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God *****! this ****** Mighty Mouse

S

stimpycat

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 2, 2007
142
0
Does anyone have a good way to clean this darn trackball? The clever guys and gals over at Apple seemingly thought it wouldn't ever get dirty / oily and handily made it unopenable.

Man it's an awful design.

Failing that - any nice alternatives out there?
 
Stick some tape to your desk with the sticky side up and roll / rub the scroll ball over it.
 
thanks - didn't work but i bashed it several times in frustration and it's a little better now :D
 
Use the same technique that always worked with old style ball mice. Paper towel, the sort you use in a kitchen. Unplug the mouse, then whilst pressing the roll ball in with the paper towel on the end of your finger move it around in all directions. Stop occasionally and wipe away the little bits of grease that build up around the ball's opening. Repeat as necessary, then plug the mouse back in. You'll notice immediately that the ball now feels rougher as your finger uses it, as all that gunk that's come off your grubby little mitts has now been removed :)

I agree though. It's a pretty poor design for long-term use.
 
Bizarre. I've been using Wireless MM's for a long time, almost specifically for the balls.

As much mousing as I do, I never get dirty balls... I can twirl my balls with ease. What are you guys up to :confused:
 
Sesshi said:
Bizarre. I've been using Wireless MM's for a long time, almost specifically for the balls.

As much mousing as I do, I never get dirty balls... I can twirl them with ease. What are you guys up to :confused:
Click to expand...

So much innuendo for such a short post!

I've had a MM for about a year and have never had to clean the ball once.
You could try keeping your hands clean.. :D
 
Sesshi said:
As much mousing as I do, I never get dirty balls... I can twirl my balls with ease. What are you guys up to :confused:
Click to expand...
Trying...not to take... post out of context! I have a wired mighty mouse for my Mac and haven't had a problem with the scroll ball, but then again I wash my hands a lot. Some times I use 'common' computers at work which can be pretty dirty, maybe that's why I take care of mine at home.
 
Unplug the mighty mouse. Hold it upside down so the ball faces down. Take a damp cloth (like the one that comes with an iMac or iPod touch or iPhone) and wipe the ball clean in multiple directions.
 
The BEST advice for this situation is to buy a new mouse from Microsoft or Logitech. The MM is crap, it gets dirty way too fast unless you're a weirdo who cleans your hands every hour or so. I really hope Apple's next mouse fixes the scroll ball problem.
 
Having to clean mouse balls should have died a long time ago when mice went with optical sensors. Reintroducing the ball, even for scroll wheel purposes, is a step in the wrong direction.

I've honestly tried to like the wireless MM that came with my Mac Pro, I just can't do it. You can't right click with your finger on the left side of the mouse, the scroll ball gets dirty, the shape is too small for my hands, and the side "buttons" are too difficult to use.
 
There is a video on youtube which explains how to disassemble the mighty mouse without breaking it which fixes the problem. It worked for me but I broke part of mine. Guess I'm clumsy.
 
The cleaning and tape suggestions should work. You *shouldn't* have to take it apart to clean it.

Try cleaning with Alochol (isopropanol) and a paper towel - soak the paper towel, flip thte mouse over, and make several "circular" rings with the scroll ball - of varying pressure.

Then, do the same thing with the dry side - or a dry paper towel.

THEN try the tape, if it is not resolved.

Or - Give up, and move up.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Revo...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1199933022&sr=8-1

Worth every peso, IMO.
 
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ClassicBean said:
Unplug the mighty mouse. Hold it upside down so the ball faces down. Take a damp cloth (like the one that comes with an iMac or iPod touch or iPhone) and wipe the ball clean in multiple directions.
Click to expand...

This is Apple's recommended technique and it has worked every time for me. Actually they recommend doing it 20 times down, then up, left, right, clockwise, counterclockwise while right-side up then repeating same while mouse is upside down. Love the mighty mouse.
 
I blow compressed air onto the track ball and into the track ball cavity; then press down on it and scroll up and down.

That fixes it every time for me.
 
dynamicv said:
Use the same technique that always worked with old style ball mice. Paper towel, the sort you use in a kitchen. Unplug the mouse, then whilst pressing the roll ball in with the paper towel on the end of your finger move it around in all directions. Stop occasionally and wipe away the little bits of grease that build up around the ball's opening. Repeat as necessary, then plug the mouse back in. You'll notice immediately that the ball now feels rougher as your finger uses it, as all that gunk that's come off your grubby little mitts has now been removed :)

I agree though. It's a pretty poor design for long-term use.
Click to expand...

I remember with some of the older trackballs, you could pop-out the ball for cleaning. I wonder why apple didn't take this approach with their mighty mouse... perhaps thousands of little kids would be complaining they've lost their ball? OK well sell spares and make more money from peoples misfortune.:D
 
UltraNEO* said:
I remember with some of the older trackballs, you could pop-out the ball for cleaning. I wonder why apple didn't take this approach with their mighty mouse... perhaps thousands of little kids would be complaining they've lost their ball? OK well sell spares and make more money from peoples misfortune.:D
Click to expand...

You kidding me? Wee Me would have jammed one of those up my nose Total Recall Style in a picosecond if I found one.

Or put it in my bb gun... Somehow...

Or the cat would have ate it.

Though - IBM DOES get 10 dollars for a PENCIL ERASER for their "trackpoint replacement tips".

Maybe Apple is sitting on a potential cash cow here?
 
Big-TDI-Guy said:
You kidding me? Wee Me would have jammed one of those up my nose Total Recall Style in a picosecond if I found one.

Or put it in my bb gun... Somehow...

Or the cat would have ate it.

Though - IBM DOES get 10 dollars for a PENCIL ERASER for their "trackpoint replacement tips".

Maybe Apple is sitting on a potential cash cow here?
Click to expand...

Dude, i think only a fool would put something like a mighty mouse ball up their nose... :confused: at least he/she would learn not to ever do it again. And Damn.. I expect it'll hurt!! Especially if you loaded on in a Air-Gun! And shot someone! Though having a :apple: tatts might be kinda cool...
:D

Perhaps, If apple created a 'special' way to remove the ball.. then it'll be less troublesome, maybe use a screw or make a tiny hole for some kind of tool?
 
When you order a laptop keyboard from IBM they used to send a small packet with 3 eraser heads in it, I used to save them and when working on a clients computer if I noticed that their eraser was worn I would pop a new one on. People would always freak out when it worked better. LOL. liked them much better than trackpads.
 
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