what's up with this?

[franksolich]

First of all, what might seem an unrelated issue, but I believe it's related.

We had a lot of rain here last night, with more expected tonight.  It's currently in the low 80s, although with the high humidity, it seems much hotter than that.

Yesterday, Saturday, when it started getting hot and humid--hours before the rains started--I began having problems with the mouse on this computer.  I'd move the mouse, but it was excruciatingly difficult for the arrow on the screen to move, too. 

I inspected the wiring, and found that, as usual, the insulated wires connecting all things are criss-crossed over each other on the table, touching each other.

When I took the wiring for the mouse (connecting it to the "tower") and draped it over the monitor, so it wasn't in contact with other wires, the mouse worked (works) fine, no problem at all.

Would the heat, humidity, and wires crossing each other, be the culprit here?

It's dreadfully hot and damp out here in the Sandhills, and there's no air-conditioning because the house is ancient and leaks like a sieve.

[thundley4]

Heat and humidity shouldn't cause problems like that, but a bad mouse cord or connector might.  The only way to check that would be to see if you can replicate the problem by moving the cord around while using the mouse.

But, that could make the problem worse and happen more.  If it's working and not bothering you, I'd leave it alone.

[franksolich]

Heat and humidity shouldn't cause problems like that, but a bad mouse cord or connector might.  The only way to check that would be to see if you can replicate the problem by moving the cord around while using the mouse.

But, that could make the problem worse and happen more.  If it's working and not bothering you, I'd leave it alone.

Well, this is all brand-new stuff here, which is why I wonder about the heat and humidity being a factor.

As you know, last September, I purchased a reasonably-new motor vehicle, with all these toys and bells and whistles and colorful lights on the dashboard.

When the weather's hot and dry, or cold and dry, or cold and wet, the dashboard just sits there, behaving and being quiet.  But when it's hot and damp, the sensor lights come on and blink like a big display of fireworks. 

Only when it's hot and damp.

(By the way, the mechanic, who's a really good one, has never found any reason for concern; he thinks it's just an odd idiosyncrasy.)

So when something on a computer starts acting weird, I check other things, firstmost the heat and humidity.....and that does seem to affect it.

[Chris_]

Did the mouse pick up any dirt around the laser?

[thundley4]

Did the mouse pick up any dirt around the laser?

That's another possibility. It doesn't take much to throw it off.  Still, lasers are better than the other choices.

[Chris_]

That's another possibility. It doesn't take much to throw it off.  Still, lasers are better than the other choices.

Easy enough to check.  Just remember to unplug it first.  Mine catches the occasional cat hair and stops working.

[franksolich]

Did the mouse pick up any dirt around the laser?

Nope.  Clean as a whistle on the inside too.

I tried it again, laying the wire connecting the mouse to the tower on top of the other wires, and the problem recurred. 

I know they're insulated wires and this is something that in theory shouldn't happen, but it does.

I'm sure it's the heat and the humidity, as that's the only time this happens.

One should keep in mind nothing works well in times of high humidity and torrid heat, including human beings.

Has anyone ever tried using a plastic card in a pay-at-the-pump place, right after there's been an abrupt change in climatic conditions?  Has anyone but me ever noticed that a lot of times under that condition, the card gets "not read, please re-insert"? while under other conditions, the card works fine.

I truly think high humidity and Sahara-like temperatures screw with computer objects, although I have no idea how, and why; only that they do.

[Chris_]

Someone else I know was having the same problem.  He went through two wired mice before replacing it with a wireless mouse.

Humidity raises static electricity which is not good for electronics.  That's the only thing I can suggest.