PROBLEM WITH MAC MOUSE

[Fritz T]

Hi
Can anyone help, I have a problem with my mouse, that I don't know how to rectify. I'm posting this message in the hope that someone has possibly dealt with this issue before, and can point me in the right direction.

The problem is that the mouse pointer will suddenly relocate to another point on the screen, usually in one of the corners. The window that I am working on would then become inactive, and the program below become active, or the desktop. This happens at apparently random intervals, and at present only whilst in AC and Plotmaker. I have not been able to define a pattern to the problem, except that it usually happens while in execution of a command, i.e. editing a fill, extending a line, placing a library part, etc. I usually lose the action and have to start again. This wastes a great amount of time, apart from being very frustrating.

I have not picked up the problem while in other programs, but also do not work much in other programs apart from Safari, Mail and Finder, and in these I do not use a mouse much. Have changed all the possible settings that I can think of, both in System pref's and in AC Preferences. All of this has not been successful.

I'm using the most recent AC9 patch, with OSX 10.3 - updated, an Apple one-button mouse, on a G4 Powerbook 1Ghz with 768mb ram.
This is bruising my mac's reputation of just working without hassles!

Help, I'm slowly losing my sanity!

[Anonymous]

Could you have found one of Mac's features, Expose'? With this you can quickly show only the windows for the active application, the desktop or the windows for all open applications. You can turn this off in the system preferences.

[Fritz T]

Hi thanks for the reply.
I use Expose quite actively when toggling between applications, model views, sections, etc.
I have just changed the screen saver settings in the expose dialog under system prefs to see if this helps.
Still experiencing the same problem.
What baffles me is that this is a new problem, nothing significant has changed on my mac in the last 2 weeks except a system security update off the apple website, and I do not recall that causing the problem, i.e. to much time delay from that. I have recently done an AC bug fix upgrade off the graphisoft website, but the problem was already present before then.

[Anonymous]

I just noticed that your using a powerbook. Could it be that you are getting accidental input from the trackpad? See if there is a setting to disable the trackpad when a mouse is present. The security update could have reset the settings.

[Fritz T]

No, there is no change when I toggle that option in mouse settings.

[Anonymous]

I'm stumped.

[Aussie John]

The mouse could be fautly, have you tried it on another computer? or another mouse on yours?

[__archiben]

is it a bluetooth mouse, or does it have a tail?

if tail: probably mouse faulty.

if bluetooth: could be batteries, bluetooth drivers, or a whole host of software related stuff: are you up to date with apple's latest bluetooth drivers, etc . . ?

~/archiben

[Fritz T]

Hi, thank you for all the advice! Its a standard USB mac mouse - the transparent type, not bluetooth.
I'm trying out all the recommendations:
Trying a standard genius USB mouse appears to work on my machine without a problem, but using my mouse on another mac - no problem.

The problem now appears in other software as well, not just AC & Plotmaker.
On recommendations of the local apple guy, I re-installed OSX and AC, testing in-between installing the updates both for OSX and AC. Same result both times.

I just don't know where to look next..
I suspect the best course of action is to ditch the mac mouse..

If I was working on pc, I would suspect a virus.

[Aussie John]

I cant see where your system info is listed and when did you last update your system software.
Rather than reinstall OS and AC I would download the full combo updater from apple and apply that. Often the full combo fixes things. ther doesnt seem any point reinstalling AC as the mouse is flaky withother programs