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If this method doesn't work, are there any safe ways to take one of these things apart without destoying them, to clean the rollers like on the old mechanical mice? My scroll ball won't scroll down, and it's driving me nuts.

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mrmgraphics wrote:
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If this method doesn't work, are there any safe ways to take one of these things apart without destoying them, to clean the rollers like on the old mechanical mice? My scroll ball won't scroll down, and it's driving me nuts.

It is my experience that after a while the cleaning procedure no longer fixes the scrolling problem. I googled this a few months ago and found a few sites detailing the disassembly procedure. However, I decided that I am no longer nimble enough for that kind of work and instead I focus on preventive measures.

I now have two mice installed, a Mighty Mouse and a single button Pro Mouse. When I am surfing and snacking I use the single button. When I need to do some real work I wash my hands and use the Mighty Mouse.

I am going to speculate the next Apple mouse will use some sort of scroll pad instead of a ball and roller. Either that or they will make it easier to disassemble and clean.

that's just of bunch of $#!% about a mouse! I love Apple, don't get me wrong, but there is no way that I am going to get any of their mice - the ones that come with the machines, I discard and pick up a 3 button logitech with csroll wheel.

You are having to use 2 mice, and can't use one w/o washing your hand first?! please!? I have no patience for that - yes, I wash my hands regularly, but not everytime before using my mouse. That's wrong, in my mind... My logictech, that I have used for 4+ years, that I bought for $12 at compusa, works perfectly for me! and I don't have to clean it to make it run properly.... Apple should definitely come out with something that doesn't need so much maintenance.

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NeverFade wrote:
Apple should definitely come out with something that doesn't need so much maintenance.

I certainly agree with this, however..... I have tried bunches of mice, and will stick with my Mighty Mouse--warts and all. I have come to love this guy, even though it does require "clean" hands to work with. Until something else comes along that has a scroll ball, and doesn't have bunches of buttons sticking out of it, I'll stick with turning my mouse over a couple times a day to keep it clean inside. However, this trick does seem to work. I'm glad I found this tip. thanks for posting it.

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If this method doesn't work, are there any safe ways to take one of these things apart without destoying them, to clean the rollers like on the old mechanical mice? My scroll ball won't scroll down, and it's driving me nuts.

You may want to try cleaning it for a good minute, as the article suggests. My Mighty Mouse was exhibiting the same problem, and at first, rolling the ball around on the cloth didn't seem to help it. Then I tried doing so for an extended period of time, and now it's working fine.

I think the trick is that as you roll it around, the clean parts of the ball pass against the rollers and pick up any junk that has accumulated there. When the ball comes to the surface again, that junk gets deposited on the cleaning cloth. And so forth. So I think this should clean the ball as well as those tiny rollers.

You may also want to try putting some mild cleaning solution on the cloth, so that the ball picks it up and transfers it to the rollers.

I was skeptical but the roll-your-mouse-on-cloth method worked great for me. Yay, now I can scroll down again.

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mrmgraphics wrote:
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If this method doesn't work, are there any safe ways to take one of these things apart without destoying them, to clean the rollers like on the old mechanical mice? My scroll ball won't scroll down, and it's driving me nuts.

I just toook mine apart & cleaned it. There was all that same junk that would accumulate on the roller bars of old ball mice, olt the rollers are very very small. It wasn't that hard to do, but requires some dexterity to get it all back together.

I did have to break the outer seal/ring thing, which ironically, now that it can't be replaced without glueing (and I know I'll be cleaning this again), there's more of a chance to get crud in there now. Arrgh.

