Mighty Mouse scroll-wheel failure
Mighty Mouse scroll-wheel failure
We've reported extensively on an issue where Mighty Mouse scroll wheels fail, generally refusing to scroll in a certain direction.
MacFixIt reader Jeffrey writes:
"I have now had to have Apple replace 10 ? that's right 10 ? wired Mighty Mouse devices for the failure of the scroll wheel. They seem to fail over a period as long as months to just a couple of days.
"The symptom of the problem is that the mouse will stop scrolling in one direction, usually down, although also up, if less frequently. Perhaps because I mostly use the wheel to scroll down? The scroll wheel no longer makes the clicking sound as it scrolls down. It makes the sound when scrolling up, and side to side, but not down." [Ed.- Note that the clicking noise generated by the Mighty Mouse when scrolling is not the result of physical action -- the sound is generated by a small speaker in the mouse]
As noted in our Mighty Mouse special report, this issue is sometimes soluble through the use of an alternative mouse driver. Options include:
Jeffrey had limited success with alternate drivers, however. He writes:
"I have tried the fixes on MacFixIt, including installing SteerMouse. This miraculously seemed to help, as one of the mice just started working again, including the clicking sound. This worked for a few days, and then failed again. This time, it didn't recover. I am running Mac OS X 10.4.8 on a PowerMac G5 1.8GHz."
As such, we are seeking more permanent solutions to this problem aside from unit replacement. Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
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