical mouse (Logitech) has been acting up over the last couple of months, in the form of imprecise cursor control (what else would a mouse do wrong?). For a while I was using a mouse pad, but once it got dirty and wore out I decided that my mouse would probably work on my table just as well. However, this added another twist onto the previous symptoms.
Originally, the problem would appear when I attempted to move the mouse in a diagonal, particularly up and to the left. The cursor would move smoothly about 5 pixels in the intended direction, and then immediately jump back to the previous position (or maybe even a few pixels beyond). This would happen several times (3-7 times) during what was intended to be a useful point-and-click movement, at which point I would stop moving the mouse in that direction and the problem would disappear for a while (maybe 10 seconds, maybe 5 days).
When I changed surfaces the original problem remained, and now every 2 hours or so a regular movement, say 2 inches up and to the right, would end up with my cursor being firmly lodged in the upper left of the screen. As far as I can tell, these large jumps always head for that corner.
Now, could this be the result of dust, a bad mousing surface, odd software, or a fault in my equipment somewhere? Has anyone had this happen to them? (BTW, I have downloaded the most recent drivers and software from Logitech, to no avail)