Jumpy Mouse Problem

Question

Level 1

8 points

Jumpy Mouse Problem

Hi i've been having this problem for a while now. It used to happen on my old 2008 Macbook Pro running 10.5.2 but soon after that laptop was trashed i decided to get an iMac. When i first got it everything ran perfectly smooth and fine but a few months in this problem started occurring. When you move the mouse whether its just slightly or across the screen it will lag and jump all over the screen and it happens every couple of seconds. It happens whether i use the wireless apple mighty mouse or my wired logitech mouse. It doesn't happen every single time i use OS X but just near about (9/10). I run Windows 7 on bootcamp and use either of the same mouses and theres no problems at all. I also have used these same two mouses on a different Mac and different Windows machine with no problems. Im stuck on whether its a hardware issue or an OSX issue but i'd love to get this resolved. Its been happening for almost a year now and hasn't gotten any better even after i've reinstalled my OS, Repaired my disk, Cleaned my system with Onyx, Changed mouse surfaces/mousepads, and everything else i've tried.

Info about my system:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac9,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.93 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: IM91.008D.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.45f0
Serial Number (system): QP9360660TM
Hardware UUID: 8FDDE1B4-83A2-52E0-B4AB-5231069EEA0B

Would love to get this issue resolved. If need be i could record a desktop video of it and upload if people don't understand my problem. As far as googling it seems this problem has occurred for a while now and i've yet to find a solution. Please help!

iMac 2009, Mac OS X (10.6.4), 4GB Ram, ATI Mobility Radeon 4850, 1TB HD

Posted on Sep 29, 2010 1:53 PM

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Answer 1

elmac

Level 5

4,252 points

Sep 29, 2010 2:13 PM in response to T.C

Hi, seeing as you have tried most variations have you tried a totally different wired mouse on the Mac?
The jumping is usually related to a dirty mouse, or an incompatible surface..but as you have covered those scenarios, I would try reseting SMC & PRAM..checking that All the latest updates are installed for all your "rodents" & resetting your Mouse preferences..maybe 2 or 3 times to ensure the new settings stick.
I had an issue with an HP C4480 App that affected a host of things..I had to delete from the Login items the HP Tap-Monitor, after that my 24" was a different machine...L

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Answer 2

T.C Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 29, 2010 2:35 PM in response to elmac

I've tried another different wired mouse same result. Like i said i've used both mouses on Windows 7 bootcamp on this same machine and not one problem. Used them on different Macs/Windows computers and no problems. Have cleaned both mouses and changed surfaces but nothing. Have reset my SMC/PRAM multiple times. I believe my computer is as to date as it can be i run "Apple Software Update" almost every day and it says theres nothing to be installed. Im not sure if their are specific drivers for the wireless mighty mouse that came with my iMac aside from the updates Apple puts out on the software update. I've tried SteerMouse with both mouses and the problem still persisted. Also tried logitechs control center for the logitech mouse but nothing has helped.

Please someone help me figure this out 😟

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Answer 3

TildeBee

Level 7

31,923 points

Sep 29, 2010 7:41 PM in response to T.C

Hey T.C. --

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
We're other Mac users here, asking questions and sharing solutions.

I know it doesn't make any sense that it works in PC but not in Mac . . .
That said however, have you tried the mice (both) on plain white paper?
It could be the mouse pad or whatever surface you're using is throwing it off . . .

Anyway, could you try the plain white paper and let us know, OK?

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Answer 4

elmac

Level 5

4,252 points

Sep 30, 2010 2:04 AM in response to TildeBee

Hi, he said he has tried everything!
I would have been at the Genius Bar a long time ago.
My old MM would not scroll properly on my
17"c2d, but worked flawlessly on my old
G4 iBook, 2010 MBP & MB. Tried it on my new
24"c2d-perfect. Same desk & pad-No logical answer.
I switched to a Logitech MX310 some 2yrs ago
Happily no issues on whichever unit I use it on.
If as the original poster says it still happens after reinstalling the OS
then it's down to the tekkies.....L

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Answer 5

Dec 17, 2010 7:39 AM in response to T.C

I've had the same problem. My mouse would always jump to the top of the window upper left of the window open and hover right above the close window icon! A real pain! It's hard to tell when it does it if your reading something then you click on a link and the mouse is in the upper left and it closes out the window!! then I have to go back into the website and FIND where i left off! get's very annoying!

I've tried to fix with AppleJack, and it seems to have slowed it down, meaning not every 30 secs or so, but I've just noticed it a couple of times, which braught me here to try to troubleshoot and see what yall had to say.....

Still a mystery!
thanks for any input!

TB

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Answer 6

Dec 18, 2010 8:08 AM in response to T.C

I have also had this problem for some time and tried two different mice and a Bamboo pad, all have the same result: sometimes the cursor will jiggle about all by itself, sometimes the mouse speed and acceleration is inconsistent and selecting text is an exercise in frustrating randomness. Not sure exactly when this happened (i.e. if it's when I upgraded to 10.6.5), as I assumed it was an issue with the input device I was using, but I'm not convinced of that now.

All I want for Christmas is for this to be fixed.

Some on the Mac Book Pro discussion section are also having a jerky cursor and scrolling issue. Seems like more than a coincidence.

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Answer 7

jazzspot

Level 1

0 points

Dec 18, 2010 3:15 PM in response to marcusbarcus

I've been having the same problems on my i7 iMac for several months now. OS is 10.6.5. This is a real pain. I just bought a Logitech M510 wireless mouse. The same thing is going on... the cursor just jumps from one end of my display screen to the other. Since this is happening to quite a few people, you would think that Apple would publish a fix from this occurring. My iMac works great except for this insane mouse issue. Not very good to have this happening when I'm working with intricate projects using Photoshop, Final Cut Studio apps, etc. Apple please tell us how to stop this crazy mouse activity from happening!!!

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Answer 8

Dec 28, 2010 11:15 AM in response to T.C

I was having similar problems-- both a logitech and my apple mouse were jumping around. I remembered I had just installed a new brother all in one printer. Uninstalled it an everything is back to normal. Weird right. Why would a printer/scanner driver mess up my mouse.

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Answer 9

Dec 29, 2010 11:16 PM in response to T.C

My apple wireless mouse's scroll ball stopped scrolling up so I bought a new wireless apple mouse. I never had any jumpy problems with the older mouse. The new mouse though jumps all over the screen. I can switch out the older and newer mouse on the same computer and only the newer mouse jumps. After trying various solutions I fixed my problem by using a plain black mouse pad with the new mouse. I think the problem is solved.

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Answer 10

Feb 17, 2011 11:17 AM in response to marcusbarcus

I've had this problem as well. Both with a Logitech Nano mouse and with Apple's Magic Trackpad. When I put the machine to sleep and then wake it up, it's fixed. The last time it happened, I stopped the TimeMachine backup that was happening and that seemed to fix it as well.

I'd love to know what the deal is though and why it's happening.

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Answer 11

May 29, 2011 9:16 AM in response to duffomelia

Same issue on my iMac with Time Capsule. This might be a fluke, but I was messing around with some settings, turned off the translucent menu bar and the problem suddenly went away. Might be worth a shot as this worked for me for whatever reason.

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Answer 12

Sep 18, 2011 5:41 AM in response to T.C

hi, I have the same problem, my mouse jumping all over the place driving my crazy, unusable. so plugged in my optical logitek mouse, same problem. so tried my old Dell mouse that has a roller ball in the bottom of it, ancient, a relic, but hey it seems to be working fine at moment with no problems, don't look the part but I couldn't take it with the supplied mouse no more.🙂

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