jerky mouse scroll wheel

Pop the ball out of the socket and clean all the junk on it and in the cavity. Then put the ball back in and things should be hunky dory.

There is no ball in the scroll wheel portion of most mice these days. The one exception is the Mighty Mouse from Apple.

It is usually some sort of spring-loaded mechanism and they wear out. I've had to replace several mice over the years when the scroll wheel mechanism bit the dust.

If you want to try to repair it yourself, here are some videos that show how to repair the scroll wheel on two types of mice.





You can find other videos for more types of mice on youtube.

do you use a mouse pad?
if it's dirty, that could cause the wheel to do that...

He's talking about the scroll wheel. The scroll wheel is on the top of the mouse and doesn't come in contact with a mouse pad.

duh -- that'll teach me to try answering questions 1st thing in the mornin'...

(although perhaps my answer will help someone with a jerky mouse in the future...)