Why does my mouse pointer momentarily stick?

Question

Whenever I am on my computer and move my pointer from one place to another (reading my E-mails or playing an on-line game for instance) most of the time my pointer will move correctly but about every 10 or 15 seconds when I go to move it it freezes for a 1/2 second or so. It's just irritating and sometimes screws up my game I am in. It is an Optical mouse (GearHead) and plugged into a USB port. Does it have something to do with the refreash rate?

Answer 1

I played some Pool on Pogo last night. I don't believe my mouse pointer froze at all. I don't understand why plugging it into a different USB port would make a difference but it did. Thanks for your help.

Richard,

It appears that the USB port on your computer that you first used has a hardware problem.

By plugging your mouse into a different USB port, you bypassed the hardware problem.

I would be cautious about inserting anything into that USB port (the one with the hardware problem). If you insert something into that port (say a flash drive), and the port is indeed bad, then it could corrupt whatever device that is inserted.

If you must use that USB port, then you may want to have your PC checked out by a competent repair shop (get references from friends before picking a shop).

Answer 2

Have you tried using a different surface (for the mouse) to see if that makes any difference?

Also, you can try ...

* plugging the mouse into a different USB port

* cleaning the optical sensor with a cotton swab

* using a different mouse

Answer 3

Mine does that too, but I don't have a mouse just the one on the computer!

Answer 4

I played some Pool on Pogo last night. I don't believe my mouse pointer froze at all. I don't understand why plugging it into a different USB port would make a difference but it did. Thanks for your help.

Answer 5

Switched USB ports. Will let you know.