Punzi: Mouse Surgeon
One of the reasons why I don't use Lindsay as much as I used to is her problematic Mighty Mouse.
I have known the reason why for a long time: accumulated dirt in the scroll button mechanism. This is a common problem (even on old mechanical mice, already solved with the advent of optical and laser mice).
Solving the funk in the case of the mechanical mice was pretty straightforward because the mechanism is easily accessible. It was just a matter of taking out the mouse ball and cleaning the rollers. I've been doing that so much I don't use q-tips anymore. I just take the gunk out with my nails.
But the Mighty Mouse was another story. For one, it's so darn expensive so I really didn't want to mess with it.
So I tried to look for solutions online. I tried the most promising solution: running the scroll wheel upside down on a clean piece of paper like a ballpen. It was promising because I was really getting a lot of gunk out that way.
Unfortunately, I must have done that too much because it became stuck at permanently depressed, thereby rendering it useless. So I had no choice but to operate.
Cracking it open was simple enough and there are a lot of well-meaning people out there who put detailed instructions on how to do it.
When I got to the offending assembly, I could not believe how much gunk was stuck in there. It could not be cleaned any other way. Took a while to clean it all up. And the parts being so small did not speed up the process.
And yes, I fixed the "permanently depressed" problem while I was at it using a pair of tweezers.
Now, everything is ok. But a final word to those who will attempt this. When putting it back together, use a weak glue (not the super glue) to bond the inner and outer ring assemblies. That way, you can always get back to the scroll wheel assembly when it becomes dirty again.
Yes oh yes, it will get dirty again.
In my case, I used contact cement (you know, the one some people use to get high). Yes, I thought about it, but chose not to.
If you're not mechanically inclined, I'll gladly clean your Mighty Mouse for you. But no guarantees, ok?
I have known the reason why for a long time: accumulated dirt in the scroll button mechanism. This is a common problem (even on old mechanical mice, already solved with the advent of optical and laser mice).
Solving the funk in the case of the mechanical mice was pretty straightforward because the mechanism is easily accessible. It was just a matter of taking out the mouse ball and cleaning the rollers. I've been doing that so much I don't use q-tips anymore. I just take the gunk out with my nails.
But the Mighty Mouse was another story. For one, it's so darn expensive so I really didn't want to mess with it.
So I tried to look for solutions online. I tried the most promising solution: running the scroll wheel upside down on a clean piece of paper like a ballpen. It was promising because I was really getting a lot of gunk out that way.
Unfortunately, I must have done that too much because it became stuck at permanently depressed, thereby rendering it useless. So I had no choice but to operate.
Cracking it open was simple enough and there are a lot of well-meaning people out there who put detailed instructions on how to do it.
When I got to the offending assembly, I could not believe how much gunk was stuck in there. It could not be cleaned any other way. Took a while to clean it all up. And the parts being so small did not speed up the process.
And yes, I fixed the "permanently depressed" problem while I was at it using a pair of tweezers.
Now, everything is ok. But a final word to those who will attempt this. When putting it back together, use a weak glue (not the super glue) to bond the inner and outer ring assemblies. That way, you can always get back to the scroll wheel assembly when it becomes dirty again.
Yes oh yes, it will get dirty again.
In my case, I used contact cement (you know, the one some people use to get high). Yes, I thought about it, but chose not to.
If you're not mechanically inclined, I'll gladly clean your Mighty Mouse for you. But no guarantees, ok?
transcription by Punzi @ 8:23 AM
1 Objection(s):
i am a mouse surgeon, too! i use the tip of a needle or that of a safety pin. but it gets dirty again, i swear. so it's not advisable to put glue to bond the parts together.
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