Here's alink I should have loooked up first, before I broke my outer ring:

http://web.mac.com/karelgil/iWeb/MacWebSite/MightyMEng.html

Enjoy.

apart without destoying them, to clean the rollers like on the old mechanical mice? My scroll ball won't scroll down, and it's driving me nuts.[/quote]
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in concern with the scroll ball on this mouse I too seem to have problems with it getting stuck every so often(damn kids:) and not working when needed to scroll down a page. I couldn't figure how to open it to get it clean and wasn't game to even try! I love my mouse and mac too so this technique has worked well for me when the roller ball gets stuck. although sometimes it does take a good 10 minutes or a fair few tries to get it working but it does work.
put the mouse right way up on a mouse pad,palm on end of mouse (gettin technical here L 1 finger each side near top of mouse (as if you were using it normally) then gently press down on the whole white plate of the mouse and roll the ball with your other hands fingers till it starts to work the scrolling again. I found this to work every time. careful not to press the ball cos u know this will get your widgets up instead

This almost never works for me, especially if I let it go too long without cleaning it. Sometimes it will improve, but the downward direction never quite unsticks.

So here's what I came up with. I happened to have a box of cotton swabs with plastic sticks (not paper). I clipped off one end, then clipped the end of the tube at a steep angle, so I had a nice flat point.

I gently insert the tip between the ball and its cavity, insert it as far as it will go, then work it around a bit in a circle, stopping to do the upside down rubbing trick once in awhile.

The result is a perfectly functioning ball - for about another day or so.

I was recently frustrated by the dirt in my might mouse scroll wheel which caused it to stop working. But then I tried a cleaning method which seems to work very well:

1. Cut or tear a thin (~2mm) strip of paper. I found a business card in my desk that worked well (and that I was happy to tear up). You could also use folded regular paper.

2. Jam the strip of paper into the mouse beside the scroll wheel.

3. Push the strip around with the wheel so that it dislodges the gunk in there. Much of the dirt around my wheel could be scooped out this way using the paper.

4. Use the rolling upside-down method to get a bit more loosened dirt out.

In my case, this method fixed the scrolling problem when other methods failed (besides breaking it apart).

I had the same problem, I use the compressed gas duster (mouse disconnected, of course). Just press the little ball under and use the compressed gas around the ball, but not too much, use short dosis. Apply it in the bottom too. This will remove the dust. Plus rolling the scroller over a clean simple white paper, and it will work.

Rolling it upside down on a sheet of blank clean paper for about a minute has pefectly fixed it for me. All other (non-crack-it-open) methods did not work

I have been suffering for ages with a stuck rollerball that only works to scroll upwards. Thanks to you guys, i can scroll around my virtual world in peace again. Thanks muchly.

Thanks for all your help here y'all, it FINALLY works again. I empathize with each and every one of you

all I had to do was add a little moisture to the ball. I tried to clean it dry with this method and 3 minutes later... nothing. Then I actually googled around and found some actually put a little spit on the ball to clean it off. When I combined the upside sown rolling clockwize with this, it worked in 10 seconds.

Rolling on paper didn't do it for me either. Prying and super-glue: scary! So in the spirit of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", I sprayed Windex on a paper towel, and with just a little rolling, I was back in business. The little ball looks noticeably cleaner. I'll have to keep an eye on that...
Lou

just spray a bit of monitor cleaner or rubbing alcohol on the ball, push the ball around so the fluid gets on the rollers, wait a few seconds for the dirt to loosen, then rub the ball on the cloth as described above. worked for me.

Yes! This worked right away;)

how do i clean a scroll pad on a laptop??

It didn't work the first time...but I did it for a full minute and it worked!! Thanks!

Holding the mouse upside down, I brushed the little ball really hard with clean toothbrush. It did the trick (for now anyways).

I tried rubbing the ball on a clean shirt. It didn't work, but when I rubbed it on an anti-static cleaning wipe (monitor wipes) it worked. Didn't take but a few seconds.

It worked! I've been suffering with one directional scrolling for a while (and not so good at that either) and thought I needed to chuck it and get a new one and now it works!

I don't wash my hands before using my mighymouse, in fact I often eat while using it, and all I have to do to keep the trackball working is rub it against a clean spot on my shirt for 10-15 seconds every few days. Doesn't seem like a problem to me.